On Oct. 17-18, 2015, the 29th ICSID (International Council for Societies of Industrial Design) GA (General Assembly) was held in Gwangju, South Korea, during the Gwangju International Design Congress.

Prof. LOU Yongqi, Dean of Tongji University College of Design and Innovation, was elected by ratified ICSID members as member of the ICSID Board of Directors for the 2015-2017 term. Thus, Prof. LOU has become the first member of the Board of Directors that comes from China Mainland ever since the founding of ICSID.

During this GA, Mexico City won its bid to host the 2018 World Design Capital (WDC) against its competitor, Curitiba in Brazil. The GA also approved the proposal of changing the name of ICSID to WDO (World Design Organization) and put forward a new definition of design: design is a strategic problem-solving process and approach, applicable to products, systems, services and experiences, which can result in innovation, business success, and better quality of life.