Agenda

Throughout WONDER

Parcours Parelmoer is an art project by the Belgian artist Honoré d’O. He has devised a trail through the city, for young and old alike, which invites walkers to wander or linger in a structured way. At around 15 locations, modest QR codes prompt walkers to perform an action, reflect or use their imagination. Each location thus forms a small encounter between your attention and the surroundings. Like a mental fitness tracker, the trail stretches our brains, sparks the imagination and fosters encounters. The locations along the route unfold like pearls in the city: small spaces for wonder, discovery, play and encounter. Just as a mollusc forms layer upon layer of mother-of-pearl in its shell, or even creates pearls, Parcours Parelmoer aims to bring unexpected pearls into being within the city. The trail plays, in a quasi-ironic way, with the boundary between intimate action and public visibility, leaving visitors in a state of wonder.

Product design keeps changing. New tools, new expectations, new ways of working. Staying sharp means learning from people who are figuring it out right now, not just reading about it later.

That’s what Product Design Meetup is for. Three talks from practitioners who share what they’ve learned on the job. A room full of designers and builders who care about getting better at what they do.

Warwick Kay

Design leader at Miro

Warwick has worked in design for more than 20 years, across SaaS, enterprise and consumer products. Before joining Miro, he led teams at Booking.com and at a mix of startups and agencies. At Miro he now leads the work on customising Miro for organisations.

In his own words: "I lead teams that turn ambiguous, complex problems into products people return to. I prioritize trust and ownership, then focus on creating and defining opportunities for my team."

Talk: How design and AI mix 

As AI becomes part of the design process, where does human creativity make the biggest difference?

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Melanie Daveid

Experience Designer at Nothing

As an Experience Designer, Melanie works across technology, physical products and human behaviour. Her career has taken her through eBay, OneFootball and Adobe, with a focus on design leadership, interactive art and creative technology. She loves turning complex ideas into tangible experiences, drawing inspiration from art and culture and exploring how technology can become a little more human, and a lot more fun.

Talk: Make Things. Ask Questions.

Melanie shares learnings from a non-linear career across product, technology and creative design. She'll explore what really matters when designing, from curiosity and craft to navigating ambiguity and developing your own point of view, with a glimpse into speculative design and imagining what could come next.

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Yordi Uytersprot

Full-stack developer at Moonbird

Yordi has spent 15 years building mobile apps, web apps and e-commerce for startups and larger companies. He's a full-stack developer with a strong interest in animation and emotional design. Today, he builds products at Moonbird, the fast-growing Belgian startup behind the world's first handheld breathing coach. The device expands and contracts in your hand to guide your breathing and can be paired with an app.

Talk: Startup lessons learned the hard way

Yordi shares what building hardware and software in a startup has taught him.

How well is the economy of South-West Flanders equipped to face the challenges of tomorrow?

On 27 October, Hangar K and its partners will bring together the business community of South-West Flanders for ‘The Next Step by Hangar K’. Leiedal, with the support of VLAIO, will ensure a strong kick-off with the Economic Roadmap South West Flanders. The research into the regional vision for the area refocuses our economic identity: a thorough analysis of the value chains, leading (niche) companies and key sectors that underpin the region today. We are testing this identity against major global dynamics to gain a clear understanding of just how future-proof it really is.

During this event, we will work together to find answers to the questions that really matter: where are the missing links in our value chains? Which new opportunities and sectors align with the region’s identity? How can we proactively anticipate these with concrete forecasts and scenarios, and how do we translate these insights into a regional spending policy with broad support?

As a CEO, policymaker or sector representative, you have a key role to play in shaping the economic roadmap for South-West Flanders for the coming decades.
Venue: Meeting Lounge, Depart Room

The programme:

4.45 pm: Registration
5.00 pm: Welcome – Filip Vanhaverbeke (Managing Director, Leiedal)
5.10 pm: Structure of the regional vision study – Mark Andries (Administrator-General, VLAIO)
5.20 pm: Presentation of interim results by Ann Descheemaecker (IDEA Consult)
5.40 pm: Join the debate with Mark Andries (VLAIO), Jolyce Demely (Managing Director of Agoria Vlaanderen) and Wout Maddens (Chair of Leiedal, Alderman for the City of Kortrijk), moderated by Mieke Dumont
6.20 pm: End

