Your 2009 IYDEY winner is...
British Council is delighted to announce that Given Gugulethu Nkuna has been selected to represent South Africa at the 2009 International Design Entrepreneur Awards that will be held in September this year in the UK. The judges also wanted to give special thanks to Ricky Lee Gordon and Majolandile Andile Dyalvane both of whom put forward strong applications and are conducting impressive work within their design fields.

‘’I applied for this award because as a young crafter I have a huge role to play in this country’s growth especially the design sector. South African craft is influenced a lot by our tradition and culture and as a young person having this sort of exposure will not only see me learn a lot and impart my knowledge to a UK market but bring home and inspire people I work with‘’ stated Nkuna.

Judges remarked that Given has a very strong social and creative edge to both his work and his product, and that he has an admirable passion which is evident in his involvement in craft and recycling projects such as the Green Footprint Education and his facilitation of community outreach programmes like craft mapping.

‘’African craft goes back many, many years and to be able to represent what my ancestors have been doing is such a privilege and I want to do them proud’’ stated Nkuna upon hearing he had won the South African leg of the competition.

Congratulations to Lauren Samakosky for winning the Apple Mac book.
"I would like to thank you so much for the amazing prize of an Apple Mac Notebook. I was thrilled to learn what good work you do in offering young designers such wonderful opportunities, especially the fact that through you they are empowered to enrich their own communities and in turn empower them to achieve. I will be giving the prize to my daughter, who is a first year student in Brand Communication at Vega. I entered this competition hoping to win this for her, as it is exactly what she needs for her studies, so I cannot tell you how excited I am!  I sincerely appreciate that through this opportunity, she will in turn be empowered to achieve great heights in her future career" stated Lauren upon receiving her prize.

What's next for the South African IYDEY winner?
Given will then join 8 - 10 other finalists who will visit the UK - London, Glasgow and Belfast, in September 2009 to undertake a common programme where they will take part in valuable networking both with key UK design sector partners and amongst their IYDEY peers.

The programme will include visits to designers, leading design retailers, manufacturers, and institutions active in the procurement of design and architecture.

As with previous IYDEY awards, the winner of IYDEY is decided based upon a 20 minute presentation, made by each candidate, to an elite judging panel from the UK design industry. The presentation will contain both written and visual material. The presentation will be followed by a 15 minute question and answer session with the judges. All the finalists will also be given the opportunity to promote a piece of design from their country at the BC stand in 100% Design. They will be asked to choose a design piece from their country not available in the UK, but that they believe could have a UK and wider international appeal. Experts from our Design team will select several pieces to be presented at our curated stand at 100% Design.

The IYDEY award ceremony will be the culmination of the whole visit - where the winner will be announced and there will be a chance to celebrate all the finalists. It will also be a great networking opportunity for the finalists to meet with key British Council design contacts. As with last year, the group will also meet and network with the finalists of the British Council’s exciting sister award to IYDEY - the UK Young Design Entrepreneur (UKYDE) award 09, which in 2009 will take place for the second time.

The tour will include elements of the London Design Festival programme - openings, seminars, and events - concluding at 100% Design.

About 100% Design
100% Design is one of the world's most important contemporary interior design exhibitions presenting the latest in furniture, lighting, and accessories. The fair is the UK's premier contemporary interiors event for the contract market. There is no other show that connects the worlds of architecture and design with innovative, contemporary interior products, creativity and an exciting mix of new and established talent.

Participation in 100% Design and the finalist’s presence at the British Council events and stand will allow them to develop their own network still further and promote their home design scene.

For more information on previous IYDEY awards, please visit the Creative Economy website.