Agencies should contribute to the industrialization and commercialization of the design industry by augmenting assistance to and oversight of school-affiliated incubation centers, innovative startups, product marketing, and employment and entrepreneurship guidance for youths, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said at today's political affairs meeting.
The premier made these remarks after being briefed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on the industry's latest developments.
He also pointed out that National Development Fund (NDF) has allocated NT$10 billion (US$333 million) to invest in cultural and creative industries, a very important element of which is design, and said he expects the NDF to provide even greater support henceforth.
Moreover, Jiang asked relevant ministries and agencies to make an inventory of and expand the design industry's existent distribution channels.
To fashion Taiwan into a place of outstanding design, the MOEA will strive to make its Golden Pin Design Award (GPDA) world-renowned; Jiang expects it to achieve this goal and for the GPDA to become the top design award in the greater Chinese-speaking world as well. The MOEA will also build up the Young Designers' Exhibition (YODEX) as a platform for exchange of international design talents and assist Taiwanese vendors to participate in international design activities.
These and other measures are intended to help Taiwanese designers expand their global marketing capabilities and bolster their influence. The MOEA hopes that design as added value will become an engine for industrial development and lifestyle aesthetics while establishing the leading role of Taiwan's design industry in the greater Chinese world.
The MOI explained that it would map out promotional strategies for architectural design in four major aspects:
1. Amending laws and regulations, including the Architects Act and the regulations for managing interior decoration of buildings
2. Providing subsidies and incentives, for instance encouraging participation in architectural design competitions
3. Internationalizing the nation's talent, such as by actively participating in global organizations and marketing the nation's architectural design industry
4. Setting up incubation mechanisms, with industry, government and academia collaborating in talent training
Furthermore, the re-training program to upgrade professional skills among interior designers and decorators will be stepped up, and assistance will be provided in setting up new interior design courses and amending regulations to enhance the competitiveness and development of the workforce.
The YODEX has been held annually since 1982 and has become the world's largest joint exhibition for design students' graduation projects. In 2013, for instance, more than 151 design departments worldwide took part. The premier directed the MOEA and related agencies to provide preferential rental rates for the event and to study the possibility of lowering the leasing fee for students to display pieces in Taipei World Trade Center's Exhibition Hall 1 and Hall 3.