Puerto Rico, a territory of the US, uniquely connects with and is representative of the Latin American Design community. CODDI – the Colegio de Decoradores y Disenadores de lnteriores in Puerto Rico, is a steadfast organization with a mission to help promote and connect the Interiors profession among likeminded professionals and the general public. Founded in 1976, in April, 2016, CODDI celebrated their 40th anniversary with their first and historic adoption of the Interiors Declaration and with the organization of an informative and important design convention. CODDI works to connect Interiors professionals with their clients and to promote design of better places affecting society and to influence social conditions. They also work to help build a unified design community which supports improved and livable environments by contributing positively to the social fabric and quality of life. To accomplish this, CODDI implements and encourage high quality training and professional execution, one example of which is their dedicated committee working with local institutions or communities in need for advancement by design. Celebrating many accomplishments during the past 40 years, we are pleased that CODDI programmed the important IFI Declaration Adoptions initiative in their milestone commemorative year. CODDI was voted into IFI at IFI’s tenth General Assembly meeting held in Helsinki in 1981.
CODDI lobbied for Bayamón, to become the first Puerto Rican city to adopt the Interiors Declaration, thereby, setting a tone of progressive and wholesome design thinking into the future. The adoption ceremony took place with Mayor Ramón Luis Rivera Cruz Jr. in the elegant Bayamón Museum of Art. We are proud to have the city of Bayamón, as well as CODDI, support this important adoption. By doing so, they strike a rallying call for all Puerto Ricans to pioneer improved directions in design and education, now and into the future.
IFI congratulates CODDI President Margaret R. Diaz Muñoz for her tremendous leadership of CODDI and on her re-election as President. IFI also congratulates the CODDI Executive Board; Ingrid Velázquez (1st Vice President) Victor Velez (2nd Vice-President), and directors Sandra Becerra, Ingrid Diaz, Christine Bouret, Olga Prann, Cristina Zabala, Carmen Calderon, Adriana Canellas, and José Belén. We take this opportunity to thank the CODDI secretariat staff Acevedo Crucilda, Rosario Lecaroz, and Maria Adelaida Rodrigo for helping to host such a marvelous gathering.
We especially acknowledge and commend 2015-2017 IFI Executive Board member Roberto Lucena (also a member of CODDI), who worked tirelessly to help realize this important accomplishment for Puerto Rico, IFI and the Interiors profession at large.
Sebastiano
president@ifiworld.org