British Council launches Making Matters, China Design Challenge

BEIJING,
CHINA – Media
OutReach – 27 September 2021 – The British Council launched Making Matters,
China Design Challenge. Themed
“fall in love with the future through circular design”, the Challenge aims to
discover young creative talents and to facilitate an exchange of dialogue
around circular design. The Challenge is part of Making Matters, sponsored by
IM Motors and co-developed by Manchester Metropolitan University and Young
Green Tech. Chinese university students in Mainland China and the UK are
invited to apply by 8 November 2021 through WeChat account
Younggreentech.

Making Matters was launched in 2018 by the British
Council with an aim to explore how principles of the circular economy can be a
catalyst for creativity, collaboration and regenerative thinking within
architecture, design and fashion practice through its multi-disciplinary
programme. Circular design involves creating products and services that
minimise the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution and
carbon emissions to result in less waste and more value added to the ecosystem.
Open to Chinese students in universities in Mainland China and the UK, Making
Matters, China Design Challenge encourages students to rethink the role of
design today and how to create positive change through circular design.

Eligible applicants can apply individually or form a
team of up to 6 members to submit a proposal outlining an issue or concern that
their circular design addresses by 8 November 2021. The judging panel will
evaluate the proposals based on the following criteria in two phases:

• Social
  impact – applicants’ sense of social responsibility and
  concern for global challenges, with the ambition to make positive change
  through circular design
• Communication – applicants’ ability to express their ideas,
  present their project and communicate with mentors and judges
• Academic
  performance – applicant’s understanding of circular design and
  how they can adapt a circular approach through their proposal
• Potential,
  feasibility and relation – feasibility of the proposed idea to materialise
  in real life and its potential for further development, as well as it’s
  relevancy to the community or the planet
• Critical
  thinking – applicants’ ability to think critically and
  logically
• Innovation
  – applicants’ ability to develop innovative product,
  provide creative solutions, or conduct meaningful research with a circular
  design practice
• Achievement
  and improvement – applicants’ ability to make progress through
  newly acquired knowledge and skills, as well as deepen understanding and change
  perception

30 semi-finalists will be
shortlisted on 15 November 2021 and invited for an in-person presentation in
Shanghai. 15 finalists will be selected to enter the second stage. In April
2022 for the final presentation in Beijing, one grand champion and 4 runners-up
will be announced. The grand champion and runners-up will receive a prize of
CNY 24,000 (~GBP 2,210/ USD 3,720) and CNY 12,000 (~GBP 1,350/ USD 1,860)
respectively, with an internship opportunity with IM Motors, Young Green Tech and other supporting organisations.
A documentary will be produced to record all the finalists’ projects.

While the semi-finalists will be selected by the
organisers, a judging panel will be responsible to select 15 finalists. Details
of the judges will be announced in due course.

Rehana Mughal, Director Arts China at British
Council and Counsellor (Culture and the Arts) at Cultural and Education Section
of the British Embassy said, “Making Matters is all
about supporting emerging talents from the world of design, giving them the
opportunity to showcase innovation, creativity and solutions to reduce our
impact on the environment. Climate Change is one of the biggest shared
challenges we all face, and all of us can make a difference in reducing our
impact on the environment. We hope that through this exciting collaboration,
rising stars of design can benefit from international collaborations and
partnership needs to take their ideas from the drawing board to reality.”

For further details on the Making Matters, China
Design Challenge, please visit  https://www.britishcouncil.cn/en/programmes/arts/making-matters

Making Matters, China Design Challenge

Organiser: British Council

Strategic partner: IM Motors

Co-organisers: Manchester Metropolitan University and Young Green
Tech (YGT) 

Programme portal: https://www.britishcouncil.cn/en/programmes/arts/making-matters
 

British Council WeChat ‘bc-china’
and ‘UK_NOW’

British Council Weibo @英国大使馆文化教育处, @艺述英国