On 27 October, THE NEXT STEP by Hangar K will bring together entrepreneurs who may not be at the same stage, but who are all grappling with the same question: what is the next step? 
Start-ups that are actively building their next phase of growth. Family businesses that have been around for generations. SMEs facing a major decision. And investors looking for the next big opportunity.  
To grow or to consolidate. To continue investing yourself or to let others come on board. To enter a new market. To pass the business on to the next generation or to sell it to someone who can take it further. 
For a family business spanning four generations, that next step means something different from what it does for a four-year-old scale-up. And for those investing their money in someone else’s business, it means something else again. 
That’s precisely why we’re bringing them together. 
To hear how others have tackled it. What worked, what didn’t, and which decisions proved decisive in hindsight. But above all, to engage in conversation with one another.  
Connecting and hitting the ground running is in our West Flemish blood. You’ll feel it in every part of this day.

First speakers
Meet the first speakers:
Gunther Ghysels – Founder of Get Driven, WERKR and Tinrate
Sebastien Vandendriessche – CEO & co-founder of Spotable
We’ll be announcing more names soon.
You can look forward to inspiring business leaders, entrepreneurs and experts who, drawing on their own experiences, will each offer a unique perspective on innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship in a rapidly changing world.
Price & registration
€95.00 per person (excl. VAT)

Included in your ticket: access to the conference, networking, including food and drink

On 29 October, during the WONDER Creativity Festival in Kortrijk, Fedustria will, for the third year running, bring together business leaders from our textile, timber and furniture industries with young design talent.
With natural fibres – from textiles to wood – as the common thread, we are creating an evening full of inspiration, exchange and, above all, new connections between industry and designers.

Programme & speakers
We will start at 4.00 pm with a guided walk past some of the WONDER highlights linked to Fedustria and its members.
From 5.30 pm, we’ll welcome you to the Budafabriek, followed by one-on-one and panel discussions between designers and industry representatives, moderated by Masjien.
The programme includes a discussion with Charbel Abou Zeidan and a participating Fedustria member company about Tex Design, the Fedustria project that brings designers and textile companies together.

In a panel discussion on natural fibres, we will also be bringing together a number of designers who have received, or are set to receive, special recognition for their work in 2026. Arthur Nevejan (Wünder), nominee for the BKRK Award 2026 and Knack Weekend Designer of the Year 2026, and Emme Neirynck, winner of the VBO’s Xplorer Award (Serge The Label)
From 7.15 pm, it’s time for networking between industry and designers, with light refreshments amongst the WONDER exhibitions.
Practical information
🗓️ Thursday 29 October 2026 – Kortrijk
4.00 pm – 5.30 pm: WONDER tour (optional)
5.30 pm – 6.00 pm: reception at Budafabriek
6.00 pm – 7.15 pm: talks & panel discussion
7.15 pm – 9.00 pm: networking, drinks & bites
📍 Budafabriek – Dam 9 – 8500 Kortrijk
🗣️ Language: Dutch/English
✍️ Registration deadline: 20 October 2026
💶 Attendance is free, but advance registration is required.

An initiative of Fedustria, in collaboration with Designregio Kortrijk and Trendvision. The event is by invitation only, but designers or entrepreneurs from the textile, wood and furniture industries who wish to register can contact Fedustria.

The world is in transition: weather records such as the largest forest fires, droughts or floods are being broken year after year. There is less and less free space. Can transdisciplinary design help us tackle these ecological, social and spatial challenges? With Towards Territorial Transition, Matthias Armengaud (F) and Aglaée Degros make a case for large-scale decarbonization. It presents new spatial strategies, concepts and approaches for shaping large-scale and transnational developments in architecture and urban planning with a view to decarbonisation and ecological transition. They also explore possible solutions to address and cope with the dramatic threats of climate change and the emerging social crisis. 

Territorial Portrait © Anna Positano

Computational design makes it possible to automatically tailor products to the user, from shape and dimensions to functionality. Using specific examples, **Davy Parmentier from Ghent University’s Kortrijk campus** demonstrates how design and technology come together, thereby making bespoke solutions feasible on a larger scale.

Step into our maker space and see digital fabrication in action.

Pop in or Sign up for a 20–30 minute session, choose from a selection of small pre-designed objects, and watch a 3D printer build it layer by layer. Along the way, we'll explain the process, from digital model to physical object, the materials involved, and the basics of how it all works.

At the end of your session, the printed piece is yours to take home.

A hands-on introduction to a technology that's reshaping how we make, prototype, and create.

With the support of Elegoo

Come have a glass with us and Waainkameraden. We’ll be pouring a few of our favorite natural wines, including the limited Wonder Rieslink.

