The International Aino and Alvar Aalto Design Colloquium – DESIGN & PEACE, challenged the participants to explore the ways in which design and peace are connected, along with the diverse meanings of design and peace, at an expert gathering in Säynätsalo Town Hall on 14-15 June 2019.

The colloquium asked whether design can initiate a dialogue and promote co-existence between humankind and nature, and how conscious design can promote the preservation of world peace. Can the designer’s own peace of mind act as a catalyst for better results, when human health and wellbeing or new ways of responding to technological and ecological concerns are at stake? Experts from various fields of design, architecture, information technology, education, communications and the social sciences gathered together to discuss these and other questions. The main theme was considered from three specific viewpoints: 1 Peace in Society, 2 Conflicts and Peace and 3 Spatial Peace.

The questions, discussions and interviews of the participants of the colloquium were collected and edited for a publication, which is available online HERE and will be on sale as a paperback in the webshop of the Alvar Aalto Foundation in autumn 2019. Part of the programme was streamed and the recordings can be viewed online HERE.