Cairo’s Only Designathon Returns and is Open For Applications

Cairo Designathon announced earlier this month the second round of its ‘design marathon’ after a successful first rendition of the event in 2020. At a launch event on Wednesday 10 March, Cairo Designathon officially opened registration for the second round.

Cairo Designathon is the only online collaborative design marathon in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa region, and aims to generate innovative design solutions and create positive social impact.

For five days, 30 teams composed of both Egyptian and international participants will compete across six design challenges in a series of online design workshops across multiple collaborative platforms. Six winning teams will be selected, one in each design challenge, receiving EGP 10,000 each as well as publishing and exposure.

Organised in partnership with more than 20 design organizations, universities and industry stakeholders locally, regionally and internationally, the theme of this year’s Cairo Designathon is “Design Future Past”. Designers from various disciplines and ages from Egypt and around the world will attempt to find out what will design, craft and industry look like with the increasing proliferation of future digital technologies.

The Designathon will be split into three modules: Design for Industry, Design for Crafts and Design for Social Impact. Within the modules, the Designathon will include challenges addressing the disruption caused by digital manufacturing and open-source design tools. There will be six design challenges, including a focus on furniture design, light fixtures, woodwork crafts, brass crafts, social design, and environmental design.

This year’s Designathon will also feature 16 design talks by renowned designers and three International Design film screenings in partnership with Film My Design.

The Cairo Designathon is open to both people living in Egypt and abroad. The deadline to apply is 1 April 2021, with the Designathon taking place online between 17 April and 21 April. To find out more or to register to participate, visit CairoDesignathon.com.