The Freedom to Create Prize is a celebration of the courage and creativity of artists, and the positive influence of their work to promote social justice and inspire the human spirit.

We’ve been receiving warm support from all over the world since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. It wasn’t just people in Japan who were affected, people in many countries showed their warmth and support through various creative initiatives, making new connections and bonds across the world. We are proud to introduce ARIGATO project, founded in association with Tokyo Award, an art and design TV show in Japan and Design Association NPO.

This July we are launching our second competition and this time the competition will be open to all, and the challenge is to design a garden for a private residence. Once again the key feature of this competition is that the project in question is a “virtual project”, one that has been created specifically for this competition.

The American Academy in Rome invites applications for the Rome Prize competition. One of the leading overseas centers for independent study and advanced research in the arts and the humanities, the Academy offers up to thirty fellowships for periods ranging from six months to two years. Rome Prize winners reside at the Academy’s eleven-acre center in Rome and receive room and board, a study or studio, and a stipend. Stipends for six-month fellowships are $14,000 and stipends for eleven-month fellowships are $26,000.

In response to the theme 'Design at the Edges' of the '2011 IDA Congress Taipei' there is no country that isn't using creativity as the driving force behind various industries towards the development of aesthetics economics, integrating technology with human culture and fusing sensations with experiences, and is using the interweaving of the three dimensions of consumer psychology, social consciousness and sustainable development to explore insights on designs for the benefits of human living.

For the fourth time Lodz Art Center would like to invite to take a part in the make me!contest. The competition is opened to young designers (both individual and project groups). All the participants must be between 20 and 30 years old. There are no other restrictions! We would like to discover talents with fresh look at design and give them the opportunity to exhibit their works during 5th International Design Festival in Lodz, 20-30 October 2011.

This new RIBA Competition invites architects, engineers, designers and students of these disciplines to come up with proposals for a new generation of electricity pylon. As well as exploring the design of the ‘object’, this competition also seeks to explore the relationship between our energy infrastructure and the environment within which it needs to be located. The challenge is to design a pylon that has the potential to deliver for future generations, whilst balancing the needs of our communities and preserving the beauty of our countryside.

Close the Gap invites architects, landscape architects, urban designers, engineers, and students worldwide to broaden the dialogue of alternative solutions for sustainable urban living. The competition focuses on the Midtown sector of New York City’s East River Greenway - a critical missing link in Manhattan’s alternative transportation infrastructure. Close the Gap requests urban design solutions that complete the missing link between East 38th and East 60th streets, integrating alternative means of transportation including walking, jogging, biking, etc., as well as leisure and recreation space.

The Bat-Yam Biennale: Urban Action is due to take place for the third time in October 2012 in and around the city of Bat-Yam. Following the two former editions, "Hosting 2008" and "Timing 2010", we invite artists, architects, designers, residents, and anyone with a keen interest on urbanism to suggest ideas for improving the quality of life in the city. Selected proposals will be executed by the Bat-Yam municipality.

Core77 is addressing many of the challenges of the design award paradigm, building upon the very things that can make it great – leveraging online scale, increasing transparency, and decreasing plane fuel in the process. From client work to self-initiated efforts, from entrepreneurial to pro-bono, there are new currencies in design whose value can be commercial, cultural, social, environmental, or discursive. The Core77 Design Awards welcomes projects in all of these spheres, and honors the time, effort, and quality of the endeavors, no matter their provenance.