8

The African interior design community converged in Lagos on Saturday, October 26, 2025 for the maiden edition of the African Interior Design Congress (AIDC 2025), co-hosted by the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria (IDAN) and the African Council for Interior Architecture & Design (ACIAD), in partnership with Design Week Lagos.

Described as the first of its kind on the continent, the landmark congress sought to redefine the future of African design by promoting continental collaboration, influencing policy direction, and elevating the global visibility of African creativity.

The event featured Dr. George Washington Kelani, President of the African Council for Interior Architects and Designers (ACIAD), as Keynote Speaker. In his address, Dr. Kelani emphasised the importance of integrating design thinking into Africa’s socio-economic development agenda, noting that the continent’s built environment must reflect both cultural identity and global standards of innovation.

“Africa’s design future depends on frameworks that value education, innovation, and collaboration,” he said. “When design aligns with policy, we create environments that serve people, not just aesthetics. That’s how we build sustainable societies.”

Speaking at the congress, Jacqueline Aki, President of IDAN, described the event as a strategic step toward building frameworks that enable designers to serve society more effectively.

“This event is one of the key initiatives we’ve undertaken toward developing systems that help designers create for the people within our communities,” she said. “Through collaboration with ACIAD and Design Week Lagos, we’re setting the tone for a continental conversation on how design can build society.”

Aki revealed that IDAN, working with ACIAD, is developing a Charter of Action, a shared framework for professional associations across Africa, to address key challenges in the interior design sector.

“The charter is a charge to each of us as designers and leaders of associations,” she explained. “It focuses on minimum standards, education, and regulation. These are the building blocks of a truly professional and impactful design industry.”

According to her, education and knowledge sharing are central to the initiative. “We identified the knowledge gap as one of the continent’s biggest challenges,” she said. “That’s why we’re engaging policymakers and investing in CSR projects that demonstrating the social impact of good design. We are redesigning public spaces and collecting data to show government the tangible value of our work.”

Also speaking, Titi Ogufere, Founder of IDAN and one of the event’s conveners, said the congress and its theme, “Made in Africa: Shaping Industries, Shaping Futures,” emerged from the need for Africans to intentionally take control of their design destiny.

“Everything around us, our cities, homes, and public spaces, was designed by someone,” she said. “Africa hasn’t paid enough attention to this vital aspect of development. If we must shape the future we want, we must be deliberate about design, creativity, and local production.”

Ogufere lamented the persistent skills gap and lack of technical capacity in Africa’s design ecosystem, describing education, policy reform, and collaboration as urgent priorities. She noted that throughout the week-long Design Week Lagos, IDAN brought together product designers and educators from across the world, including renowned figures to share insights and mentor young African designers.

“Every country represented here faces similar issues, skills, policy, and perception. Education is not just about schools; it’s also about enlightening the public on the role of design in society,” she added.

Ogufere announced that the AIDC will rotate across African countries, with Kenya and South Africa slated to host the next editions.

“We’re building a movement,” she said. “We started from Lagos, but this is Africa’s project. We’re calling on educators, professionals, and governments to join us.”

On policy, Ogufere urged African governments to integrate interior design into national development plans and support local manufacturing through incentives and training.

“Policy makers talk about the creative economy but often overlook design,” she observed. “You can’t build nations without inventors, creators, and designers. We have the resources, wood, fabric, raw materials, but we still import basic items. If you’re banning imports, what are you doing to empower local producers?”

She also revealed plans to launch the Institute of Professional Interior Designers and Product Inventors, a training hub to bridge Africa’s technical and educational gap in interior design and product development.

“We need an institute that focuses not just on design education but also on technical skills and research. We’re working with international technical partners to train artisans and product designers,” she said.

The congress, which drew participants from across Africa and beyond, ended with a strong call for policy alignment, institutional support, and industry regulation to professionalize design practice across the continent.

As Ogufere concluded, “There’s work for everyone, architects, designers, artisans. Africa’s development will depend on how seriously we take design. We’re shaping the industries that will define our future.”