Introduction to the Proceedings of RSD7—Challenging Complexity by Systemic Design towards Sustainability
Silvia Barbero
October 24-26, 2018
"The seventh Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD7) symposium was held at the Politecnico di Torino, 23rd-28th October 2018, for the first time in Italy, defining an important collaboration among the institutions that founded the Systemic Design Research Network in 2012. Not by chance, this symposium has seen the official establishment of the Systemic Design Association, with a public announcement during the first day."
Photos: One of five experiential stations on the MVI campus and De-Conference participants
The first RSD De-Conference was organized by the MonViso Insitute (MVI) in the community of Ostana Valle Po in collaboration with ETH Zürich. The MVI is a real-world laboratory for research on sustainability transitions and Systemic Design. Over a two-day retreat, 50 participants from 20 Nations engaged in conversations about systemic design, critically assessed the visited projects and provided feedback to MVI and the community of Ostana. De-conference photo journal >
Organizing committee: Tobias Luthe and Dario Toso
RSD7 Proceedings List
RSD7 publications document six inspiring keynote speakers, three plenary sessions, and 76 papers in downloadable formats.
RSD7 Chair. Silvia Barbero: This symposium has seen the official establishment of the Systemic Design Association, with a public announcement during the first day.
RSD7 Keynote. Roberto Iniquez Flores: In order to address the complexity of these new approaches design is evolving into a new cultures that are very diverse and emergent, these design cultures require a new characterization for its understanding.
RSD7 Keynote. Chelsea Mauldin: I propose that designers engaged in policy and systems change design new, adjacent policy systems, recognize the primacy and requirements of the human body, and more consciously identify and address imbalances in power in the systems in which we intercede.
RSD7 Keynote. Gunter Pauli: From energy production to soil analysis, we have to change the dogmas we are working with, we have to change the business models and the hypothesis we are believing. What can we do better? How can we design a better way forward?
RSD7 Keynote. Luigi Bistagnino: The Fibonacci’s sequence (also called “golden ratio”), indicates a sequence such that each number, starting from the third, is the sum of the previous two.
RSD7 Keynote. Chido Govera: The presentation explores approaches and interventions implemented by The Future of Hope Foundation to engage marginalized members of society, specifically women and girls in Zimbabwe.
RSD7 Keynote. Pille Bunnell: My intent with the title is to evoke a listening through the double meaning of “salis” implicit in Pliny’s original phrase “addito salis grano.” The word “salis” not only refers salt, it also refers to wit.
RSD7 featured relaxed “learning-and-doing time”. At the end of each day, three decompressing “Books and Beers” events were hosted in the close venue of Eataly. Five recently published books were introduced to the audience and discussed in a more informal environment.