Isabelle Verilhac of Cite du Design agreed; she said there was “a very good mix of different persons, coming from different sectors.” Isabel Salgueiro of KEPA confirmed the benefits of the networking opportunities, as well as the chance to showcase her organisation’s activities; however, she warned of the risk of seeing only ‘the usual suspects’ at future events.
How do you think working with ERRIN will help BEDA members in the longer term?
Isabelle Salgueiro commented, “ERRIN is a strong network and a well-reputed stakeholder for the EC. It also has a very strong outreach (over 100 members). It is a very active network in Brussels with some political influencing capacity. Moreover, some ERRIN members, particularly those active in WG Design, are strong actors in the design field. Therefore, I think that not only maintaining a good relation with ERRIN but also collaborating with them is positive for BEDA.”. She envisaged the relationship leading to other activities, such as, for instance, a common position paper on a certain topic.
Isabelle Verilhac observed that connection with ERRIN would allow BEDA members to have other ways into the regions, and other contacts besides BEDA members.
How will the relationship with ERRIN impact on BEDA members’ own membership?
While some BEDA members felt that there would be no impact on their own members, others thought that the connection with ERRIN would create new relationships for them and their members.
BEDA and ERRIN developing design research
KEPA have made connections with ERRIN members to facilitate design research, particularly in the framework of Design4Tourism cluster. KEPA will make a presentation of the cluster on 28th November. The last word is from Isabelle Verilhac: “I just want to tell you that the collaboration with ERRIN is very important for me. I was involved in the Design Days the years before, but this year, thanks to BEDA’s involvement, it was really more efficient to be present and to create more relations.”
In addition to those interviewed, BEDA members SVID, Design Council, DOGA, BNO, CLICKNL, Design Flanders, BCD, and PDR were also present at the EU Design Days 2016.
- Policy
- European Commission
- ERRIN