The Shenzhen Design Award for Young Talents (SDAY) is an international design competition for young designers from the 350 UNESCO Creative Cities under the age of 35. The SDAY is organized by the Shenzhen Culture, Creativity & Design Association (SCCDA), and administered by the Shenzhen Innovation & Creative Design Development Office.
The SDAY Secretariat received a total of 655 entries submitted by 224 young designers and design teams nominated by 30 nominators.
Emma Maria Strydom topped the list of 21 winners of the fourth edition of Shenzhen Design Award for Young Talents (SDAY).
260 entrants, including professionals and students from 21 creative cities in the network, have reached the final judging process, which lasted two days, with nearly 600 pieces of work. 21 entrants and 3 nominators were chosen as winners.
The secretariat finally received over 200 works submitted by 96 professional individuals and teams as well as 26 student individuals and teams
A total of 91 emerging design works created by 135 young designers from 16 creative cities from home and abroad were exhibited in Excellent Works Exhibition.
The purpose of the SDAY is to reward the efforts of young designers who, through their creativity, have made outstanding contributions to making cities more environmentally friendly and more livable, society more harmonious, development more sustainable, and above all, human lives better.
Meanwhile, the SDAY aims to encourage the exchange between young creative talents from different countries, the cooperation between the Creative Cities, the sharing of those cities’ experiences and ideas for developing creative and cultural industries, the production and sale of creative design products, and the promotion of design thinking.
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SECONDSLooking back on the 20 years’ journey of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, from just a small group of cities to a global network today, Creative Cities have become an important driving force for social, economic, and cultural development. The 2024 UCCN annual conference, themed "20 Years of UCCN: Bringing Youth to the Table for the Next Decade," emphasizes that empowering youth is at the core of UNESCO's mission. It aims to discover and recognize their capabilities and potential in creation, innovation, and transformation. UNESCO has been committed to supporting them in using design and creativity to promote sustainable development. Looking ahead to the next decade, youth will be indispensable participants and innovators in this process.
The theme aims to inspire the power of youth designers, promote the deep integration of design innovation and sustainable development, and provide feasible solutions to the challenges faced by the world today.
The SDAY advocates for young designers to prioritize social responsibility, use innovation as their driving force, and aim for sustainability. Through designs, they are expected to achieve both social value and environmental benefits, with the goal of building a diverse, inclusive, and sustainable ecosystem in the context of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Shenzhen Association for International Culture Exchanges，Shenzhen Innovation & Creative Design Development Office
Shenzhen Special Fund for Cultural & Creative Industries Development
Shenzhen Culture, Creativity & Design Association (SCCDA)
in Association and Cooperation with the UNESCO Creative Cities
