Taipei (Taiwan, Chinese Taipei) – The City of Taipei is pleased to announce members of World Design Capital® (WDC) 2016 International Advisory Committee. The WDC 2016 International Advisory Committee comprised of a highly respected group of seven internationally recognised experts in the field of design, include Shikuan Chen (Taipei), Alicia Grehan (Dublin), Arthur Huang (Taipei), Wei-Gong Liou (Taipei), Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana (Cape Town), Manfred Wang (Taipei) and Dilki de Silva, Icsid Secretary General (Montreal), who will directly contribute to the yearlong programme of events that will take place in Taipei (Taiwan, Chinese Taipei) from January to December 2016.

Since being designated WDC 2016 almost half a year ago, the City of Taipei has been working on the preparations for the yearlong programme of events. The WDC Taipei 2016 International Advisory Committee will lend their knowledge and expertise to the benefit of the implementation company in Taipei as it develops the WDC Taipei 2016 programme. Members of the WDC 2016 IAC will also play an ambassadorial role internationally, by activating their own networks and encourage international engagement.

Members of WDC 2016 International Advisory Committee

Shikuan Chen
Vice President, Experience Design
Compal Electronics, Inc.

With over 24 years of practice in the design field, Shikuan currently leads a team of 200+ computing and communication/mobile device design experts at Compal Electronics Inc., and is responsible for creating business and innovation strategy for the global computing/mobile industry. He also teaches part time as a Design Professor at Taipei Shih-Chein University, and has been a visiting lecturer at numerous design events and seminars within the region since 1995. His speeches, seminars and design articles have been widely published by the media, and is one of the most prominent personalities in the Taiwanese and Chinese design field. Prior to joining Compal, Shikuan worked for Philips Design as Global Design Account Director for over seven years, and before that, was managing the GE/FITCH Taiwan Branch for over four years. In 1995, he received his MFA degree in Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art (USA).

Alicia Grehan
Dublin City Architect
City Architects Division, Dublin City Council

Alicia (Ali) Grehan founded and leads PIVOT Dublin, the design innovation platform that produced Dublin’s bid for WDC 2014. The bid was short-listed and the city’s work in developing the design sector continues under her leadership. PIVOT Dublin has established itself as a focus for design initiatives and helped create a resurgence of international and national interest in Irish Design.

As Chief Architect for the City of Dublin and in previous public and private sector roles, she has led and managed interdisciplinary groups delivering urban design, public works, strategy development and city promotion projects. Central to this is the influencing of policy makers and the general public on the role design plays in delivering innovation and creating humane, attractive and memorable places.

Her experience working with government and private sector leaders on international committees and jury panels in the context of design include large scale international events such as Dublin Design Week, the Intercultural Cities Programme, Successful Design Awards China 2012 and Future Ideas. She is an elected Council Member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland and the International Federation of Housing and Planning.

Arthur Huang
Founder and Managing Director
MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Development Co., Ltd.

Recognised for his innovative spirit in the field of sustainable material development based on today’s ever growing urban trash resources, Arthur was featured by The New York Times’ ‘A Turn Around in Trash’ article in November 2013, selected by Mayor Bloomberg as New York City’s Venture Fellows 2012, awarded the Finalist of Wall Street Journal’s Asian Innovator Award 2011, recognised as the Winner of Financial Times’ Earth Award 2010 (global product category), interviewed for The Economist’s cover story in April 2012, ‘The Third Industrial Revolution’ as one of the global inventors with “new game-changing ingredients” that have “a concrete advantage”. National Geographic Channel’s ‘Megastructure’ series featured Mr. Huang and his MINWIZ team in an hour long documentary telling the vivid story of their groundbreaking trash-to-building R/D process broadcast across 140 countries in 26 languages. In 2012, CNN’s ‘EcoSolution’ programme featured MINIWIZ and Huang’s quest to develop up-cycling technology to “profit from urban mining” in Taiwan by collecting the world’s post consumer trash including, e-waste, consumer packaging/containers, and industrial agriculture by-products.

