Established during the 2019-2021 term, WDO’s President’s Award recognizes the vital role our international membership plays as part of the continued success of the organization.

Presented at WDO’s biennial General Assembly, the award honours one member per term for their active involvement in our programmes and activities, as well as their investment in supporting WDO’s vision to create a world where design enhances global quality of life. Through a nomination process, members are eligible for consideration by the Board of Directors who then select the recipient based on the detailed criteria.

Selection Criteria

Member must:

  • be in good standing for entirety of term
  • demonstrate active participation in WDO programming
  • demonstrate a consistent level of international cooperation, interaction or engagement with other WDO Members (within and/or outside their pillar)
  • demonstrate a level of commitment that makes them a model for other members
  • promote design that is responsible (considering social, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability)
  • support continued progress and excellence in the field of industrial design
  • exhibit efforts towards promoting design that is solution-based and impacts our communities and planet in a positive way
  • align with one or some United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

 

2025 Recipient

Jesús Llinares, CEO of Andreu World, accepting the 2025 President's Award from 2023-2025 WDO President Thomas Garvey. Photo credit: WDO

In recognition of their demonstrated commitment to WDO’s mission and its diverse initiatives over the course of the last term, the 2025 WDO President’s Award was awarded to Corporate Member Andreu World. Jesús Llinares, CEO of Andreu World and 2023-2025 WDO Board Member, was presented with the award during the 34th General Assembly in London (UK). The honour acknowledges not only their active engagement within the WDO community, but also their pioneering work in advancing sustainable materials, circular business models and responsible manufacturing practices that resonate globally.

About Andreu World

Andreu World is a global family-owned company that for 70 years has developed a solid industrial culture based on the manufacture of high quality and comfortable seating and tables for work, corporate and public spaces, as well as for outdoor, hotels, cafeterias and restaurants. With a firm commitment to spreading the culture of design, it works with internationally renowned designers and architects and throughout its history has been awarded prestigious international design prizes such as the Red Dot Design Awards, Best of Neocon, ADI Compasso d’Oro, Wallpaper Awards as well as Spain’s Premio Nacional de Diseño de España. It has 30 single-brand showrooms around the world and co-branded exhibition spaces in Europe, Oceania, Asia and America. andreuworld.com

Past recipients

2023

During the 33rd World Design Assembly in Tokyo, WDO Promotional Member Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI) was named recipient of the 2023 WDO President’s Award in recognition of their continued commitment to the WDO community and our global vision of design for a better world.

Based in Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), TDRI’s engagement over the course of the 2022-2023 term included active participation in WDO programmes, namely: World Industrial Design Day 2022 and 2023, World Design Capital 2022, 2022-2023 Young Designers Circle and contributions to WDO’s Worldesign magazine. The institute also initiated collaborations with over 15 WDO Members from across the globe, and led an impressive project around design policy, publishing several white papers and Design Index Research.

About Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI)

Taiwan Design Research Institute has made it its mission to change Taiwan by applying its rich design capabilities to every aspect of society. The institute promotes design as valuable to central governance and national strategy, guiding the sustainable development of industries and society in Taiwan through design. To learn more, visit their website https://www.tdri.org.tw

2022

In recognition of their active participation in various WDO initiatives over the course of the 2019-2021 term, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was named as the inaugural recipient of the President’s Award during the 32nd World Design Assembly.

The organization, based in India, demonstrated a continued commitment to the progress of the organization and its larger objectives. In addition to hosting a dedicated Indian Dialogue component during World Industrial Design Day 2021, they also collaborated with WDO on several international activities, namely the CII Design Talks Series, Young Designer Awards and the 21st Indian Design Summit, where WDO hosted an exhibition booth and 2019-2021 President Srini Srinivasan provided the opening address.

“The Confederation of Indian Industry is extremely delighted to have been awarded the prestigious World Design Organization President’s Award for 2022. It has been a constant endeavour of CII to enhance the competitiveness and expertise of Design and Innovation fraternity of Indian Industry. The award is indeed an honour for the design community of India and also an acknowledgement of the huge potential of the Design Fraternity of Indian Industry. It is encouraging to have support of WDO and various other leading Design Councils towards CII’s initiatives on nurturing Design leadership.

The Design sector of Indian Industry is seeing a great transformation. There is a new range of specialized services and business opportunities being created through Design Thinking and the strategic linking of Indian Design community with global design community. CII would continue to play the role of enabler and facilitator for the growth and promotion of design practices in India, as well as the global arena. We look forward to collaborating extensively with WDO over the coming years to establish stronger footprints of Indian Design fraternity in the global perspective.”

Udayant Malhoutra
Chairman, CII National Committee on Design &
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Dynamatic Technologies Limited
Confederation of Indian Industry

About CII 

Established in 1992, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, government, and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes.

Visit their website to learn more https://www.cii.in/