Food is central to humans — we all eat to survive! The food sector is economically the largest in the world — yet it is facing urgent problems that design can help to address. Design processes intersect throughout the food cycle; from sourcing to production to consumption and all the way to disposal, for that reason, it holds great potential for entrepreneurial, social, environmental and artistic interventions.
Food:Fabrik is an extensive program initiated by the Goethe-Institut Jordan, which seeks to encourage the development of practical and theoretical knowledge about the emerging discipline of Food Design as part of the creative industries. The program pushes for the creation of novel ideas for the future of food by relying on design thinking. By targeting creatives from the two fields of design and gastronomy, the program aims to inspire entrepreneurial encounters in order to create new potential synergies between designers and employers across multiple industries and sectors including agri-food, hospitality and tourism, and promote job opportunities in these fields.
The core program consists of two overarching components, the first is a series of online public talks entitled FoodFeatures which will begin in November 2020 and continue throughout 2021. A selection of renowned regional and international experts from the food design industry will be invited to present their diverse research interests and practices about the topic and build a theoretical basis for the second component of the program.
The second component is a series of on-site* modules entitled FABRAKAT for a selected group of participants who will be able to apply through an open call that will be launched in 2021. Each Fabraka is intended to tackle a different aspect of Food Design using hybrid formats, including but not limited to field visits, lectures, hands-on workshops, and curated networking dinners.
Food as a material is gaining great importance in design as it is the most organic of all materials – it is temporary, natural and purposeful. Inspired by this trend, the Food:Fabrik makes a case for merging the fields of Food and Design as a future-leading sector.
*Workshops will continue as planned depending on the current pandemic situation, but could be subject to alterations.
Cooperation
The project “Cultural and Creative Industries” is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut. It improves employment and income opportunities for creative professionals in six partner countries; Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa and operates mainly in the music, fashion, design and animation sectors. In addition to promoting the development of entrepreneurial, digital, creative and technical skills through training programmes, the project aims to strengthen the framework conditions and the ecosystem of the cultural and creative industries.