Mr. Huang formally established MINIWIZ in 2005 NY/2006 HK and since then the company has grown organically into a profitable international eco-material/building module product company employing over 40 international professional engineers, architects and industrial designers.

Wei-Gong Liou
CEO, World Design Capital 2016 Office
Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, SooChow University

After obtaining a BA and a MA in sociology from National Taiwan University, Dr. Liou went on to pursue sociology PhD at the department of Economics and Social Science at Trier University in Germany. After returning to Taiwan, he taught at the Department of Sociology at SooChow University as an associate professor, specialising in cultural economics, sociology of consumption, life style studies and social change.

He started the Association of Creative Economy in Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) with his friends, dedicating their efforts to stimulating the development of the creative economy industry. He has held the commissioner position at the Department of Cultural Affairs of Taipei City Government since 2012, and played a leading role in Taipei’s bid to become World Design Capital 2016.

Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana
CEO
Cape Town Partnership

The CEO of Cape Town Partnership, Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana is a town planner with extensive experience in managing and coordinating public-private partnerships. An urban revivalist at heart, she has spent the last eight years with the Cape Town Partnership managing, developing and promoting Cape Town’s Central City as an economically thriving, creative and valued public and private space in which to live, work and play. She played a leading role in Cape Town’s ultimately successful bid to become World Design Capital 2014.

She was one of the key role players in developing Cape Town’s Central City Development Strategy (CCDS) in 2008, which put forward a shared vision to guide future developments in Cape Town until 2018 and, as CEO of the Partnership, she is the key driver of this strategy. Her strong strategic planning, government relations and project management skills will be of tremendous benefit for Taipei as WDC 2016. CTP is currently leading several projects of the WDC Cape Town 2014 local programme that give her tremendous experience to share with Taipei.

Manfred Wang
Professor of National Taiwan Normal University Department of Design
Previous VP & Chief Design Officer & GM, Lifetyle Products Division

Manfred Wang is a professor of design at National Taiwan Normal University and Principal Creative Advisor for Qisda Corporation. Prior to 2013, Wang was the Vice President & Chief Design Officer of BenQ & Qisda Group and the General Manager of QisDESIGN Lifestyle Products Business Unit. Under his guidance, BenQ and Qisda have won more than 375 international renowned design awards such as iF, Red-dot, IDEA and G-Mark in the past 10 years. Manfred Wang graduated with a MA (German state Dipl.-Designer) in industrial design from Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design Germany in 1994.
His knowledge as a professional product designer and innovator will bring an important creative perspectives for WDC Taipei 2016.

Dilki de Silva
Secretary General
International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid)

Ms. Dilki de Silva was appointed Icsid Secretary General and working director of the Executive Board in 2003. In this capacity, she is responsible for the financial and overall operational performance of the organisation, capacity building, strategic planning, membership relations and partnership development. She is also a consultant for  various companies and organisations, and lectures on SME development, capacity building and international partnerships.
Ms. de Silva started her career as an intern for the World Bank, followed by several managerial positions in the UK and Canada. During her work in international economic development with the city of Toronto (1986 – 1998), she was instrumental in bringing international  relations to the top of the city’s political agenda. Ms. de Silva holds a BA in Business Administration majoring in Economics and International Relations from New England College (USA).

For more information, please contact:
Wendy Chang
Director of WDC Programme Sector
World Design Capital Taipei 2016 Office
t: + 886 2 27458199 ext 468
e: yutong_chang@tdc.org.tw

Eduardo Caldera Petit
Icsid Project Manager
t: +1 514 448 4949 ext. 224
e: ecaldera@icsid.org

About World Design Capital® (WDC)

While there are many awards that recognise individual accomplishments in design, the World Design Capital designation is unique as it aims to focus on the broader essence of design’s impact on urban spaces, economies and citizens. The designation provides a distinctive opportunity for cities to feature their accomplishments in attracting and promoting innovative design, as well as highlight their successes in urban revitalisation strategies. The World Design Capital is an initiative established and managed by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. Past cities to hold the title include Torino (Italy) in 2008, Seoul (South Korea) in 2010 and Helsinki (Finland) in 2102 whilst the programme for Cape Town (South Africa) is currently underway for 2014.