The 2017 Impact Summit is coming to Toronto this May 8 and 9, 2017.
The Summit will be the first ever in Canada, jointly hosted by Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), at the Omni King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto. Summit attendees will include senior practitioners, thought leaders and emerging influencers drawn from the fields of design and architecture, academia, business and the non-profit sector.
The conference will facilitate an intimate experience, allowing for one-on-one time with experts and peers drawn from the design field and beyond. Walking tours, coordinated with the team at Daniels Corporation, will be led by principal architects David Miller of MJMA and Susan Spencer Lewin of CS&P Architects – providing excellent insight as they are key players from the design teams which worked on key buildings within the Regent Park regeneration program.
Three panels of experts will share their expertise on migration, culture and diversity and how to respond most effectively and inclusively to these challenges which remain at the forefront of the media as well as political, socio-economic, and human rights agendas. A series of three ‘hands-on’ breakout sessions will follow each panel discussion, and include the participation of these subject experts.
Summit attendees will therefore actively contribute to expert discussions and breakout sessions geared towards forging solutions on how to build and sustain the cohesive, integrated, inclusive societies that North America needs, both now and in the future. Those discussions will be synthesized to result in a White Paper-style document, highlighting both the challenges and potential solutions identified during Impact Summit 2017.
Keynote Speaker on the morning of Day 1 (May 8) is The Honourable Ratna Omidvar, C.M., O.Ont. Senator for Ontario, The Senate of Canada. She is also Distinguished Visiting Professor, Global Diversity Exchange (GDX) at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University
An internationally-recognized voice on migration, diversity and inclusion, she is both founding Executive Director and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Global Diversity Exchange (GDX), Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, Toronto. Ratna Omidvar was made an (independent) Senator by Prime Minister Trudeau in recognition of her advocacy work on behalf of immigrants, and reducing inequality in Canada.
The lunchtime address (also on Day 1, May 8) will be delivered by Richard van der Laken, an acclaimed Dutch graphic designer, entrepreneur, initiator and founder of the internationally-active group ‘What Design Can Do’ which partners with the IKEA Foundation, UNHCR, global sustainability engineering consultancy ARUP and others to tackle major issues such as climate change and international refugee crises. Richard is on a ‘fierceless mission’ as an unlikely globetrotting ambassador for the social impact of design.
