KOCHI: The two-day Kochi Design Week (KDW) is on at the Bolgatty Convention Centre on Bolgatty Island in Kochi. The event, inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the presence of Industries Minister P Rajeeve, is being held after a hiatus of two years. Though the event — the maiden edition of which was launched in 2018 -- is being heralded as one that will work towards providing solutions to various problems in day-to-day life and hence, society as a whole, a lot of questions crop up regarding the design week itself.
An industry insider, on condition of anonymity, said a lot seems to be missing with regard to KDW. “The first thing is the name. It is called Kochi Design Week. However, if you take a look at the event’s dates, it’s quite misleading. How can a two-day event be called Kochi Design Week? Next comes the question as to who is behind it. Normally, the website of an organisation gives information about those associated with it, besides other details. However, no such thing is available on the KDW website,” he said.
“Who are the persons behind KDW? Is it the state government itself? And if it is the government, why does the web address read .org?” he asked. “Its application for trademark registration filed in 2019 was rejected,” he added. “So, in effect, if any person decides to launch something along the same lines, they will be able to do that,” he said. “There is no transparency,” he added. Also, what is the connection between design and IT, he asked. “How can the state government associate with an organisation which doesn’t even have a physical office space?” asked the insider.
However, as to the issue of transparency and the unstructured aspect of KDW, Anoop Ambika, CEO, of Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), said: “By the next edition, the event will become more structured and transparent. Everything, right from who’s who and what is what will be available.”
“This time, KSUM is loosely associated with the KDW since the mission doesn’t have the bandwidth to conduct such an event. The people associated with KDW have strong connections with those in the industry,” he said. “KDW is being run by a group of people in Ernakulam. It is a trust,” he added.
“KSUM is supporting the event since we believe that design is going to be a major thrust in the coming days,” he said. KSUM is providing `30 lakh in funds for the event. “We have released `12 lakh and the rest will be given later,” he said.