RM2025 ljubljana

04.04.2025 Regional Meeting Europe

The International Council of Design (ICoD) convened its Regional Meeting Europe 2025 on 6 June 2025 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in collaboration with the European Design Festival and the Brumen Foundation. This landmark gathering marked the Council’s first partnership with the Festival, creating a dynamic platform that brought together Members, academics, students, and professionals from across Europe and beyond.

The Meeting addressed one of the most urgent topics facing the profession today: the opportunities and risks posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Building on ICoD’s recent work to update its Code of Conduct, the event used the newly published Cards of Conduct to spark discussion, aiming to establish a framework that will guide designers in shaping responsible and ethical applications of AI.

VENUE AND CONTEXT
The Meeting took place at Slon Conference Center, Kavarna Hall, in the heart of Ljubljana. Its integration into the European Design Festival positioned the event at the centre of a vibrant international design gathering, ensuring visibility and engagement with a wider creative community.

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

The programme was designed to balance keynote insights, case studies, and participatory sessions:

Opening Talk by Melike Taşcıoğlu Vaughan, ICoD President, set the tone with reflections on “Rethinking ICoD’s Role Today.”
Keynote 1: “Gen Alpha – coming soon! What this might mean for design…” by Lawrence Zeegen (Creative Computing Institute, UAL).
Keynote 2: “Advocating Design Professionalism” by Iva Babaja (Algebra University, Former ICoD President).
Best Practice Papers presented by Anssi Kähärä, Secretary General.
Design Sparks interactive session led by Johnathon Strebly, Former President, encouraging collective dialogue on transforming professional ethics into action.

WORKSHOP: THE NEXT CODE OF CONDUCT
The afternoon centred on an intensive workshop led by Kyle Rath (University of Pretoria). Using nine custom-designed Cards of Conduct, participants tackled critical intersections of AI and design practice: authorship, surveillance, innovation, education, responsibility, and more.

Twenty participants, guided by current and former Board Members, engaged in structured small-group sessions. The method generated deep discussion and practical insights, highlighting both the risks of bias and superficiality in AI outputs and its potential as a transformative design tool when used responsibly.

KEY OUTCOMES
Recognition of AI as both opportunity and threat in design.
Collective affirmation that designers must actively shape conditions for ethical integration of AI into practice.
Agreement that the Code of Conduct must become a living guideline—adaptable to evolving technologies while anchored in principles of transparency, authorship, equity, and sustainability.
Launch of an iterative drafting process: insights from Ljubljana will feed into a broader consultation with Members and academic partners worldwide.

BEYOND LJUBLJANA
The Ljubljana Meeting was not an endpoint but a starting point. Outcomes will contribute to the drafting of ICoD’s next Code of Conduct, designed as an evergreen framework that can evolve with technological and professional change. Future sets of Cards of Conduct are planned, expanding to cover emerging challenges beyond AI.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ICoD extends its gratitude to the Brumen Foundation, the European Design Festival for co-organising and hosting the event. Special thanks go to:
Demetrios Fakinos (European Design Awards), Radovan Arnold (Brumen Foundation), and their teams.
Eva Fakinou, Gašper Ulrich, Manca Sudaholnik for communications and organisational support.
Ceren Yıldız and Nil Erduman for volunteer assistance.
The creators of the Cards of Conduct: conceptualised by Kyle Rath and Melike Taşcıoğlu Vaughan, designed by Müzeyyen Yıldız and Hıdır Yüksel, and generously printed by Ofset Yapımevi, an ICoD Industry Friend.

PARTICIPANTS

ICoD 2024-2026 Board
Melike Taşcıoğlu Vaughan, ICoD President 2024–2026 TÜRKİYE
Jonas Liugaila, ICoD Treasurer 2024–2026 LITHUANIA
Anssi Kähärä, ICoD Secretary General 2024–2026 FINLAND
Kyle Rath, ICoD Non-Executive Board Member 2024–2026 SOUTH AFRICA

ICoD
Johnathon Strebly, ICoD President 2022–2024 CANADA
Iva Babaja, ICoD President 2013–2015 CROATIA
Juliet Kavishe, ICoD Vice President 2022–2024 SOUTH AFRICA
Yeşim Demir, ICoD Vice President 2011–2015 TÜRKİYE
Halim Choueiry, ICoD Vice President 2015–2009 LEBANON
Lawrence Zeegen, ICoD Vice President 2011–2015 UNITED KINGDOM

ICoD Member Representatives
Sean Lee, INTI International College Subang MALAYSIA
Nadine Tawk, Lebanese Design Syndicate LEBANON
Zeynep Tonguç, Turkish Graphic Designers Association TÜRKİYE

Observers 
Bernard Pavlinović, Academy of Fine Arts / Triptih Sarajevo BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Blaž Bajželj, designer SLOVENIA
Colin Ladić SLOVENIA
Emrah Doğru, Turkish Graphic Designers Association TÜRKİYE
Gašper Uršič, Brumen Foundation SLOVENIA
Gregor Žakelj, Visual Brain Gravity SLOVENIA
Hande Doğru TÜRKİYE
Irene Presotć SLOVENIA
Marco Janovac, graphic designer CROATIA
Martina Kač Nemanič, Faculty of Design SLOVENIA
Rebeka Šprajc CROATIA
Samina Tanović, ULUPUBIH BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Selznika Ana SLOVENIA
Špela Šubic, Museum of Architecture and Design, SLOVENIA
Tadej Abram, designer/creative director SLOVENIA
Tomislav Bobinec, FH JOANNEUM AUSTRIA
Tord F. Paulsen, Holt & Paulsen NORWAY
Vanesa Prodanović, Academy of Fine Arts BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Vinko Zlatić, Ruđer Bošković Institute CROATIA
Yulia A. Korneva, artist & illustrator ITALY

Volunteer Organisation Team
Ceren Yıldız, Anadolu University TÜRKİYE
Nil Erduman, Anadolu University TÜRKİYE