APDF President Successfully Wraps Up Exchange Visit to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand
Date：2025-04-16
From April 2nd to April 14th, 2025, Oskar Ho, President of the Asia Pacific Designers Federation (APDF), embarked on a design exchange tour across three Southeast Asian countries. He visited four cities in sequence: Singapore, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok. During his trip, he paid visits to three design institutions, three design organizations, and one design enterprise, DPI. Meanwhile, President Oskar also held online meetings with the University of Malaya, Taylor's Design School, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, and the National Creative and Design Center in Bangkok as scheduled to discuss future cooperation matters.
As the first stop of this Southeast Asian visit, Singapore saw Oskar Ho meeting with Jeff CHIA (Dsg) and Pei Xuan LEE, relevant officials from the Singapore Design Council, on April 3rd. They reached a cooperation intention between the two sides and initially clarified the cooperation contents, including mutual recognition of awards and collaboration, joint curating of the Singapore Design Week, the touring exhibition plan for IAI award-winning works, and brand linkage promotion between the two parties.
On April 4th, President Oskar Ho was invited to visit the School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore for exchanges. He engaged in in-depth communication and discussion with Prof. Jesvin, the Dean of the School of Art, Design and Media Communication at NTU, and Dr. Anthony.leow, the Chief Academic Officer. They reached a consensus on jointly promoting industry-academia-research cooperation projects in the future, including those based on the IAI Design Award competition, establishing joint workshops, and conducting faculty exchange programs.
On the 7th, President Oskar Ho arrived in Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah, Malaysia, to preside over the core event of this Southeast Asia exchange tour - the unveiling ceremony for the inauguration of the first Southeast Asia representative office of the Asia Pacific Designers Federation (APDF). Datuk Willson Young, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sabah Institute of Art (a presumed relevant institution in context, as there's no exact equivalent named institution in public records, but it fits the context of art and education in Sabah), a Justice of the Peace, and other attendees such as representatives from design organizations, designers, students, and media in Sabah, Malaysia, were present at the event. The establishment of the APDF Sabah Representative Office marks the beginning of the Asia Pacific Designers Federation's genuine approach to Southeast Asia and the promotion of design cooperation with Southeast Asian countries. Subsequently, President Oskar Ho also visited the Sabah Architects Institute and had in-depth discussions with its current president, Ar. Sharon Magdalene Amin, and secretary-general, Ar. Justin Yong. They jointly explored the future establishment of a "Borneo Eco-Material Innovation Center" in collaboration with the University of Sabah to research and develop low-carbon building materials such as mangrove fiber and palm shell. They also proposed adding an "ASEAN Carbon-Neutral City Special Award" to promote innovative practices like zero-waste islands, as well as organizing an "ASEAN Design Hackathon" to gather young people to use AI to solve spatial design challenges amid rising sea levels. Both parties expressed strong cooperation intentions and reached a consensus on establishing close cooperation.
On April 9th, at the Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia (the Malaysian Institute of Architects) located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, Chairman Adjunct Prof. Ar. Adrainta bin Aziz, Secretary-General Nor Suryati Sulong, and Secretary Ar Alvin Lim Hai Seah met President Oskar Ho in their office at the Bandar Building. The hosts and guests engaged in a pleasant exchange and reached a high level of consensus on cooperation, including design activities such as design competitions and design study tours. Both parties jointly expressed their willingness to strengthen communication on more specific cooperation and to expedite a series of project collaborations between the two sides.
On the afternoon of the 10th, on the eve of his departure from Malaysia, President Oskar Ho also paid a special visit to the DPI headquarters in downtown Kuala Lumpur and had a cordial meeting and a pleasant dinner with Dato' Dr. Tan Su Cheng, whom he had known for over a decade.
On April 11th, President Oskar Ho arrived in Bangkok, marking the final stop of his visit and exchange tour. Professor Asst. Prof. Dr. Sirada Vaiyavatjamai, Dean of the School of Design at Rangsit University, and Professor Asst. Prof. Dr. Sammiti Sukbunjhong, Vice Dean in charge of international affairs, accompanied President Oskar Ho on a tour of the student work exhibition in the exhibition hall. They also visited various design departments on different floors. After listening to detailed introductions about the majors and teaching, the hosts and guests gathered in a conference room for productive discussions and exchanges on cooperation. Both parties expressed clear cooperation intentions and looked forward to the early implementation and fruition of cooperative projects.
This Southeast Asia design exchange tour represents not only a strategic leap for the Asia Pacific Designers Federation (APDF) in deepening regional cooperation but also a practical declaration of addressing global climate challenges through the power of design. By establishing physical hubs, launching industry-academia collaboration projects, and incubating sustainable innovation initiatives, APDF has successfully built a design collaboration network connecting Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, integrating academic research, industrial practice, and cultural integration into a unified value framework. In the future, with the implementation of projects such as eco-material research and development, AI design competitions, and educational direct pathways, the outcomes of this tour will be transformed into a powerful engine driving sustainable transformation in the Asia-Pacific region, witnessing the evolution of design from regional innovation to global solutions.
