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INDEX: is a Denmark
-based nonprofit organization
which works towards promoting designs aimed at the improvement of the life of people worldwide, both in developed and developing countries.
It was established in 2002 under the patronage of the Crown Prince of Denmark. It is supported by the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs, the Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority, Den Obelske Familiefond and Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorck’s Fond.
INDEX: was initially proposed by designer Johan Adam Lindeballe and Danish Permanent Secretary
Jørgen Rosted as a world design event in order to promote Denmark, to attract tourism and investments. However soon it acquired a global perspective and its mission has become expressed in its motto: "Design to Improve Life".
Design to Improve Life is promoted my means of the design award (INDEX: Award), a world-touring exhibition, a summer camp, conferences, and publications.
Projects from all over the world are nominated for the Award, to be judged by an international jury. The award is given out in five categories – Body, Home, Work, Play and Community.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
-based nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
which works towards promoting designs aimed at the improvement of the life of people worldwide, both in developed and developing countries.
It was established in 2002 under the patronage of the Crown Prince of Denmark. It is supported by the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs, the Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority, Den Obelske Familiefond and Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorck’s Fond.
INDEX: was initially proposed by designer Johan Adam Lindeballe and Danish Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
Jørgen Rosted as a world design event in order to promote Denmark, to attract tourism and investments. However soon it acquired a global perspective and its mission has become expressed in its motto: "Design to Improve Life".
Design to Improve Life is promoted my means of the design award (INDEX: Award), a world-touring exhibition, a summer camp, conferences, and publications.
INDEX: Award
The biennial INDEX: Award was initiated in 2005. Financed by the state of Denmark, with a total prize sum of 500,000 euros, it became world's largest monetary award in the area of design. Award presentation has becoma a major even, with an exhibition fo the finalists sited in public squares of hosting cities with free admission.Projects from all over the world are nominated for the Award, to be judged by an international jury. The award is given out in five categories – Body, Home, Work, Play and Community.
2009
In 2009, there were over 700 nominations from 54 countries.- Design to Improve Life - e-TypesE-Typese-Types is a strategic design agency based in Copenhagen. It employs 30 designers, strategists and account managers. Since 2006 e-Types has been subject to academic research by scholars from Copenhagen Business School and Harvard Business School....
(Medilabel Safety System)
2007
- Body Award: Sebastien Dubois for his "Mobility for Each One", an energy-return prosthetic foot that can been produced for $8 in a local workshop versus the standard $1,300 to $4,000.
- Home Award: Alberto Meda and Francisco Gomez Paz for their "Solar Bottle", a low cost water purification bottle.
- Work Award: Philip Greer, Lisa Stroux, Graeme Davies and Chris Huntley for the "Tongue Sucker", a simple device, easy to use in an emergency to draw to tongue of an unconscious person, make the airway unobstructed and hence assist CPR in time-critical situations.
- Play Award: Elon Musk, Martin Eberhard and Barney Hatt for the "Tesla RoadsterTesla RoadsterThe Tesla Roadster is a battery electric vehicle sports car produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors in California. The Roadster was the first highway-capable all-electric vehicle in serial production available in the United States. Since 2008 Tesla has sold 2,024 Roadsters in 30 countries...
" a 100% electrical powered sports car with zero emissions and power cost approximately 2 cents per mile. - Community Award: Rebecca AllenRebecca AllenRebecca Allen is an international artist inspired by a variety of media to create work from 3-D computer graphics, animation, music videos, video games, performance works, artificial life systems, multisensory interfaces, interactive installations, virtual and mixed reality.- Biography :Allen's...
, Christopher BlizzardChristopher BlizzardChristopher Blizzard is an Open Source Evangelist working for the Mozilla Corporation and a long-time contributor to Open Source projects, notably with Mozilla, Red Hat, and One Laptop Per Child....
, V. Michael Bove, Yves BeharYves BeharYves Béhar is a designer, entrepreneur, and sustainability advocate. He is the founder of fuseproject, the San Francisco and New York based design and branding firm he established in 1999...
, Sergio Romero de Azevedo, Walter BenderWalter BenderWalter Bender is technologist and researcher who has made important contributions in the field of electronic publishing, media, and technology for learning. Bender is on leave as a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab which he led as executive director between 2000 and 2006...
, Michail Bletsas, Mark Foster, Jacques Gagne, Mary Lou Jepson, Nicholas NegroponteNicholas NegroponteNicholas Negroponte is an American architect best known as the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and also known as the founder of the One Laptop per Child Association ....
and Lisa StrausfeldLisa StrausfeldLisa Strausfeld is an American design professional. She is a leading Information architect.-Early life:Lisa Strausfeld born in central New Jersey, one of a set of twin daughters of an ob-gyn and an urban planner...
, for the affordable XO Laptop. - People's Choice Award: Han Pham for "Antivirus", which is a cap to be placed onto a soda can to be used asfor safe disposal of hypodermic needleHypodermic needleA hypodermic needle is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to inject substances into the body or extract fluids from it...
s in low income countries, where these needles are commonly found in trash and thus increase the rates of transmission of diseases and needle injuries.We all hate needles:P
Key people
- Johan Adam Lindeballe, initiator
- Jørgen Rosted, initiator
- Kigge Hvid, founding CEO