Ravi Naidoo, founder and managing director of Interactive Africa and Design Indaba, has delivered a keynote in the first day of reSITE for this year’s theme REGENERATE.

Interactive Africa is a Cape Town-based company that combines marketing, project management, logistic prowess and creative production to work on projects that promote South Africa.

Design Indaba, a creation of Interactive Africa, is an online publication with an annual festival and social impact, Do Tank that inspires and empowers people to create a better future through design and creativity. 

"Creativity is the ultimate renewable source of energy," said Ravi Naidoo. 

"What’s design for? Is it in service for people? Give it a higher purpose and a more noble service, not just for consumption, but to improve the quality of life, not just for the haves, but the have nots," added Naidoo.

Design Indaba has become a respected institution on the global creative landscape, based on the foundation of its annual festival that has attracted and showcased the world’s brightest talent since 1995.

Ravi Naidoo started his lecture by explaining the poetic story of Design India on what is it exactly for. He explained that how the annual conference is creating an an-depth impact through creativity and ideas that force the making in South African landscape. 

"Event or conferences are not talkshows," said Naidoo. "With Design Indaba, we try to change the algebra of South Africa," he added. 

"Design Indaba just tries to be stretch, the conference tries to regenerate the community economically, socially and with a community-based approach that makes everyone involved through the process."

"We are trying to set the conference's purpose into three major steps: firstly, it is a performance, secondly, we are trying to giving it back to the community as simple as possible wit honesty. And thirdly, we are advocates of what we do through the conference, so we are also creating multiple projects with the local community."

"But before that, we need to ask: what is design for? why do we do that? Design is a new economic landscape. Design is not only for consumption, it should put high level questions to give dignity, or novelty" added Naidoo. 

"Design should bring a high level of quality to the people and life so you can force it through creativity and by only asking and demanding."

"South Africa has a housing crisis and we implemented many projects with the local community through Design Indaba, because we know local materials, skills, talents, our local power and budget," explained Naidoo. 

"Design Indaba is also about creating a memory for people. We should also ask: can design enhance democracy? Yes. Thomas Heatherwick's Zeitz MOCAA is one of these examples how it changed Cape Town. The building is the first major cultural institution for art built in Cape Town so far. 

reSITE, an annual global forum discussing the most urgent issues in the urbanized world, is taking place from 19-20 September 2019 in Prague's Forum Karlin, Czech Republic. 

The annual conference reSITE’s theme REGENERATE will explore the essential questions on environmentally policies to create resilient infrastructure, while the conference will also discuss how smart technologies will solve and coordinate the urban challenges faced by Prague with open discussion on the topic of digitization in urban settings.

World Architecture Community is media partner for this year's event and is bringing you the hottest topics, live-discussions and keynote sessions from the two-day event with exclusive interviews. 

This year, Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio, Yosuke Hayano, Principal Partner of MAD Architects and Almada's Mayor Inês de Medeiros, Czech born architect Eva Jiřičná, Founder and Director of the AI DESIGN will be among the anticipated speakers to catapult Prague to the center of the international design and policy world again.

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