In collaboration with the Embassy of the North Sea and the International Spinozaprijs Foundation, DesignLab University of Twente invited students at all Dutch and Flemish universities and academies to take part in a Latour design challenge. The aim of the competition was to come up with an instrument or method related to three urgent North Sea cases that represents the interests of non-humans while linking technology, human /non-human and society. The winner will be announced during the Philosophy of Human-Technology Relations event on 6 November 2020.
The competition
Over 100 students signed up to take part in the competition from various universities and departments, among which design, bio-inspired innovation, artificial intelligence, philosophy, industrial design, maths, sociology, law, human technology interaction, architecture, earth life and climate and many more! From the participants, nine finalists are selected, three per case (Future of the Delta, Underwater noise in the North Sea and Give a Voice to the Eel). Participants were invited to create their prototype at the DesignLab.
The finals designs were presented to the jury October 23 in NEMO/ De Studio at the Marineterrein Amsterdam. Chair of the jury is ‘Denker des Vaderlands’ Daan Roovers. The other members of the jury:
Peter Paul Verbeek, co-organiser of the design competition (professor of Philosophy of Technology UT, co-director of the DesignLab and jury member Spinozalens 2019-2020)
Antoon Vandevelde (emeritus professor of Philosophy KU Leuven, board member International Spinoza Foundation)
Louise Schouwenberg (head of department Contextual Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven)
Huub Dijstelbloem (professor of Philosophy of Science and Politics, UvA)
Finalists-
Winner announced during PHTR 2020
The three winners of the challenge presented their project November 6 during the conference Philosophy of Human-Technology Relations. “Speaker for the deaf” was the winning team of the design challenge.
The jury was touched by this project intellectually, visually and emotionally. "Because it makes us realise the many different hearing senses of non-humans in contrast to our deaf ears. Very impressive how you managed to develop such a rich, inventive, creative and “Latourian” project in such an interdisciplinary team in these confusing times!"