2012 Theme: Transforming Hakata into an “INFO-HUB” for Health, Living, Mobility, and Disaster Prevention.

Creating an environment where everyone—including international visitors and residents—can easily access information is a critical issue. In recent years, Japan’s public facilities have been shifting from Japanese-only signage to multilingual displays, an essential step for those with limited access to information. Hakata Station is a major terminal hub in Fukuoka, attracting a diverse range of people, including foreigners.

Hakata Station is a major terminal hub in Fukuoka, attracting a diverse range of people, including foreigners. The goal was to make the entire Hakata area a universal “One-Stop Shop” for information—a true hub for the city. Four perspectives—Health, Living, Mobility, and Disaster Prevention—were set, and participants were divided into four teams to carry out three days of fieldwork, design work, and presentations.

The universal design proposals generated through this process were incorporated into the revised Hakata Machizukuri Guidelines prepared by the Hakata City Planning Promotion Council in FY2013, contributing to more attractive urban development.

2013 Theme: “Re-charge Fukuoka”—Designing Energy from Fukuoka’s Hidden Gems.

Fukuoka is famous for specialties such as tonkotsu ramen and mentaiko, as well as iconic festivals like Hakata Gion Yamakasa and Hakata Dontaku.

However, the city also has many lesser-known but equally attractive local products. This year’s challenge focused on “hidden gems” created through the skills and efforts of people with disabilities. The aim was to enhance their appeal by designing user-friendly product forms, accessible sales methods, and effective communication strategies. People with disabilities, the elderly, and foreign residents were welcomed as design partners. Under the keyword “Re-charge Fukuoka,” the challenge sought to create new business models powered by design.

2014 Theme: From Fukuoka to the World—New Universal Services.

The objective was to create and commercialize new universal services in the tourism and hospitality sectors, thereby promoting “a city where everyone is kind and kindness is for everyone.” The project also aimed to encourage universal design initiatives by companies and organizations and to raise public awareness and understanding of universal design.

2015 Theme: Universal Design in Food Service from Fukuoka.

Fukuoka is renowned for its food culture and is also known as Japan’s gateway to Asia. In recent years, the city has seen a rapid increase in foreign visitors, particularly from Asia. While this has boosted the food service industry, it has also created challenges stemming from cultural differences in food.

This year’s workshop addressed the need for universal design in restaurants. Under the theme of “Hospitality in Food,” teams composed of foreigners, designers, restaurant industry professionals, and students explored ways to improve universal design in dining environments, offering practical proposals that could be easily implemented across various eateries in the city.

2016 Theme: “Fun” and “Easy-to-Use”—Fukuoka’s Universal Design Food Stalls.

Fukuoka’s yatai (street food stalls) are famous nationwide as gourmet hotspots. This year’s workshop theme was yatai. The aim was to create designs that would make yatai more enjoyable for both international tourists and locals, and easier to operate for stall owners. Working with design partners—including yatai owners and overseas visitors—the workshop developed proposals for Fukuoka-style universal design yatai.

Since its launch in 2016, GGJ has been held in over 250 cities, attracting more than 18,000 participants and producing over 1,000 ideas. The results are shared globally under a Creative Commons license, becoming part of the world’s collective knowledge.

Since 2016, SoDesLab’s director has planned and organized GGJ annually, working with domestic and international partners to tackle social issues alongside designers, researchers, students, government officials, business professionals, foreigners, seniors, and people with disabilities. The initiative goes beyond idea generation, also exploring methodologies for social implementation and turning outstanding ideas into real-world projects.

One flagship project is a high school–university collaborative SDGs education program with Fukusho High School. Launched in 2019 with 17 students, the program expanded to over 300 students by 2021.

To develop a proactive and adaptive educational program suited to the times, the project applied the outcomes of design thinking developed at Kyushu University to high school SDGs education. Together with Fukusho High School teachers, the team developed easy-to-use visualization tools, derived practical and relevant requirements, and worked to foster students’ autonomy and creativity through hands-on, meaningful activities.