Towards a Europe that is the Global Powerhouse of Design for Sustainable Competitiveness - Reflection by Christina Melander, BEDA President

A letter from Christina Melander, BEDA President.

Dear reader,

Europe as a Global Powerhouse of Design for Sustainable Competitiveness – this is the title of an Horizon Europe call closing today (16 September 2025). It is a call that BEDA, among others, has long advocated for.

To me, this vision is an appealing one: a future – hopefully not too distant – where design is fully recognised as a driver of sustainable growth and prosperity.
But what might that future look like once the vision is realised? What comes to your mind?
Allow me to share some of my reflections.

Imagine a Europe where design is no longer an afterthought, but the very backbone of how we govern, innovate, and compete. Design is embedded in governance structures and policymaking at every level. Just as every nation has an innovation strategy, every country now carries a national design policy. At the centre stands the European Design Centre, a permanent hub connecting regions and sectors, ensuring that design flows through the veins of Europe’s innovation ecosystem. The need to explain or justify design simply belongs to the past. Design has become intrinsic to how we act.

Across industries, the shift is unmistakable. Design professionals are not just invited into the room; often, they are leading the conversations, thanks to their ability to facilitate. Every major project dedicates at least 20% of its resources to design, because we know it pays off. In boardrooms and panels, designers sit shoulder to shoulder with executives, engineers, and policymakers, bringing creativity, empathy, the voice of users, and systems-thinking into the heart of decision-making. Europe’s most promising growth sectors are thriving because design acts as their catalyst for competitiveness and sustainability.

And the impact is visible everywhere. Qualitative measures of design’s societal and environmental value are treated with the same weight as hard numbers, reshaping how we measure progress. Policy dialogues at the EU level routinely draw on design expertise. New narratives for the net-zero transition are co-created across industries, weaving together economy, environment, and culture.

At the heart of this transformation lies a simple but profound truth: design is a political act. It shapes choices, sets directions, and anchors values. Designers act as fuel for mission-oriented change, defending and advancing Europe’s DNA of creativity, resilience, and critical capacity. In an age of climate disruption, AI revolutions, and geopolitical uncertainty, Europe has chosen not just to keep pace, but to lead differently — with design as its engine of sustainable competitiveness.

Best wishes,
Christina Melander, BEDA President