About
Cumulus Green 2024: Designing Healthy Future invites all students from Cumulus member institutions to submit art and design projects that may contribute to fulfilling the vision of the United Nations’ SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. The focus is on exploring how art and design can play a role in improving global health and well-being also addressing challenges such as disease prevention, healthcare access, and overall public health.
The competition acknowledges the global resource challenge, emphasizing the need for creative contributions from the art and design community to address issues related to universal health and well-being. It aims to align with the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, focusing on fostering a healthier and more prosperous world. The competition is administered by Cumulus Secretariat with oversight by Cumulus Executive Board. Cumulus DEHA Working Group (Healthcare and Well-being) gives its valuable contribution to this competition.
Design for Health and Well-being is an evolving field that recognizes the profound role that Design plays in ensuring improved individual and collective health. This discipline encloses design processes geared towards fostering innovation in products, services, and systems with a direct impact on health. From healthcare environments to lifestyle products, it spans the entire spectrum, addressing aspects such as prevention, treatment, and overall holistic well-being. Design for Health and Well-being recognizes the intricate relationship between our quality of life, daily practices and surroundings supporting thoughtful and innovative design interventions to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and communities.
Cumulus Green 2024 features a distinguished global jury e.g. from academia and practice, comprising experts in healthcare, art and design for health and well-being, global health systems and well-being economy. The competition is produced in a strategic partnership between Cumulus and The One Club for Creativity and leverages The One Club for Creativity award-winning submission and judging platform.
Designing Healthy Future invites all students from Cumulus member institutions to consider submissions for art, design and media projects that may contribute to fulfilling the vision of the United Nations’ SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and how we may transform our systems creating better conditions for an equitable and environmentally prosperous world. The focus is on exploring how art and design can play a role in improving global health and well-being – addressing challenges such as disease prevention, healthcare access, and overall public health.
The competition recognizes the global resource challenge necessitating creative contributions of the art and design community to prevent people from suffering, enabling life with well-being and health and to meet the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. We keep in mind societal progress is about improvements in the well-being of people and households.
Items around Health and Well-being
1. Maternal mortality – By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 live births.
2. Neonatal and child mortality – By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births.
3. Infectious diseases – By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, and combat hepatitis, waterborne diseases and other communicable diseases.
4. Substance abuse – Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
5. Road traffic – By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
6. Sexual and reproductive health – By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.
7. Universal health coverage – Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services, and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
8. Environmental health and Quality – By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
9. and more: Income, Work and Job Quality, Housing, Safety, Knowledge and Skills, Data, Inter-operationality, Tolerance, Quality of life, Equal opportunities, Solidarity, Employment, Dignity, Resilience
Challenges that may matter with SDG3
Dealing with life’s challenges such as and much more than here;
• Healthy lifestyle
• Fight diseases
• Access to healthcare
• Catastrophes
• Wars
• Loneliness
• Maintaining healthy relationships and mental well-being
• Money
• Well-being at work, housing
• Discrimination
• Bereavement and traumatic events
• Health issues
• Life change
• Lockdowns
• Smoking, drinking, drug use
• Harnessing Advanced Health Technology
• Information and Integrated Health Services
• Cybersecurity
• Rising Healthcare Costs
• Pressure on Pharmaceutical Prices
• Healthcare Regulatory Changes
• Healthcare Staffing Shortages
• External Market Disruption
Cumulus Green 2024: The One and Only Invitation to Take Action
More than just a design competition for students, Cumulus Green is a collective effort to redefine the future through creative and design thinking.
Dear Cumulusians,
In times of permacrisis Cumulus GREEN represents an invitation to rethink the meaning and purpose of Design by tackling challenges for the real world based on the UN SDGs. We live in a non-stop cascade of crises impacting health and well-being, among them to mention: slurring growth, surging inflation, poor policy responses, an escalating climate emergency, worsening inequality, increasing nationalism and a decline in global co-operation.
The competition invites Cumulus Member’s students to explore the interconnected opportunities associated with the challenge of envisioning what is required to ensure good health and well-being for a global population exceeding 9 billion people. In addressing the critical issues surrounding health and well-being for all at all ages, the competition seeks for innovative design solutions that can act as catalysts for positive change in shaping a healthier future.
More than a competition for design students to propose solutions, Cumulus Green is a global collective effort to redefine the future through creativity and design.
There are references you might like to start inspiring yourself with a few of our recommendations a short curated library of materials and links that may provide helpful references to everyone considering a submission.
UN Sustainable Development – Health
OECD Health
OECD Measuring Wellbeing and Progress
European Commission – Public Health
European Commission – Mental Health
Wellbeing Economy in Europe
The Societal Value of the Arts and Culture
Welcome to join!
Chairs Anne Pikkov and Angela Giambattista
Cumulus Executive Board and Secretariat
Why SDG3?
A Never-Ending Issue
Cumulus Green wants to encourage innovative solutions that relate to one or more of the following three (3) categories.
Products, Systems and Services
Student proposals can address various challenges and solutions can vary in scale.
Despite progress in various sectors, due to the progress of scientific research and the increase in life expectancy, global health challenges still persist, while others emerge. Every year 6 million children under 5 years of age and approximately 300,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth. 400 million people do not have access to services for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases or to health care services in general. Moreover, people’s health globally is threatened by emerging or remaining phenomena: the high contamination rates of air, water and land, the increasing of noncommunicable diseases and the rise of mental health disorders. Additionally, the growing elderly population, the growth of healthcare costs, the lack of healthcare professionals and the opportunities offered by digital technologies add layers of complexity to the global health and well-being landscape.
To give food for thought, the concepts of health and well-being can focus on meeting the fundamental needs and rights of all, providing a safe and just space in which everyone can thrive, within planetary boundaries. It tries to deliver purpose, dignity, and fairness in a participatory way.
Where our planet is now, due to man-made conflicts, climate change and economic downturns, the well-being and health insist on solutions by art, design and media.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Cumulus Green 2024 is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.
The 17 SDGs are broad based and interdependent goals to be achieved by 2030. The SDGs redefine how the global community can work together to tackle poverty and improve living standards, while protecting the environment.
Cumulus Green & The Kyoto Design Declaration
Cumulus Green 2024 competition builds on the enduring legacy of the Kyoto Design Declaration, a shared statement of commitment to building sustainable, human-centered and creative societies ratified by all Cumulus members in March 2008 in Kyoto Japan.
Cumulus Green was conceived as a tool to address its message in various ways. At its upmost, it acts as a student design competition since 2009 that promoting the vision of Kyoto Design Declaration.
In 2020, Cumulus relaunched Cumulus Green: For a New Circular Economy as a biennial student competition that always aligns with one of the SDGs. The edition of 2022 Nurturing the Planet continued to embody the spirit of global citizenship of Cumulus members, highlighting the talent, creativity and diversity of all Cumulus students.
