For half of a century BIO was an international competition for the design award. At its 50th anniversary it is focusing mostly on international cooperation. The curator Jan Boelen has changed the concept of the biennial, transforming it into a new form of design event, which is a platform for cooperation and experimentation instead of focusing on the international competition. This time the biennial is  presenting the results of 11 international groups.

The groups started with their work after the conference in February. During a period of six months, 120 international designers and multidisciplinary agents engaged in a large-scale collaborative effort to devise possible futures for design. The work was done on site as well as online. Participants used several creative and unexpected processes in communication, organization of work and the progress of design processes. Different groups tackled the themes of Affordable Living, Knowing Food, Public Water Public Space, Walking the City, Hidden Crafts, The Fashion System, Hacking Households, Nanotourism, Engine Blocks, Observing Space and Designing Life, creating specific projects to be implemented during the Biennial and beyond. For each group the international and Slovenian mentors made the main guidelines of the projects, lead and monitor their progress and the members of each team with different experience, knowledge and interestes were working on one or more projets, which are presented at the biennial. The results are shown on the main exhibition of the biennial which is addressing the international and Slovenian public in a modern way and gives us the information about the future of design.

In the year of its 50th anniversary, the main show is accompanied by historical exhibition The Biennial of (Industrial) Design over Fifty Years, on view at the Jakopič Gallery, the first such review of the history of biennial, shedding light on the transformation and shifts in the discipline of design, our society, and ultimately everyday life.

BIO 50 is shaped by the exhibition 3, 2, 1 TEST, which presents the process and projects developed by each of the groups. It is further enhanced by the retrospective exhibition The Biennial of (Industrial) Design over 50 Years and the themes Public Water Public Space and Walking the City. The Biennial is complemented by BIO:NOW, a lively program of parallel events, lectures and exhibitions.