WHO ARE WE?
The International Design Clinic, or IDC, is an independent, not-for-profit organization that gives students of design the chance to design and construct projects that will benefit communities in need throughout the world.
WHY DO WE EXIST?
The International Design Clinic exists for three reasons:
1. WE BELIEVE THAT OUR WORLD IS IN NEED.
In the developing world alone, more than 1.2 billion people currently live below the international poverty line and over 640 million children do not have adequate shelter. In these countries, eleven million children younger than 5 die every year. Worldwide, almost one billion people live in slums, including 56 million in developed countries. If nothing is done, these numbers will only increase. –more–
2. WE BELIEVE THAT THESE NEEDS REQUIRE CREATIVE SOLUTIONS.
These conditions have prompted an army of aid organizations, multi-national corporations and citizens to give time, money, and resources to those in need. The intent behind this support is to allow those torn apart by disaster to reconstruct their lives so that over time, they might regain their ability to obtain food, shelter, education, and medicine without external intervention.
Sadly, such long-term solutions are quite rare. Although disease may be eradicated by a one-time vaccination, other effects of poverty, such as homelessness, hunger, and education, require solutions that can be adopted and evolved by the communities they are intended to serve. This is why an organization can build a hundred thousand vinyl sided homes in an impoverished South American community or give billions of dollars of produce to a starving people without ever meeting the needs of either community. In these scenarios, by using a foreign solution to address a local problem the humanitarian agency has robbed the people, which has neither the materials nor the expertise to build upon the offered solution, of self-sufficiency. Although the situation faced by each community in the short-term might be radically improved, their long-term prospectus remains virtually unchanged, unless the given solution is continually propped up by the outside world. Left without this constant infusion of money, effort and time, the gift will gradually fade into memory and the local population will invariably return to their former state. To prove the validity of this assertion, one has only to look upon the litany of poorly attended community programming, rarely used public services and empty, dilapidated community buildings that surround the poorest areas of the world.
In order to reverse this situation, those being served must feel that the gift is not a well-intentioned imposition of the outside world, but a vital asset that grew from within. Only then will the project become part of the community, surrounded by motivated individuals who are vested in its success. Thus, although money and effort are required to address every need, long-term change is quite often less a question of time, effort, or money, than it is the strategic allocation of each.
Obviously, said strategies cannot be mass-produced or reapplied. Thus, every solution offered by the IDC is designed to fit the specific means, culture, and traditions of each community we intend to serve. Our strategies are neither a replication of existing local methods nor an imposition of foreign solutions. Rather, they are a synthesis of both traditions – a hybrid address that empowers those served to possess and evolve the given strategy in a meaningful way. Instead of offering vinyl siding we offer new ways of building based upon local traditions and materials. Instead of a fish, we offer a pole.
3. WE BELIEVE THAT STUDENTS OF DESIGN POSSESS THE UNIQUE CREATIVE TALENTS TO OFFER A SOLUTION.
Gifted with a broad education and a subsequent ability to solve complex problems, the designer is uniquely equipped to offer creative design solutions. Years of rigorous training have given the designer an innate ability to grapple with complicated situations and uncover new solutions. They are some of the greatest visionaries of our world – professionals whose creative talents enable them to find and utilize previously untapped resources within even the most restrictive situation. Within the hands of the designer, formerly overlooked materials find a new voice and existing traditions are given new life.
More importantly, OUR STUDENTS DESPERATELY WANT TO HELP. They simply lack the infrastructure to offer their talents to the global community.
The IDC exists to fill this need.
WHO BENEFITS?
Each project of the IDC is designed and constructed by our student-members, who use their creative talents to propose strategies that are custom designed to the specific needs, culture, and traditions of the communities we intend to serve. Once completed, these projects not only benefit the receiving community in a way that boilerplate solutions simply cannot; they also help to create a generation of designers who are…
A. BETTER CITIZENS – Foreign travel is a crucial part of the educational experience for all students of design. Through it, they are given the opportunity to gain valuable firsthand experience of unique cultures, as well as world-renowned works of art, architecture and design. The IDC magnifies these benefits by asking students to become active members of a community utterly unlike their own. More than simple tourism, our students are given the chance to work with people who speak a different language, have different customs, and carry different values to accomplish a single goal. The perspective gained from this experience will forever change the way both parties view themselves, their culture, and their world.
B. BETTER DESIGNERS – Through the completion of the project, the IDC will provide participating students with the opportunity to become deeply involved in all aspects of the design process, from concept through construction. Aside from the gratification of seeing something they designed come to life, this experience will allow students to work directly with clients and end users and become part of a large team working toward a common goal: constructing a work that will fill a need within our adopted community. In the process, the uncompromising principles of construction are made tangible, resulting in designers who are better equipped to offer effective design solutions once they enter the workforce.
C. BETTER CITIZEN-DESIGNERS – Most importantly, this experience will clearly demonstrate to the students the potential impact of their unique professional talents. They will have seen the lives changed by their work and measured the true value of their gifts. This insight will remain with the students for the rest of their lives, producing professionals who are more compassionate to those in need and more aware of their power to offer a solution.
As our students return from this experience, their expanded vision will undoubtedly be shared with fellow students, faculty members, and other design professionals. Their testimony will encourage others to take stock of their talents and realize that they too are UNIQUELY EQUIPPED CITIZENS, capable of offering the CREATIVE STRATEGIES required to address the circumstances faced by a WORLD that is in NEED.