Design and social responsibility
Design is not only about form and function, but also about social responsibility. Across the many fields of design culture, more and more people are seeking tools, methods, and approaches that can help improve the quality of life for disadvantaged groups – whether underprivileged, vulnerable, or marginalised on the basis of religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or health.
Our thematic day explores how design can contribute to building a fairer, more inclusive society, and how design thinking can create opportunities for disadvantaged communities.
We will showcase projects, initiatives, and best practices that harness the power of design to advance social inclusion – whether by improving everyday situations, increasing the visibility of underrepresented groups, or encouraging participation.
The event fosters dialogue among students, educators, practising designers, and all those curious about how design can evolve into a responsive, supportive force in contemporary society.
Programme
Speaker
Abstract
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Elke Krasny (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna)
Abstract
Traditionally, museum care has been defined and understood as the preservation of objects held in museum collections. But what if the concept of museum care were expanded to include atmospheres, bodies, environments, minds, and infrastructures? What if we shifted from institutional critique to infrastructural transformation? This lecture examines the conventional understanding of museum care through the analytical lens of feminist ethics of care. It also offers historical and contemporary examples of how the committed practices of museum professionals, including curatorial work, are challenging and transforming what museum care is, and what it can do. The goal is for museums to become spaces for complex encounters, activist practice, and learning from one another in new and different ways.
Speaker
Abstract
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling (University of Art and Design, Offenbach)
Abstract
Tom Bieling explores the ambiguities of cooperation and community, and how they can become central concerns in design research. His keynote describes how belonging and collective engagement are shaped through design practices, and why these processes are never straightforward but entangled with paradoxes and tensions. He also reflects on challenges within the research process itself, particularly in inter- and transdisciplinary settings, drawing on examples from his own projects.
Participants
Participants
MOME alumni photographers Franciska Legát and Anita Horváth
Panelists
Panelists
Design – Responsibility – Inclusivity – Roundtable Discussion with Judit Bényei (MOME), Beáta Sosity (MOME), Luca Szabados (MOME lecturer), Anita Takár (Csillagház), Kálmán Tar (EKKE, MOME) Anna Vékony (MOME alumna)
Speakers
Speakers
Roberta Bertók, Anna Göttler, Bálint Kalmár, Sebestyén Povedák, and Noémi Magdolna Varga
Details
Details
Workshop by MOME and Független Színház
Details
Details
Film screening by Tamara Labovszky, Zoltán Mezei, Barna Simo Lakatos, and Eszter S. Szigethy
Registration
registration is required to attend.
Organisers
habilitated associate professor, Tudásközpontvezető, supervisor
Guest Lecturers
Prof. Dr. Elke Krasny
Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Dr. Krasny’s research focuses on the histories, epistemologies, and practices of transnational feminisms, as well as on the politics of memory, and the dimensions of care and social and ecological justice in architecture, urbanism, and contemporary art. Recent publications include Living with an Infected Planet. Covid-19, Feminism and the Global Frontline of Care (2023) and Feminist Infrastructural Critique (2024), co-edited with Sophie Lingg and Claudia Lomoschitz.
Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling
Tom Bieling is Professor of Design Theory at the University of Art and Design HfG Offenbach. He is editor of the DESIGNABILITIES Design Research Journal and co-editor of the book series BIRD (Birkhäuser) of the Board of International Research in Design, and Design Meanings (Mimesis). He has held positions as Vertretungsprofessor of design theory and research at HAW Hamburg, Visiting Professor at the University of Trento and the German University in Cairo and has also taught Designwissenschaft (Design Studies) at HAWK Hildesheim. He is co-founder of the Design Research Network and the Initiative Design promoviert, and co-host of the NERD conference series. His award-winning works have been exhibited worldwide. He completed his doctorate at Berlin University of the Arts (UdK), and is the author and (co-)editor of numerous publications, including Gender Puppets (2008), Design (&) Activism (2019), Inklusion als Entwurf (Inclusion as Design, 2019), Gender (&) Design (2020), Specology – zu einer ästhetischen Forschung (on aesthetic research, 2023), Nutzen statt Besitzen – revisited (2025), and Community (&) Design (2026).