For the kitchen company Poggenpohl, the Arabian Gulf region is developing into an increasingly important market in terms of sales. The multiple red dot winning company has now been awarded another large contract, this time to equip over 1,600 kitchens in the “Jumeirah Golf Estates” luxury residences. The exclusive villas, town houses and apartments will be ready for occupancy in 2011. The kitchens for the luxury residences will be designed by Poggenpohl in close cooperation with the English star cook Jamie Oliver.

As the founder of the ‘World Design Capital’ project and Senator of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), Professor Dr. Peter Zec spoke at the international conference ’Shaping the Global Design Agenda’ in Turin on November 6, 2008 in order to present the project in the context of the Global Design Agenda. The conference provided a global platform for decision-makers and representatives from the fields of design and politics for the exchange of ideas, experiences and the best possible methods to develop and implement effective and successful design policy.

At the closing ceremony of the “Seoul Design Olympiad” on 30 October, design expert Professor Dr. Peter Zec, Senator of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) and initiator of the “World Design Capital” project, will congratulate the city of Seoul on the extraordinary success of the 21-day design festival.

On 30 October 2008 the annual meeting of the “Seoul International Business Advisory Council”, the circle of advisors of the city of Seoul, will take place in Seoul. This year’s meeting will be held under the motto “Seoul: A City of Culture-Nomics with Creative Design”. Professor Dr. Peter Zec, who has been the only design advisor supporting the advisory council for more than one year now, will as a design and business expert comment on the topic “How to build Seoul brand as a ‘Culture-nomic’ city?” in a discussion panel.

Design and business expert Professor Dr. Peter Zec again travelled to Hong Kong this year in order to provide his professional judgement. This time he was invited to the Design for Asia (DFA) Award 2008 in order to be a member of the jury for the “DFA Grand Award”.

The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) and the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda), partners in the International Design Alliance (IDA), have officially signed an agreement welcoming the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) as the IDA's newest partner.

From 13 to 23 September 2008 London will celebrate itself for the sixth time as one of the most important design centres in the world at the largest annual design festival in the UK, the London Design Festival. Supported by the government and leading corporations, hundreds of projects and events will take place throughout the whole city.