At the Opening of The World Design Cities Conference 2024 (WDCC), DesignS: World Design Cities Shanghai Manifesto is released, which is built on the CUMULUS Kyoto Design Declaration of 2008, DesignX Manifesto of 2014, and the ICSID(WDO) 2015 Gwangju Definition, and initiated by almost 20 design opinion leaders worldwide. S denotes Shanghai, Solidarity, Sharing, and Sustainability.

DesignS consists of 8 chapters：Design as the engine of new productive force and innovation, Human-nature engagement: Design for the web of life, The emergence of new designers and creative community, Driving industrial transformation and global vitality, Harnessing artificial intelligence to shape new paradigms, Reforming design education and research, Design cities where everyone designs, and World human-nature design day. The Manifesto advocates for a new design culture that goes beyond the mere fulfillment of material desires. It also emphasizes the necessity for enhanced collaboration between humans and artificial intelligence, with the ultimate goal of addressing complex social system challenges such as the environmental issues.

In the final part of the declaration, the initiators propose designating the last Sunday of every September as "World Human-Nature Design Day" and hosting the "World Design Cities Conference" in Shanghai annually. 

Lou Yongqi, Vice President of Tongji University and chief author of DesignS, introduced, “The Shanghai Manifesto is a Shanghai-led initiative that brings together opinion leaders in the global design field to make forward-looking design proposals to the world. I believe it will have a far-reaching impact on the future development of design, and will surely further enhance the social influence and leadership of the WDCC and Shanghai design on the global stage.”