Design Ideas Meet Global Policy: BE OPEN Honors Designing Futures 2050 Winners at UNEA-7 in Nairobi

BE OPEN brings new design solutions to UNEA-7 and crowns the Designing Futures 2050 winners

At the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi this week, the design nonprofit BE OPEN took center stage to celebrate the winners of its Designing Futures 2050 competition. The event, held during a busy day of UNEA-7 sessions and side events, was a clear effort to link small-scale design work with big-picture policy goals. BE OPEN representatives gathered with the winners, UNEP delegates, local partners and an international audience to show how creative thinking can make everyday environmental problems easier to solve.

The ceremony answered the basic question behind the prize: how do we imagine practical, scalable solutions for 2050 today? The winners — chosen from dozens of entries — demonstrated that strong ideas don’t need huge budgets to matter. The tone in the room was constructive: hopeful without being naive, focused on what designers can realistically deliver in cities, rural communities and frontline areas facing climate stress.

Meet the winners: small teams, clear goals and grounded innovation

BE OPEN announced four standout projects that capture different ways design can steer us toward a safer future. Each entry was short-listed for clear user focus, simple materials and a path to scale.

• Community Cool Roofs — led by architect Amina Kato. This project adapts reflective roofing techniques using low-cost, locally available mixes. It is aimed at hot urban neighborhoods and school buildings. Judges praised its quick install model and community training plan.
• Plastic Patchwork — designed by a social enterprise team in Lagos. This idea turns mixed plastic waste into weather-resistant street furniture and market stalls. Its appeal: it reduces litter while creating income for informal waste workers.
• Streamside Gardens — an NGO-led pilot from the Mekong region that restores riverbanks with native plants and floating vegetable beds. The design buffers floods and gives families fresh food within a small footprint.
• Solar Stitch — a cooperative from rural Kenya that integrates small, repairable solar modules into existing home structures and local supply chains, making off-grid power easier to maintain.

Judges singled out projects that combined a ready-to-use prototype with partnerships that could grow the idea quickly. The winning entries were practical: they solved ordinary problems — heat, plastic waste, erosion and energy access — in ways that communities could adopt without waiting on big infrastructure projects.

Why UNEA-7 matters and where BE OPEN fits in

UNEA-7 is the global forum where environment ministers and international groups set priorities for the next few years. It focuses on topics from chemical pollution to nature loss, and it often shapes funding and technical cooperation that follow. For small initiatives, UNEA is a chance to step onto a wider stage: a design team can meet potential partners, funders and city officials in one concentrated week.

BE OPEN’s presence at UNEA-7 was strategic. Rather than just showing finished products, the organisation framed design as a bridging force — something that connects local needs to policy levers. In practice, that meant workshops, panels and the public handover of awards during the assembly. For BE OPEN, UNEA is less about publicity and more about matchmaking: finding the right channels to turn prototypes into neighbourhood-scale projects.

Voices from the floor: quick reactions and mood at the event

BE OPEN’s director captured the mood plainly: “Design is the language people use to live better tomorrow,” they said, smiling as winners accepted their plaques. “We are not selling perfection — we are offering tools that work where people are.”

One winner described the moment as “a bridge between our cramped workshop and the real world.” A UNEP participant noted that officials were listening: “Policy needs practical examples to stay relevant. These projects give ministers something to picture at home.”

The atmosphere mixed polite diplomacy with real curiosity. Attendees asked hard but useful questions about costs, durability and local buy-in — the kind of scrutiny that can move a prototype toward everyday use.

What comes next: scaling ideas and linking to policy

After the applause, the work begins. BE OPEN said it will support pilot rollouts, connect winners with municipal partners and help set up local training programs. Some projects already have letters of interest from city governments and community groups, which could speed testing in real neighbourhoods.

Medium-term, the most promising outcome would be tighter ties between small design teams and official funding streams. If a city adopts a pilot and reports reduced heat stress or less waste, that creates a visible win that funders and regional agencies can replicate. For the winners, the immediate payoff is not a cash prize alone but access: mentors, manufacturing contacts and potential public contracts.

Where BE OPEN started and what Designing Futures 2050 aims to do next

BE OPEN began as a design collective aimed at pushing environmental thinking into everyday products and services. Designing Futures 2050 is its flagship competition, launched a few years ago to spotlight ideas that are both visionary and buildable. Past alumni have moved from prototypes to pilots in cities across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The program now leans into practical outcomes: not just trophies, but apprenticeship networks, maker partnerships and pilot funding. At UNEA-7 the message was clear — good design can sharpen policy, and small teams can scale when given the right doors to knock on.

Sources

• prnewswire.com