“THE BODY IS A STRANGE THING”

a phrase that has long been echoing in curator Erik Haemers’ mind
 a phrase he might one day use for his artistic practice
 a phrase that now gives meaning to an exhibition at 4n20 ruimte voor kunst

about the body in art, design and beyond

how is the body depicted and used in art, design and everyday life
 depicting the body in an almost abstract way; showing the body, yet not really showing it

movement, strength, vulnerability, flexibility, inspiration, care, …

what do we, as human beings, do with our bodies? how do we protect them? how do we look after them? what are they capable of?

Curator: Erik Haemers
 With a.o. An Roovers, Claire Lavendhomme, Henk Delabie, Erik Haemers + Samira Afkir, Gonzo, James Van Vossel, Jelle Annie Michiels, Judith Van Oeckel, Jutec, Katrien Beullens, Lore Stessel, Marlies Huybs, Materialise, Monique Thomaes, Murielle Scherre, Niels Raoul Boone, Nienke Baeckelandt, Orfit, Sioen, Yasmine Assbane & Zoé Komkommer

Welcome, dear guests, to BITE, MEASURE, OBEY a place where every bite is counted, every 
portion measured, and every plate knows who’s in charge. 

This project is an immersive installation that takes the form of a fictional restaurant experience, 
critically exploring eating disorders and the systems of control imposed on the body. Visitors are welcomed into a fictional restaurant where they are guided to their table, where the performative experience begins. The action unfolds through a sequence of changing tablecloths, each introducing different dishes, gestures, and behavioral instructions. 

No real food is served. Instead, embroidered 3D representations of dishes replace consumption. As 
the “host,” I instruct guests on how to withhold, control, and hide food, transforming the act of eating 
into a ritual of restriction. Through the staging of a familiar dining situation, the installation reveals the hidden and often invisible rituals of eating disorders. 

The project emerges from my personal story with eating disorder and the importance of questioning 
how much fear, control, and social pressure can be embedded within the simple act of eating, and 
how we can approach someone living with an eating disorder not through the desire to “fix” them, but 
through listening and understanding.

This performance runs continuously from 11.00 to 18.00.

Step into our maker space and see digital fabrication in action.

Pop in or Sign up for a 20–30 minute session, choose from a selection of small pre-designed objects, and watch a 3D printer build it layer by layer. Along the way, we'll explain the process, from digital model to physical object, the materials involved, and the basics of how it all works.

At the end of your session, the printed piece is yours to take home.

A hands-on introduction to a technology that's reshaping how we make, prototype, and create.

With the support of Elegoo

How can we ensure that we can trust AI when it makes decisions and takes action independently? Franziska Burger from Ghent University’s Kortrijk campus explores how humans and AI can work together in the future and how researchers are developing transparent, reliable AI that is aligned with human values.

Discover how you, as a designer, can contribute to a sustainable future. In this workshop, you’ll learn the basic principles of circular design and business models, drawing inspiration from TU Delft’s groundbreaking ‘Products that Last’ initiative and leading real-world examples.

What can you expect?
We’ll get straight down to work: apply circular insights to your own work and learn how to drive change within your company or with clients. You’ll be given tools and strategies not only to apply circular design, but also to actively promote it.
This one-day workshop is a call to action. Become the designer who creates solutions that are not only beautiful but also sustainable. Please note: places are limited.

Who is it for?
For creative professionals such as product designers, product managers, interior and furniture designers, and makers of various consumer goods (electronics, accessories, furniture, ceramics, etc.) and sustainability consultants.

Schrijf je in voor onze geleide WONDER wandeling!

Step into our maker space and see digital fabrication in action.

Pop in or Sign up for a 20–30 minute session, choose from a selection of small pre-designed objects, and watch a 3D printer build it layer by layer. Along the way, we'll explain the process, from digital model to physical object, the materials involved, and the basics of how it all works.

At the end of your session, the printed piece is yours to take home.

A hands-on introduction to a technology that's reshaping how we make, prototype, and create.

With the support of Elegoo

Step into our maker space and see digital fabrication in action.

Pop in or Sign up for a 20–30 minute session, choose from a selection of small pre-designed objects, and watch a 3D printer build it layer by layer. Along the way, we'll explain the process, from digital model to physical object, the materials involved, and the basics of how it all works.

At the end of your session, the printed piece is yours to take home.

A hands-on introduction to a technology that's reshaping how we make, prototype, and create.

With the support of Elegoo