Design 4 Living expo gets a facelift

The event, owned by the Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce, is the mother city's longest-running Expo, with a history dating back to 1978 when the Good Hope Centre was new and District Six a fresh scar on the landscape.

According to Gordon Metz, of Kagiso Exhibitions in Cape Town, "Design 4 Living 2006 has to be about innovating. It's about tracking design and lifestyle trends. It's still about widgets and gadgets and technology, but also about design for sustainable living, positive living, social living."

The show will capitalise on the Western Cape's existing strengths in the outdoor, leisure, children, tourism, and agriculture markets and also showcase design products from elsewhere in the world.

Among the most popular developments will be the partnership created between the event and the region's leading community development organisation, the Community Chest, which will host the international culinary experience usually reserved for the Community Chest Carnival.

Kagiso Exhibitions will be making a significant investment to enhance the environment around the Good Hope Centre and market the venue.

Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO, Albert Schuitmaker said Design 4 Living was one of the Cape Chamber's most valuable assets. After running the Expo in-house for over 25 years, the Chamber felt it was time to hand the responsibility over to a professional exhibition management company.

"All long-running exhibitions and events require constant and creative re-invention and repositioning in order to deliver new, exciting and fresh experiences for the visitors," said Schuitmaker. "After extensive consultations and research, we decided that Kagiso Exhibitions was the best company to do this for us for the next five years."

Andrew Boraine, CEO of the Cape Town Partnership, welcomed the decision to stage the event at the Good Hope Centre. "Design 4 Living showcases Cape Town's vibrant entrepreneurial sector. It is an event that has always attracted a wide cross-section of people - now it can be a catalyst for change. The area around the Good Hope Centre has been earmarked for inner city regeneration, and needs strong anchor events such as these."

The 2006 Design 4 Living Expo will take place at the Good Hope Centre from 21 April to 28 April. A special briefing for participants be held on Wednesday 30 November at the Southern Sun Cape Sun Hotel, Strand Street, Cape Town from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Parking is available at the Parkade, directly opposite the hotel.

For further information visit www.designforlliving.co.za