As we did in 2022 and 2023, we partnered with one of our corporate members to make this possible. This year, Mondragon Goi Eskola Politeknikoa hosted the event, welcoming us at the auditorium of the GARAIA Technology Park. It was a great opportunity to strengthen ties and highlight the collective effort to drive the sector forward, as emphasized by Nekane Errasti, Academic Coordinator at MGEP, in her opening remarks.

During the assembly, led by our Managing Coordinator Benicio Aguerrea, we covered the usual agenda items — activity report, new and departing members, financial balance, and budget approval — and featured an intervention by our President Angélica Barco, who shared the main focus areas, objectives, and action plan for 2025 to 2027.

Some key highlights from her presentation include:

• The increase in the number of members, reaching a total of 106, of which 38 are design companies, 57 are professionals, and 11 are corporate members.
• The evolution of design in the Basque Country and Navarre toward the creation of a true ecosystem, in which EIDE is recognized as a connecting hub and sector representative.
• The action plan to promote knowledge (design culture), recognition (best practices), and connections (networks, alliances) over the next two years.

To close this members-only section, Erik Zarraga and Kike García (Banila Studio) presented the progress on EIDE’s new website, which will be launched soon.

OPEN MEETING ON DESIGN AND CIRCULARITY

The second part of the day, which welcomed students, professionals, and other members of the design ecosystem, began with a talk by Edu Uribesalgo, Director of Innovation and Sustainability at Ternua Group. He gave an overview of the journey of this well-known company, which began as a sports shop in Arrasate in 1986 and has since evolved with a strong commitment to environmental, social, and economic well-being — a journey that led to its B-Corp certification in 2024. Design has played a key role in this evolution, especially through the creation of a dedicated R&D+i department focused on sustainable technological innovation. This has led to unique projects such as developing textiles from marine waste and fishing nets, creating natural dyes from organic waste like walnut shells, and producing thermal insulation from latxa sheep wool.

Next, Lander Balza, Project Coordinator at EIDE and moderator of this second part of the event, explained the role the association is playing in driving design and the broader cultural and creative sectors in the field of sustainability. He emphasized the focus on waste prevention and management within the framework of Waste Lab Bizkaia, a project by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, led by Garbiker in collaboration with EIDE and Aclima.

• Report «Creative Valuation of Waste,» which compiles, after thorough research, approximately 130 local, national, and international references on recycling and «upcycling» classified by the source material.
• Video «From Waste to Treasures,» which showcases a process of reflection and experimentation on «garbigunes» (waste collection points), featuring professionals from the cultural and creative industries linked to sustainability (Alegre Biribilketa).

After the video screening, a round table on Circular Creative Economy was held, featuring three members of the project’s promoting team — Brigitte Sauvage, Leire García (ColaBoraBora), and Jon Abad (Abad Design) — along with Edu Uribesalgo and Ganix Lasa, a research professor at Mondragon Unibertsitatea.

During this session, perspectives from the professional, business-industrial, and academic sectors were exchanged regarding the integration of creativity and sustainability in the search for new solutions to a global and complex issue. It was a highly engaging debate, with participation from the audience, addressing topics such as the difficulty of quantifying the impact of our activities and the need to combine efforts from many small initiatives to complement the work being done at the industrial scale.

The day was concluded by Ganix Lasa, who provided an overview of Hirekin, the new innovation and entrepreneurship center for sustainable transformation driven by Mondragon Unibertsitatea. He also shared key insights into the research being conducted at the university, particularly through the Diseinu Berrikuntza Zentroa, the design department of the Polytechnic School.

The event was visually documented by Nuria González, whose photos are featured here, and Onda Vasca covered it through an interview by Kike Álvarez in their Magazine.