The summer is over and lots of things has happened at Micro Macro Monde - here some images and the latest video from the mill which will be available Nov. 12th 2008.

]]> http://www.exdl.com/2008/11/08/micro-macro-monde-aug-2008/feed/ http://www.exdl.com/2008/08/26/worldby-workshops/ http://www.exdl.com/2008/08/26/worldby-workshops/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:59:39 +0000 editor http://www.exdl.com/?p=261 WORLDBY - Radically Rethinking Design and the World - RRDW

-workshops and lectures

We are caught in a unique situation on Planet Earth right now – possibly the biggest challenge ever. The coming years will, whether we like it or not, be full of dramatic changes and it will happen at a pace maybe never experienced in the history of the Planet before.

Its now “common knowledge” that global warming is “here to stay”. What do we do? We change of course and innovate as we have always done – or do we? Just now we have due to many factors, one of them being the technological development, a possibility of creating the most amazing world where humans and all fellow citizens can live in incredible living structures, realizing fantastic dreams and having unbelievable lives. But is that what we are doing?

“The WORLDBY design project” – is an inter active experiment in how to get us all engaged in envisioning, designing and possibly developing images and real projects for a “new world”.

“WORLDBY-for real” - is a kind of city, a living structure and yet just an example or rather an experiment in new thinking and doing. The intention is that anyone can come with inputs to WORLDBY and publicize the visions on the WORLDBY website. Next summer workshops with building actual components for a potential WORLDBY structure will happen at Micro Macro Monde in France (more later about these activities).

“The WORLDBY workshop” is a forum where models for how to live in a WORLDBY-world could look like – a world where fx. Garbage does not exist, abundance of food, water and energy is available, people do what they want etc….a kind of perfect world or ???. The workshop will explore how its possible to envision and design radically different ways of living, working, consuming etc using the WORLDBY - the vertical village as an example.

The output of the workshop will be shared with the world on the net.

PRACTICALITIES:

The workshop can be offered to people without any skills in design, art and architecture as well as to professionals. Max. 60 participants. Workshop length min. 1 day.

For further information please contact Niels Peter Flint directly at npflint@exdl.com

The next workshops / lectures:

-United Arab Emirates - Sharjah, The American University, November 9th 2008 - LECTURE in relation to exhibition held at Sharjah Museum of Art where a WORLDBY installation will be on display.

-Mexico - Last week of February 23rd to 28th 2009 - WORKSHOP

“The Bærekraft days” are pleased to present an exquisite workshop on Thursday August 28th 2008 at. 1500-1800 in tent no. 1 on the lawn in front of Islands Brygge 37 in Copenhagen.

We present a cooperation consisting of EXDL - Experience Design Lab, ECCO International and AGENTURET / Gravitations. The workshop will be about a new radically different, colorful and challenging concept: “The Sustainability Challenge - a dialogic design expedition-lab”. The Sustainability Challenge is a journey, exploring new ways to work with “bærekraft”- (”SUSTAINABILITY POWER”), design, philosophy and culture. We are planning expeditions with teams of professionals to Gambia, Argentina and India, with the first tour in the spring of 2009. Niels Peter Flint from EXDL, Guro Heilmann from ECCO International and Oleg Koefoed from The Agency / Gravitations will tell about the ideas and together with the participants work with prospects. We will work with a vision of “beyond green” - and, of course, we will also produce some “bærekraft flowers” (an important part of the BÆREKRAFT DAYS - please see (and sorry only in danish) http://agenturet.net/?p=32), which brings together concept, vision and the project in whole. We hope to see as many as possible to talk about how local wisdom, “bærekraft” philosophy, radically sustainable design and transcultural experiences can create awareness and new cooperation projects. All participants will receive a description of the concept. If possible please let us know if you can come, so we have an idea of how many plan to attend. Write to oleg@gravitations.org or call 0045-30 28 66 21

Sustensively

The “Bærekraft” team

Guro, Oleg and Niels Peter

waiting for you…….and if you want to read the entire

THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE

concept please come back on Tuesday August 26th 2008…..here in this site….. believe it or not - it might be real…..

THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE

will take you to the top….. to the top of what….????

THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE

might show some new ways……have a look http://www.baerekraftfestival.dk/

The first course at the Micro Macro Monde Center - about perma culture design related to a fictive garden city development project called WORLDBY.

“Permaculture is the conscious use of ecological principles for designing sustainable and productive human habitats” David Holmgren

A Permaculture Design for the Micro Macro Monde Center at Moulin De Planchette, Cormes, France

View Larger Map

Dates: starting at Friday September 26th and finishing Saturday Oct. 4th.

This will be the first course to be held at the Micro Macro Monde Center and we are all very exited and looking very much forward. The course will be over ten days and includes the MMM-event also. It will be 10 days packed with new in-puts and lots of nice food, exiting talks and extremely interesting learning. Please sign up as soon as possible we cant really accommodate more than 20 persons.

What will the course be about:

The aim of the course/workshop is to make a master plan for the mill - seeing the mill as a platform in the WORLDBY structure as envisioned by Niels Peter Flint - please see the images elsewhere here on the site or click here.

The WORLDBY TENT VILLAGE.

You will be living in a kind of experimental “temporary tent village” - an experiment in living in a “micro space with a macro impact” - imagine it being on one of the platforms of WORLDBY. The tents have been used in similar projects in India - however never documented. We will document life here in various ways too in order to gain experience on “micro living”.

The Perma Culture aspects:

The course will give a basic introduction to permaculture design principles, using the mill as a case study. This means creating sustainable connections between people and the place.

