Hamid Ayodeji
The Interior Designers Association of Nigeria (IDAN) has expressed its commitment to regularize the activities of its members in order to promote professionalism in the industry.
This, they emphasised, would help reposition the sector through proper orientation and provide the platform from which all interior designers may lend a collective voice to government and industry initiatives.
Speaking to THISDAY Newspaoer during an interview, the Secretary General of the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria, Gbemi Aluko said, “The Interior Designers Association of Nigeria (IDAN) was founded in 2007 as a sole global voice and authority for interior professionals in Nigeria.
“Despite the industry’s growth, there are a few challenges that still affect Interior designers and the interior design sector in general and IDAN is a platform for all stakeholders in the industry to come together to resolve them.”
She further said: “IDAN was established to promote excellence in interior design through education, training and continuing professional development of practitioners.
“Our mission is to register all practicing interior designers in Nigeria and be a collective voice in the industry by providing the platform from which all interior designers may lend a collective voice to government and industry initiatives. I would like to note that before IDAN was set up, the interior design industry, though thriving, was largely unorganized.”
The group maintained that its founding members established IDAN to address the major problems that exist in the interior design industry in Nigeria.
“The absence of a voluntary association to stimulate and promote professionalism in the practice, the absence of a Legal regime, statute or regulation governing the interior design industry and the absence of institutions in the country offering comprehensive professional training in interior design.
“Having proper design licensing and regulation will bridge the knowledge and experience gap and although IDAN initiatives like continuing professional development, our C.E.O round tables, exhibitions like GUIDE and seminars have improved these gaps drastically, although much is still left to be done.
“As the sole body of Interior design in Nigeria, the herculean task is upon us to make the industry better organized and in ensuring that members, clients and the general public are educated about the possibilities and limitations of IDAN,” Aluko added.
