During the last weeks of October this year I had the pleasure and privilege of representing the Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) at the ICOGRADA (International Council of Graphic Design Associations) Congress and General Assembly held in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. My presence there was the result of a fellowship awarded to me by a new joint venture between AGDA and International Specialised Skills (ISS) with sponsorship from Fuji Xerox.

In addition to the emotional and informational benefits derived from attending a conference dedicated solely to graphic design, there were a number of additional activities, in which I was involved, that made the investment of time, money and effort a worthwhile venture for the Australian graphic design community.

The Congress provided opportunity for me to make a joint presentation with the Chair of the steering committee for Sydney Design 99, Mr Ron Newman, to the 853 registered delegates at the close of the final day. The presentation served as a means to promote Sydney Design ?99 and personally invite the Congress delegates, many of whom were from South America, to attend. The amount of interest generated in the event as a result of the presentation was most encouraging.

Importantly, my presence there served as a means to observe an international design conference, both in terms of its content and organisation, in order to provide recommendations on behalf of AGDA to the steering committee of Sydney Design ?99.

The content of the Congress itself was very impressive, although not all presentations were to topic or delivered with strength. Of note were presentations by Norway for the design program of the 1992 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, by Korea and Belgium on the nature of alphabet structure in contemporary culture, and by Japan's Shigeo Fukuda who presented a chronological overview of his career's work as a graphic designer.

Regarding matters of business practice, it was enlightening to learn of various attitudes towards accreditation of designers, design protection and governmental design promotion.

For two days following the Congress, a General Assembly of ICOGRADA member associations was held. During this Assembly a new board was elected and many issues of future activity for ICOGRADA were discussed and decided upon. Most items were passed with unanimous voting, a notable exception being that of membership fee increases which was discussed passionately and voted down with the narrowest possible margin. The vote was interpreted as an instruction from the member associations for the ICOGRADA board to consider new means of revenue raising through merchandising in accordance with a new charter of activity for the organisation.

On a personal level, the experience placed my role as graphic designer in a broader and considerably more interesting perspective, a change which will certainly have an impact on the way a design in the future.

A complete report on the project, along with a series of seminars to be held next year, will ensure that the benefits of attending the Congress and General Assembly will be passed on to the Australian graphic design community.

John Frostell
President, AGDA Victoria