Founding Edition
The 2026 edition of the Cameroon Design Festival marks the first national platform dedicated to positioning design as a driver of advancement.
Although design contributes immensely to how we live, build, trade, and imagine the future, its role in national development has often gone unnamed, undervalued, and under-invested. The 2026 Founding Edition brings design to the center of the conversation, not as decoration, but as infrastructure for growth.
With the theme Design as a Driver of National Development, the Founding Edition asks a bold question:
What if Cameroon could move from consuming global design to exporting creativity, innovation, and culture to the global market?
As Cameroon’s first design festival, CDF 2026 is intentionally focused. It is a pilot, a foundation, a starting point. The festival creates space for depth, dialogue, and real impact. Likewise, it brings together key design sectors to view design as a strategic asset that fuels economic growth, beautify cities, strengthens businesses, and empowers youth.
Celebrated locally and open to the global community, CDF 2026 sets the foundation for a unified design ecosystem that connects designers, institutions, and the public, positioning Cameroon as an emerging contributor to Africa’s design and a future exporter of design excellence.
Design Exhibition
The exhibitions programme at the Cameroon Design Festival 2026 serves as a central platform for showcasing how design shapes everyday life, industry, culture, and national progress. Bringing together designers, studios, institutions, and collectives from across Cameroon and beyond, the exhibitions highlight design as both a cultural practice and a strategic tool for development.
Through thoughtfully curated projects, installations, and presentations, the programme explores how design responds to local challenges, preserves cultural knowledge, advances innovation, and contributes to sectors such as architecture, manufacturing, fashion, craft, technology, and public services. The exhibitions invite audiences to engage with design not only as visual expression, but as a powerful force that influences how societies grow, adapt, and imagine the future.
Talks & Conversations
The Talks & Conversations programme provides a space for dialogue, reflection, and knowledge exchange around the role of design in shaping Cameroon’s social, economic, and cultural landscape. Featuring designers, architects, policymakers, educators, entrepreneurs, and creative leaders, the programme brings together diverse voices from Cameroon, Africa, and the international design community.
Discussions focus on design as a driver of national development—examining its impact on education, innovation, sustainability, cultural identity, and economic growth. Through panels, keynote talks, and moderated conversations, the programme encourages critical thinking, shared learning, and cross-sector collaboration, positioning design as an essential contributor to national and regional development strategies.
Activations & Collaborations
Activations & Collaborations transform the city into an open platform for design-led experiences, partnerships, and public engagement. This programme invites brands, cultural institutions, educational platforms, and independent practitioners to activate spaces through exhibitions, pop-ups, installations, and collaborative projects.
Rooted in the Founding Edition theme, these activations demonstrate how design connects people, industries, and communities. By blending creative expression with real-world contexts, the programme highlights the social and economic value of design, encourages experimentation, and fosters meaningful interactions between designers, audiences, and partners across different sectors.
Next-Gen Designers Showcase
The Next-Gen Designers Showcase is dedicated to emerging designers, students, and young practitioners shaping the future of design in Cameroon. This programme provides a platform for new voices to present ideas, prototypes, and projects that respond to contemporary challenges and opportunities.
Aligned with the theme Design as a Driver of National Development, the showcase highlights how young designers are rethinking materials, systems, technologies, and cultural narratives to create impact. It supports talent development, visibility, and mentorship, reinforcing the importance of investing in the next generation as a foundation for sustainable creative and economic growth.
CDF Awards
The CDF Awards recognise excellence, innovation, and impact across the design ecosystem. The awards celebrate designers, studios, organisations, and initiatives whose work demonstrates the power of design to contribute meaningfully to national development.
Grounded in the Founding Edition theme, the awards highlight projects that address social challenges, strengthen local industries, promote cultural heritage, and drive innovation across disciplines. By recognising outstanding contributions, the CDF Awards aim to elevate design practice, inspire future work, and reinforce the role of design as a strategic force in shaping Cameroon’s future.