The World Design Organization today announced that Lille, France and Sydney, Australia have made the shortlist to become World Design Capital 2020, for their effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural, and environmental development in their cities. City visits will be conducted prior to final WDC 2020 selection, to better assess the scope and capacity of each of the cities’ proposed programs. The winner will be announced on 14 October 2017 in Torino, Italy during WDO’s 30th General Assembly. 

"Once an industrial center facing economic upheaval, Lille aims to engage its 2.1 million inhabitants (including companies, local authorities, research and training centers, cultural destinations and civic spaces) in collaborative design-driven projects. Under the theme, Eldorado: the greatest design experiment, it places design at the heart of its economic, societal and environmental transformation.   

Sydney, in collaboration with Parramatta and other surrounding suburbs, will use the WDC programme as an open platform to engage, collaborate and design a new model of social impact for an increasingly urbanized world. Its programme, Inclusive, Resilient, seeks to embrace the land and connect to the climate, engaging citizens, policy makers, design professionals and people all around the globe."