KOCHI:
Encouraged by the success of the two-day ‘#DesignKerala Summit’, the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today announced the Government’s plan to start a ‘Design Incubator’ to promote design based start-ups and creative talents.
He was speaking at the valedictory function of the Summit which forms the key segment of India’s largest design festival, ‘Kochi Design Week’ at Bolgatty Palace here. Stressing that technology and design play a great role in achieving sustainable living, the Chief Minister requested individuals and organisations to embrace “at least one sustainable lifestyle idea so that we can together rebuild a Kerala that generations to come will be proud of!”
“Whether you are building a house, travelling to a place, or setting up a business, there are things that you can do to embrace sustainable living,” he said, adding that “companies, Governmental organisations and various associations should think about designing products and services promoting a sustainable life and making the Planet Earth a better for future generations.”
In this context, Vijayan said Kerala had been at the forefront of embracing design and sustainable living. Minister of Tourism Kadakampally Surendran was also present.
Kerala IT Secretary M Sivasankar said that design is very important in rebuilding and this Summit is an exercise to engage in a conversation with people involved in the process. Expressing gratitude to CERA – the title sponsor and KTDC, Sivasankar pointed out that not even a single rupee was spent from the exchequer for the conduct of the Summit; and the entire expenditure was raised through registrations and sponsorships.
VK Mathews, Member, High Power IT Committee. outlined the key expected outcomes of Kerala’s rebuilding viz., Clean Kerala, Safe Kerala, Enabled Urban Kerala and New Delivery Models. “The vision is to make Kerala the finest place to live and work,” added Mathews, who is also the Chairman, IBS Software
Suhas Gopinath, Co-Chairman, FICCI and Advisor, World Bank; PK Sasidharan, Senior Vice President (Marketing) CERA Sanitaryware – the main sponsor of the event; R Rahul, Managing Director, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation and Arun Balachandran, Kerala Chief Minister’s IT Fellow also spoke in the valedictory event.
Earlier, speaking at a panel discussion on “Designing a Sustainable Future for Public and Tourism Infrastructure,” Rahul said that while planning the development of tourism infrastructure, public infrastructure should also be taken care of.
Abraham George, MD, Intersight Tours and Travels; John Ferreira, Faculty, CIID; and Sabareesh V, Assistant Manager, Marketing, CERA, also attended the session. Mr Santhosh Kurup, CEO, ICT Academy, was the moderator. The Summit was attended by leading design luminaries, architects and decision-makers from around the world.
