Cape Town, Dutch students team up to highlight plight of ocean pollution

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Co-creating a cleaner future

“We’re thrilled to be able to bring Dutch and South Africans students together to create awareness, change behaviour and leave behind a lasting legacy,” said Netherlands Consul General, Bonnie Horbach. “Eight million tonnes of plastic pollute the ocean every year and threaten the ecosystem. We have a critical role to play in bringing attention to the preservation of our ocean. Through our long-term campaign #cocreateSA we developed this activation called #cocreateDesign. With #cocreateDesign we would like to empower creative minds from both countries to come up with solutions for a cleaner future.”

Facilitated by the Craft and Design Institute (CDI), the initiative also aims to show the value of co-creation and the collaborative design process. “We are proud to be part of the V&A Waterfront’s Ocean Life Festival hosted in association with the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands through #cocreateSA. We support the festival’s goal of fostering an appreciation and understanding of our oceans, and look forward to working with the students on the #cocreateDesign project,” said Erica Elk, executive director of the CDI.

We ❤️ that the waste used by the SA + NL #design students for #cocreateDESIGN was collected at the @VandAWaterfront! ����

Read more on #cocreateDESIGN here https://t.co/4uCVyJfN60#CleanSeas @palmerish @10daigava @LaurenKruger1 @cvtasks @Radio_Rosey @Diane_Paulse @Zani2de pic.twitter.com/JdGuUQF1HR

— cocreateSA (@cocreateSA) November 23, 2017

“Our facilitators are excited to create the enabling environment for creative ideas to emerge, and to apply our user-driven design processes to help these students. We look forward to seeing what these designers of the future come up with,” added Elk.

“I hope this co-creation project will lead to a valuable improvement for the present and the future. Working on a challenge to conceptualise and build objects out of plastic waste material to highlight the plight of ocean pollution, will be a great experience for me,” said Fontys student Martijn Kessel.

“As designers, we have the power to bring positive change. Awareness and involvement is the first step in doing this, and that is where I want to be involved,” said Gabi Allan, CPUT Design student.

To ensure the longevity of this initiative, the V&A Waterfront will showcase the designs and welcome #cocreateDesign as part of its annual Ocean Life Festival.

The Netherlands Consulate General will co-present this year’s Volvo Ocean Race stopover. #cocreateDesign will take place 27 November -1 December in the V&A Waterfront at Quay 6.