Sat Mar 08 19:37:44 UTC 2025: ## Design Festival in Delhi Promotes Positive Impact
**New Delhi, March 9, 2025** – The What Design Can Do (WDCD) festival, organized by the Netherlands-based foundation of the same name, made its debut in New Delhi on Saturday. The event, a collaboration with The Design Village (O.P. Jindal Global University) and Quicksand, brought together architects, designers, and social sector workers to explore how design can address major societal and environmental challenges.
The day-long festival featured panel discussions and workshops, showcasing projects aimed at tackling issues like indoor air pollution and promoting sustainable design. Speakers included Dutch Ambassador Marisa Gerards, who highlighted design’s role in bridging culture and innovation, and Indian MP Shashank Mani, who discussed his Jagriti Yatra initiative. Other notable speakers were Maria Conejo, an illustrator for Pussypedia.net, and architect Thomas Rau, who advocates for sustainable design.
WDCD co-founder Richard van der Laken emphasized the cross-cultural exchange between Dutch and Indian designers, noting the complementary nature of Dutch straightforwardness and Indian frugality in achieving simple, effective solutions. He also highlighted India’s inherent circularity in design and living as a key element in addressing climate change.
The festival also showcased the WDCD Challenge, an incubation program supporting design entrepreneurs. Two past winners, architect Depanshu Gola (Breathe Easy project) and Monish Siripurapu (CoolAnt), shared their experiences, emphasizing the value of the program in transforming innovative ideas into market-ready products and services. The Breathe Easy project tackles indoor air pollution with a passive ventilation system, while CoolAnt uses traditional knowledge and modern design to reduce air conditioner dependence. The Embassy of the Netherlands provided support for the festival.
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