This year, we are reimagining our Saturday seminar as a more open and informal gathering. Unlike previous years, when discussions were primarily held within the GDI Faculty, we are expanding participation to include our partners and even students. We try to embrace a more dynamic format centered on sharing and co-creation, fostering free-flowing discussions and the exchange of ideas. With this in mind, we have named it "Un.Conference", reflecting its spirit of openness, collaboration, and innovation.

This un.conference seeks to bring together a diverse range design educators university leaders, researchers, and practitioners from around the world to explore how design education can foster impactful collaborations with local community initiatives, activists and other stakeholders. Through participatory sessions and open discussions, we aim to reflect on past experiences, define common goals, and create innovative approaches for the future together.

The un.conference continues the theme of the workshop "Third Places in Cologne:Designing Transformations for Convivial Encounters" by reflecting on the proposals developed by the project groups and the views of the actors from Cologne with whom we worked during the week. The actors are essentially initiatives and organizations that make important contributions to the sustainable development of Cologne in away that is oriented towards common good. While the workshop is looking for ways to strengthen these actors, build new relationships where possible, create interventions as urban plug-ins and thus aims at being important contribution from the design perspective, the un.conference format should be a further development of the workshop setting and actively involve all participants.

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