Cairo’s Only Designathon Awards Global Design Talent

On 1 May 2021, in a viral live online video broadcast, Cairo Designathon Round II (CDRII) concluded its design marathon announcing the winning teams for the second edition of the MENA region’s only online collaborative design marathon.

CDRII attempted to imagine what design, craft and industry will look like with the increased proliferation of future digital technologies.

CDRII, which launched in March under the theme “Design Future Past”, accepted 150 participants to compete in 17 teams across four design challenges, including furniture design, light fixtures design, woodwork crafts, and social design. Each challenge was guided by a stakeholder from the industry and area of impact, including Pinocchio Furniture, 3 Brother Lighting, Nadim Group, and Megawra Built Environment Collective.

During the five-day challenge, teams of Egyptian and international designers from various design disciplines and ages worked collaboratively in their assigned design challenges in a series of online design workshops across multiple collaborative platforms.

The event featured 16 design talks by renowned Egyptian and International designers, and three international design films screenings in partnership with the “Film My Design” film festival.

The design marathon took place online from 17 to 21 April to, ending in three international jury sessions on 22 April, with esteemed jurors from around the globe picking four winning teams, one in each design challenge, and four runner-up teams.

The winning teams are each receiving 10,000 EGP at the CDRII Award Ceremony and showcasing their designs at The Design Show and Cairo Design Awards and international publishing and exposure.

Designers participated in Cairo Designathon Round II from 14 countries including Egypt, Italy, Kuwait, Spain, Portugal, Lebanon, Germany, Netherlands, Iran, Denmark, Yemen, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.

To find out more, visit CairoDesignathon.com.