Rog Design Days, held each November in Ljubljana, bring together leading international creatives, thought leaders, activists and social innovators. Over the course of one week - through making, exchanging bold ideas and informal encounters - a distinct community begins to take shape. A community that shares values, co-creates change, and is driven by a desire not only to address pressing challenges, but to act on them.

This year, we take a step further and ask: what happens when the human is no longer at the center of design? Perhaps something akin to what astronauts describe when looking at Earth from space - a cognitive shift that reveals how deeply interconnected we are: with one another, with other species, and with the planet that sustains us.

While human-centered design has brought significant improvements to our lives, it has also narrowed our perspective. By focusing on the human, we have learned not to see the bigger picture. Billions of animals, plants and ecosystems that make our lives possible are often reduced to raw materials or resources at our disposal. This disconnection is not neutral. It underpins entire industries and makes exploitation appear natural.

At a time when the world seems to be fracturing under the pressure of ecological crises, technological disruptions and increasingly tense geopolitical relations, questions of responsibility, power and interdependence are becoming ever more urgent. We are therefore turning toward practices grounded in care and coexistence, and toward forms of design that situate the human within a broader web of relationships with other beings and environments.

Through themes such as speculative design, cruelty-free design, artificial intelligence, biodiversity, gender, ecofeminism and more-than-human design, this year’s Rog Design Days explore how design can move beyond established paradigms and respond more empathetically to the complexity of our shared living environment.

Over the course of one week, the programme brings together three formats of co-creation, exchange and reflection. Rog Creaton gathers 25 young designers in an intensive two-day sprint to prototype responses to current challenges. Rog Expo presents an exhibition of annual production by local and international creators, while Rog Forum opens a space for in-depth dialogue with leading organisations working across design, research and activism.

The programme is complemented by a wide range of thematic workshops, offering opportunities to dive deeper into topics of particular interest. For those who want to test their ideas and receive professional feedback, a dedicated format of short presentations creates space for direct exchange and for exploring the potential of projects within a broader community.

Save the dates (November 23 - 27, 2026) - expect a week of creativity, sparking ideas, and new friendships.

Meta Štular, Curator of Rog Design Days