Bilbao Bizkaia Design Week (BBDW) is an event organised by the Bilbao City Council and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia through the public entities, Bilbao Ekintza and BEAZ, respectively.
It aims to promote the development of the creative industries, one of the leading strategic undertakings of the city under the smart specialisation strategy.
This is an annual event held in November. It includes numerous activities including conferences, workshops, presentations, meetings or exhibitions held in different areas of the city. It is developed in close collaboration with the leading stakeholders in the design ecosystem in Bilbao and Bizkaia: Professional bodies and associations, clusters, universities, businesses and professionals from the sector.
The event revolves around presentations, activities and visits programmed in a wide diversity of disciplines linked to design. These include graphic, product or service design, social design, architecture, interior design, fashion, crafts, audiovisual content, video games and advertising, among other creative disciplines.
Some of the most relevant objectives include:
- Creating meeting spaces where professionals and young students of these disciplines can expand and exchange knowledge and where networking between the educational, business and institutional world is fostered.
- Promoting collaboration between industry and the creative sector to encourage innovation and competitiveness in the industrial sector.
- Displaying the latest trends in the world of design and creative industries in general.
- Offering visibility to local talent and projecting it internationally.
- Creating awareness on the importance of design in the evolution of the urban environment and economic fabric.
- Making visible the fact that Bilbao belongs to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the Design category.