The global spotlight is on Shanghai this week as the city transforms into a vibrant epicenter of creativity and innovation for the 2025 World Design Cities Conference (WDCC2025). The prestigious event, which opened on September 25th, is not merely a gathering of designers but a powerful testament to the city’s 15-year journey as a recognized leader in the global creative community. This anniversary marks a pivotal moment for Shanghai to reflect on its past achievements and chart an ambitious future where design is the core engine for urban progress and industrial transformation.
The conference serves as a dynamic platform to explore how design can drive the development of new quality productive forces, positioning itself as an ecological weathervane for future trends and a cradle for industrial innovation. It underscores a fundamental shift in how cities can leverage creativity to solve complex problems and enhance the quality of life for their citizens.
Celebrating a Decade and a Half of “Shanghai Design”
The opening ceremony was a landmark event in its own right, featuring the release of a significant report, “Shanghai 2010-2025: 15th Anniversary as a UNESCO City of Design – Results and Achievements.” This document chronicles the profound impact of design on the city’s evolution since it officially joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in 2010. Over the past fifteen years, “Shanghai Design” has consistently contributed wisdom and strength, fueling urban development through a potent mix of innovation, creativity, and practical creation.
As Shanghai accelerates its push to become a modernized international metropolis with global influence, the conference highlights the city’s commitment to better leveraging design’s power to empower a diverse range of industries. The ceremony also served to honor the next generation of creative minds, awarding the 2025 Shanghai Youth Design Talent U35 Certificates, the annual awards for the “Shanghai Design 100+” Global Competition, and the distinguished Frontier Design Prize.
Building a Global Framework for Creative Cooperation
More than just a celebratory event, WDCC2025 is a working conference with a clear mission. It aims to build a robust global design innovation cooperation platform, bringing together domestic and international renowned academicians, industry masters, leading enterprises, and designer representatives. Through a series of specialized forums and events, these leaders are collaborating to construct a new framework for global design cooperation and development.
A key highlight of this year’s conference is the official launch of the Shanghai Youth Design Talent “U35 Program”, a strategic initiative to identify, nurture, and showcase the work of outstanding young designers under the age of 35. This focus on youth signals a forward-looking strategy to ensure the city’s creative pipeline remains strong for years to come.
Alongside the policy measures and talent programs, the conference is presenting Shanghai’s design propositions to the world, with a particular emphasis on the growing importance of ecological design. By showcasing its innovation practices, Shanghai is solidifying its role not just as a participant in the global design conversation but as a leading voice shaping its future.
