For each proposition, two speakers with opposing views will cross words. They'll open with a powerful argument of no more than three minutes, then engage in a debate with each other and the audience. Don't expect a simple consensus, but rather sharp questions and strong opinions. Because design can and should clash.

Design Debate 2025 is a place for friction and imagination. For anyone who believes that design is more than just solving problems—it's also about questioning, provoking, and dreaming.

Meis Suker is Programma & Community Team Lead Dutch Design Week (DDW) in Eindhoven. She works to connect cutting-edge design practices. Together with her team, she guides the content of the largest design festival in the Netherlands.

Anne van der Zwaag is a curator, writer, and director of the design fair OBJECT Rotterdam and BIG ART in Amsterdam. She works between art, design, architecture, and fashion. Her exhibitions and publications emphasize innovative makers and interdisciplinary talent.

Tracy Metz is a journalist, author, and moderator working at the intersection of space, climate, and culture. She writes and speaks on topics such as urban development, water management, and the impact of technology on our living environment. Metz is the director of the John Adams Institute and a contributor to NRC.

Luna Maurer is Mixed-media designer and artist. She blends digital technologies with physicality to explore human characteristics. She co-founded Moniker, known for participatory and web-based experiences, and co-authored the influential manifestos Conditional Design and the recent Designing Friction.

Carolyn Strauss is a curator, researcher, and founder of Slow Research Lab. Her work focuses on slow processes, ecology, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She explores ways to connect design thinking with reflection and sensory experience.

Timo de Rijk is the director of the Design Museum 's-Hertogenbosch and a professor of design history. He focuses on the cultural significance of design, both past and present. As a speaker and writer, he makes design socially visible and open to critical discussion.

Roosje Klap is mixed media designer, researcher and director of Noorderlicht in Groningen. She is known for her experimental, investigative approach to visual communication, working at the intersection of art, design, and technology.

Koert van Mensvoort is an artist, philosopher, and director of Next Nature. He explores how technology evolves into a new nature and how humanity can coexist with it. Through his work, he inspires people worldwide to reflect on our relationship with nature and technology in a hopeful and future-oriented way.

Marleen Stikker is the director and co-founder of Waag FutureLab in Amsterdam. She is a pioneer in the fields of digital rights, open technology, and social innovation. With Waag, she advocates for a fairer, more democratic technological landscape.

Designer/artist and researcher. After spending a year in New York in 2023, he has now returned to Amsterdam, where he lives and works. His work focuses on the visual culture of the future, where nature and technology merge.

Architect and futurist, co-founder of Studio Monnik. He researches long-term visions of society, technology, and ecology.

Designer and researcher with a focus on collective socio-technological infrastructures and the psycho-ecological impact thereof.

Biodesigner and founder of BlueCity Lab. She works on innovations at the intersection of biotechnology, sustainability, and creative research.

Wouter van Noort is a journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Opinion at NRC, known for the podcast and newsletter Future Affairs. He combines sharp journalism with social reflection. Through his analyses and essays, he explores themes such as climate, technology, and our relationship with nature and society.

Mieke Gerritzen is designer and creative director of Next Nature. She operates at the intersection of visual culture, technology, and society. Through her work, she challenges us to rethink design, digitalization, and the role of humanity in a technological world. Her book NO DESIGN MANIFESTO, Design Beyond Shame will be launched during the Design Debate.

Paul Hekkert is former Professor of Design at Delft University of Technology and co-developer of the Vision in Product Design (ViP) model. He explores how design influences experience, ethics, and human behavior. His work bridges design research with philosophy and psychology.

Silvio Lorusso is an Italian writer, artist and designer based in Lisbon, Portugal. He published Entreprecariat (Onomatopee) in 2019 and What Design Can’t Do (Set Margins’) in 2023. Lorusso is an assistant professor at the Lusófona University in Lisbon and a tutor at the Information Design department of Design Academy Eindhoven. His work explores the social impact of digital tools on creativity and labor.

Richard van der Laken is a designer and co-founder of What Design Can Do, an international platform for social and ecological design. His work uses design as a catalyst for social change. He is also the founder of the creative agency De Designpolitie.

Jurian Strik is a designer, strategist, and innovation director. He works with public and cultural organizations on social challenges that call for imagination, inventiveness, unexpected collaboration, and perseverance.

Geert Lovink is a media theorist, internet critic, and founder of the Institute of Network Cultures (INC). He explores digital culture, activism, and technological power. Lovink is known for his sharp analyses of platform capitalism and network politics. His latest book, Platform Brutality (Valiz), will be published this fall.

Miriam van der Lubbe is a designer and the creative director of Dutch Design Week. She advocates for the role of design in driving social transitions and innovation. Her work promotes imagination and collaboration between designers and society.