Organized by the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute (IEICI), the Israeli pavilion was the second largest national pavilion at the IDT Expo.
It hosted a sampling of the best works from
Designed In Israel 07-08, organized by the Israel Community of Designers and supported by the IEICI and Israeli Ministry of Industry and Trade. The traveling show will also appear at Beijing and another location during 2009.
“Israeli companies will be demonstrating their design innovation and creativity,” said Avital Scharf, manager of IEICI’s Design Department. “They offer solutions for packaging, branding, medical devices, consumer products, internet, television and mobile that have succeeded internationally in very competitive markets.”
Mr. Amikam Levy, Consul General of the State of Israel, said at the opening ceremony that, “Israeli high-tech is very active in Hong Kong, but it is about time to look for new scope, such as design. The IDT Expo and BODW serve as the best platform to showcase the talented designs from Israel, and for designers from all over the world to exchange and demonstrate their knowledge and creativity on an international level.”
Besides Mr. Levy and Mrs. Scharf, the opening cocktail reception was also hosted by Ms. Daphna Sternfeld, Director of Consumer Goods Division of IEICI, Mr. David Grossman, President of Israel Community of Designers, Mr. Jonathan Hadar from Israel’s Foreign Trade Administration of the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor, and Mr. Zvi Yemini.
From the Hong Kong side, Mr. Victor Lo, Member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR Government and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Design Centre, officiated at the opening ceremony together with Mr. Benjamin Chau, Assistant Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
The participating design companies from Israel are active in the graphic design, industrial design and interactive design fields. The Israeli designers gave presentations at two seminars on Israeli product and graphic design: innovation, brand development and developing value in a multi-cultural, global context. Mr. Elisha Tal of Israeli company I2D also spoke at the Business of Design Week (BODW) Forum on 13 December.