Ethical, Collaborative & Sustainable Design in Post-War Ukraine, guided by Dasha Tsapenko (Bio-designer) and Fulco Treffers (architect and urban planner, Co-founder and CEO Ro3kvit) and the Ukrainian Institute. This session will explore how design can shape a fair and resilient reconstruction of Ukraine by addressing three interlinked dimensions: ethics, collaboration, and resources.

Design Weeks and City Development will explore the role design initiatives can play in shaping urban life and rethinking the ways people engage with public space. Taking RDW & The City, Romanian Design Week’s newest format, as a case study, the presentation will highlight how a series of temporary interventions in Bucharest used one of the city’s main boulevards as a stage for exploration, inviting audiences to experience how small, temporary gestures can reimagine overlooked corridors of transit into places for gatherings and spending time together outdoors.

Hosted by EIT Culture & Creativity and Dutch Culture|Creative Europe Desk, the session invites cultural leaders, policymakers, and design professionals to share strategies for embedding fairness into creative ecosystems. Drawing on EIT Culture & Creativity’s mission to promote inclusive practices, support start-ups and scale-ups, and use cities as testing grounds for societal change, and on DutchCulture’s role in international cooperation and cultural diplomacy, the session adds both local and European dimensions to the discussion.

Educators from UMPRUM in Prague will share insights from SHIFT, a programme that integrates circularity and ecological awareness across disciplines, engaging students in real-world collaborations that question materials, production, and social impact.