IFI Presidents Message: Embracing the UN
We are Thrilled to Announce Our New Office By The United Nations
As we move towards the 27th General Assembly, the board have been working to strengthen the secretariat which will enable the required operational strength for such important activities as a smarter and more focused membership support, Interiors professional leadership and fundraising to support future research and programmes for the interiors profession. We are pleased to share with you our new address for the IFI office close to the UN:
IFI Secretariat – New York
708 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017, USA
T +1 (212) 884-6375
F +1 (212) 884-6247
Over the last few months the board has also been on the search for a secretary general with the expertise to work with funding bodies and help with the global outreach.
Alongside governance, our strategic task in this shortened board term has been to investigate a new and appropriate 21st Century model that will serve as a sound basis for generations to come. In doing so we needed to look to the past and create a new framework that will enable our profession to move confidently into the next decades. The core descriptor for IFI, formulated during IFIās infancy many decades ago, has always been for IFI to act āas the United Nations of the Interiorsā, and this is where we began. In recent years, each board group have been always inspired by this apt description for IFI and each person has been proud of this association. To be that organisation, we need to fully represent the world. In doing so we have determined to embrace the seven regions of the UN to create a wider global outreach to build a world consensus. To begin with, a few of the regions will partner to enable smaller organisations to learn and grow from the knowledge of the larger organisations. Our findings have been directed to not changing but enhancing the global outreach so that every country and every organisation becomes more deeply involved with IFI. In doing so, that the Interiors industry, research and education are united for the betterment of the profession.
The words that are embedded in IFIās mission statement are to be the āvoice for interiors.ā Through our Blue Sky Taskforce meeting we were brought to task by our invited experts to actually become that voice. To do this, we must identify and strengthen our message to make the IFI vision current and tangible to new generations of designers. We must also establish the expanded communities that we must embrace and take our voice to. Tasked with these statements we have re-written the Advocacy Platforms with refreshed vigour. As a global organisation, definitions that we work with day-to-day around the world can sometimes be lost in translation and misinterpreted. A new glossary of terms is being developed so that we can communicate across different cultures with a better clarity. As a profession, collaboration is key to success and with this in mind a matrix of organisations is being created to help with our outreach.
2015 International Design Congress (2015 IDC)
One of the worldās leading international design gatherings, will be held in Gwangju, Repubic of Korea from Saturday, October 17 to Friday, October 23, 2015.
To Register please visit http://www.2015idc.org/
We encourage you all to work with this refreshed thinking and imbed the words of the Interiors Declaration and the Advocacy Platforms into your individual organisations. This yearās World Interiors Theme Design For All supported the ethos of IFI and we move forward knowing how our work can enrich the society economy. From this wider and stronger foundation IFIās voice will be heard and make a difference. We need to encourage more members to commit to pro bono work and grow participation at the foundation of the organisation. This will engage individuals to become fully involved and create a wider base for leadership on the board. What has become apparent from the investigations is that every region has a different approach which makes it imperative for regional leaders to work with groups within the region for true autonomy. There is no one answer. The regional leader(s) bring together committees within the associations to ascertain the voice of the region (APSDA and ECIA). This is then communicated to the regional board member which is then disseminated at board level (akin the United Nations) this way all regions are represented and it’s the responsibility of the board to bring this together as a global voice.
We are looking forward to meeting you again in Gwangju and working with you all on strengthening the regional outreach which is essential to enriching the interiors discipline.
Iris
president@ifiworld.org
Original message may be viewed here:Ā http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=eb2332dfc229844e4a843173b&id=d868d9544f
