World Design Capital Helsinki 2010 Ideas Forum on Saturday May 22, 2010
World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, a joint project by Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen, Lahti and other partners, extends an open invitation to citizens, companies and other organizations, clubs, universities and other educational institutions, city districts, and all other interested parties: join the organizers to brainstorm, discuss and plan what the year 2012 as World Design Capital can mean and be for everybody.
On Saturday, May 22, the organizers of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 will hold an Ideas Forum. The Forum will consist of brainstorming sessions, which will be organized between 9:00 in the morning and 18:00 in the evening in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti. Everybody is welcome to join. The sessions are meant for joint ideas creation and discussion of the opportunities offered by the World Design Capital Helsinki title, both for the communities at large and for the session organizers themselves.
The Ideas Forum is intended to provide answers to two main questions: what expectations and hopes there are for World Design Capital Helsinki 2012; and what opportunities World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 can offer for the session host or the organization that the host represents.
An open city brainstorms
“How can we develop, advance and improve our everyday life in 2012?” questions Pekka Timonen, who directs the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 project. “For us, design is a human oriented and open activity. That is why we are now asking citizens to offer ideas for the year’s programme.”
According to Timonen, the Design Year 2012 can provide keys to new networks, design know-how, opportunities to showcase our know-how, international co-operation, and surprising achievements. “We will be successful if World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 is openly shared and owned by us all,” Timonen says.
People can participate in the brainstorming sessions of Saturday, May 22 by joining the discussion or submitting ideas in writing. Every session will be attended by a World Design Capital guide, who registers the ideas. The sessions and ideas will be posted on www.wdchelsinki2012.fi from May 17 onwards.
On May 22, a number of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 teams will be making rounds in the five cities, setting up spontaneous brainstorming sessions at busy places, such as bus stops and squares.
People can also submit ideas online at www.wdchelsinki2012.fi from May 17 to 31, 2010.
The ideas and information gathered through the Ideas Forum will be used in World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 programme planning.
Do you want to be a session host?
Anyone who sees value in the World Design Capital project can organize a brainstorming session and so participate in the overall process. Those interested in organizing a session should report to ideointi@wdchelsinki2012.fi by May 7. They are requested to state the theme of the session, time, place, duration and the organizer. It is recommended also to report any possible expert presentations to be held at the session. The producers of the Ideas Forum will provide further guidance to those who enroll.
Ideas Forum release
