DZã
The city of DZã aims to be a centre of knowledge and innovation, with design a strategic foundation, with an expected positive impact on the cultural, social, economic, and environmental ecosystem of the city. The city is marked by its industrial, archaeological and architectural heritage, with the remains of the city’s engineering and art centered past linked to the memory and the poetic nature of textile design. The city possesses an enriching cultural infrastructure, such as Wool Museum, Museum of DZã, Sacred Art Museum and art galleries including the Dyeing Gallery. Over the last 5 years, these cultural institutions have hosted more than 200 exhibitions, notably highlighting design’s role in advancing the local development. The city aims to be a reference in support and knowledge transfer amongst creatives, the community, academia, and economic actors. The city’s commitment to design and to cultural projects aim to boost the local innovation ecosystem and enable the community to concretely respond to problems and improve its relationship with the environment.
As a Creative City of Design, the following steps will be important:
- Reinforcing culture and creativity as key ecosystemic values for the city’s and regional development;
- Regenerating and enhancing endogenous products and heritage, especially those linked to textiles, whilst extending design to other creative fields;
- Establishing an effective and intersectoral “design culture”, anticipating and reacting holistically to challenges, such as climate and demographic changes;
- Promoting a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable ecosystem, with co-creation mechanisms between local and foreign entities, especially with those from the UCCN and the Global South, the community and the diaspora; and
- Nurturing existing facilities and launching a new creative hub to promote contemporary culture, digital literacy and education through design.
