DESIGN+ Disruptions, Realities, Futures

2025 Design Education Forum of Southern Africa Conference

The conference is calling for abstracts from both DEFSA members and non-member academics and institutions guided by the following subthemes.

• Design+ Digital Disruptions and Technology Integration
• Design+ Societal Realities, Impact and Cultural Preservation
• Design+ Sustainability and Future-Focused Design

Deadline for online submissions: 20 February on the DEFSA Member Zone.

Call for Abstracts

The 2025 DEFSA conference—DESIGN+ Disruptions, Realities, Futures—explores the dynamic intersections of design, education, technology, culture, and social change. It will address the tensions and synergies between the physical and digital realms.

This hybrid conference hosted by Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha, South Africa on 18-19 September 2025. It celebrates design as a powerful tool for innovation, cultural preservation, and societal transformation. Through dialogue and participation, and by engaging with open-ended questions, the 2025 DEFSA conference aims to highlight transformative collaboration and multidisciplinary perspectives while integrating Afrikan-centred and global insights into design education and practice for societal impact.

Design+ Digital Disruptions and Technology Integration

• What opportunities for innovation could be developed through a deeper understanding of AI and its impact on design processes?
• How are we bridging the industry and design education gap in the tech-driven era?
• In what ways do we enhance design education through emerging technologies?

Design+ Societal Realities, Impact and Cultural Preservation

• How could we celebrate Afrikan-centred design and visual arts?
• What could a critical design approach unearth when used to explore societal protest and disruption?
• How do we address cultural pride and preservation of uniqueness in a globalised world?

Design+ Sustainability and Future-Focused Design

• What are some ways we could integrate sustainability into design education and practices?
• How could we rethink design for evolving global challenges?
• How do we shape impactful futures through innovative human-centred design education?
• How are we designing for engagement through collaborative, dialogical, or multidisciplinary approaches to design education, practice, and community building?

2025 Deadlines

• 20 February - Abstracts uploaded to the DEFSA Member Zone
• 20 March: Notification of the acceptance of abstracts
• 19 June: Full papers uploaded to the DEFSA Member Zone

Abstract Submissions Guidelines

Your abstract should be between 300 and 500 words. The abstract should be a concise statement of the problem, approach, results, and conclusions of the work and clearly state the paper’s contribution to the field. Include three to five keywords with your submission. All references to the author/s in the abstract body should be removed before submission. The Abstract will be uploaded onto the DEFSA Member Zone.

Abstract assessment criteria

1. Has the author clarified how the paper addresses the conference theme?
2. Does the paper contribute to Design Education in Africa. Is it relevant to local theory and practice, technologies, methodologies, knowledge, curricula, pedagogy and assessment?
3. Does the paper present valid research, an academically sound argument that contributes to original, evidence-based research output (and not simply opinion or hearsay)

The conference is open to both DEFSA members and non-member academics and institutions. Please note that there is a limit on the percentage of accepted papers from any single institution to ensure a diverse range of perspectives.

• For more information on past conferences, visit the DEFSA Conference website
• For submissions, return here to the DEFSA Member Zone.
• Send your queries via email to president@defsa.org.za

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