Reflecting on the past, present and future role of the Design Education Forum of Southern Africa

  • Amanda Breytenbach
Keywords: Design Education Forum of Southern Africa, DEFSA

Abstract

This article reflects on the role played by the Design Education Forum of Southern Africa (DEFSA) over the past 18 years, particularly with regard to tertiary design education. It also presents projections on the future role of DEFSA based on current circumstances and expectations. The reflection is sectioned into three periods; past, present and future. The first period, described as the technikon phase, outlines the past history and liaison activities undertaken by DEFSA from its inception in 1991 to the announcement of the higher education institutional mergers in 2002. The second period reflects on the present, which is described as the higher education merger and restructuring phase as consideration is given to the impact of institutional mergers, the restructuring of the design education landscape, design programme offerings and the role that DEFSA fulfilled during this period. Lastly, the third period offers suggestions for future directions based on the expectations and challenges that are likely to impact on the future of DEFSA. The article thus aims to trace the original focus of DEFSA, its performance and its contribution to tertiary design education during the past 18 years in order to determine a future direction for the Forum. The underlying assumption is that DEFSA’s role and contributions are defined by the manner in which the Forum has addressed both challenges and expectations prevalent in the design education environment over the past 18 years.

Published
2019-12-09
Section
Articles