Niels Peter Flint is the client, and wants to develop the mill as a laboratory for exploring natural sustainable systems as part of the WORLDBY project. He is obviously not going to build a WORLDBY on this plot, but he wants to “perform” or “simulate” what it could be like on a platform in WORLDBY.

The vision for the course is that you will help develop and materialize the first MICRO MACRO MONDE Center – a place where innovative thinking and doing can take place. A kind of experimental lab, retreat and possibly developing into becoming a test-zone for the WORLDBY project. Please read more about what an MMM center and WORLDBY is on www.exdl.com.

Participants will work as a team, using holistic participatory design methods, contributing to an overall master plan that can be developed further by Niels Peter Flint. The course will give participants an opportunity to learn essential social and practical skills for designing sustainable habitats.

The day will have a mixture between theoretical lectures, practical design work, practical work on the place and of course recreation! The practical work will be planting trees, creating gardens, composting, natural building techniques like clay plastering, natural paints etc.

The following themes will be covered:

- Client parameters: functions, social and practical resources – connections to the local community, economic possibilities, financing
- Site analysis: understanding the site, observation skills, climate, aspects, sectors, available resources, natural cycles
- Zones and sectors: using the available natural resources, placement of functions, initial design principles
- Fire/energy cycle: available renewable energy resources, harnessing natural resources, systems and possibilities
- Water cycle: local water sources, local sewage and grey water systems, water conservation
- Earth cycle: Materials: available local building materials, existing buildings and building renovation. Food production: placement and selection, integrating animals.
- Air cycle: Indoor climate, natural ventilation techniques. Health aspects, spiritual and visionary connections

The Micro Macro Monde Party:

Friday Oct. 2nd there will be a big party where locals will be invited to see the outcome of the course.

Inspirators:

Frederica Miller, architect and permaculture designer, has her own practice as part of Gaia Architects in Oslo, Norway. She was born in England. Her main experience and focus is with planning from large scale to small scale, participation processes, urban ecology, housing projects and ecological farms. She has written the book “Living Houses” (in Norwegian) and is much used as a consultant, lecturer and permaculture teacher.

Julio Perez, is an architect in Gaia Architects Oslo, Norway. He was born in Chile, and is one of the pioneers in developing sustainable building and gardening techniques in Chile and Latin America. His main experience and focus is permaculture design, instant gardening techniques, urban agriculture, the use of clay as a building material, self build techniques. He has written many articles and pamphlets (in Spanish) and is much used as a consultant, lecturer and teacher in Europe and Latin America.

Niels Peter Flint, is primarily a designer, specialized in sustainable development, however NPF has also worked a lot developing sustainable architectural concepts. He has worked globally as a consultant in architecture and design, but also as a workshop leader, lecturer etc. Please read more at www.exdl.com/nplint.

Practicalities from the host:

In order to keep a low price for the course we will experiment with many exiting things when it comes to eating and drinking, but it will still be a feast everyday and will get new exiting dishes served under the open sky or in the barn (in case of rain) or under the trees or maybe somewhere completely different – all organic produce and mostly vegetarian. And everyone will also be part of helping with the cooking which NPF otherwise is in charge of – and it will NOT be conventional and boring food.

When it comes to sleeping you will have be able to sleep on strawbales in or outside or on air madrases in Indian organic cotton canvas tents (if they arrive in time) or regular tents. No matter what sleeping will be relatively simple but yet very exotic. And so will bathing and toilets – all communal, but wait and see it will be an experience. The setting is beautiful – it’s a bit like being in a giant magical wild garden.
You will need to bring a sleeping bag. In case you need bed linen, towels etc. an extra 5 € a day will be added.

If you don’t want to stay at the MMM Center then you can stay close by at some very nice typical French type of bed & breakfast. In case you want to do this please contact Niels Peter Flint directly for more info. The prices start at approximately 60 € pr. Night for a double room at the local places. Or alternatively have a look at the site from the local Tourist Agency in La Ferte Bernard. here you can also find information about the area in general.

Please bring rubber boots and work clothing a sweater might be a good idea too.

Prices

100 Euros pr. Day based on 20 participants. This means the entire course from Sep. 26th to Oct. 4thwill be 8 nights and therefore 800 € pr. Person. This includes a madras, food (not alcoholic drinks), party, materials and of course teaching.

You pay 50% before Sep. 1st and the rest when you arrive – or all at once if you want. In case you have to cancel a 25% will be kept in case its less than 1 week before the course starts.

Students and others who might need a discount please send a mail and let us know why you should pay less.

You can pay to banks in UK, France and Denmark. Please let me know what you prefer.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Niels Peter Flint
Copenhagen May 19, 2008

- and if you want to know more please see the videos below:

- we are all looking very much forward to seeing you at this first course at the MMM center.

Frederica Miller

Julio Perez

Niels Peter Flint

and to get to Gaia Oslo homepage click on logo (primarily in norwegian)

This is the first exhbition to be held at The NPFlint Space at the Micro Macro Monde Center. The exhibition will primarily be showing works made in India by EXDL India. Its the past 4 years of work which will be exhibited

There will furniture from the Mushi Mushi and INDULGEXDL Collections.

There will be bedspreads / wall hangings and other textile products - all organic cotton.

There will be Tasar and Ahimsa (non-violent) silk products exhibited as well.

More information will be coming here after July 15th.

The opening is on Saturday July 26th at 15.00 to 18.00 at the Micro Macro Monde Center. There will be drinks and small snacks. Please click here see link for map and address.

Hope to see locals as well as friends etc.

Kind regards

Niels Peter Flint

-a couple of comments from people who have experienced or worked with Niels Peter Flint. If you are interested in booking NPF for a lecture, workshop or anything else please call 0045-36934843.

Karen Blincoe about NPF:

“Niels Peter is a modern day visionary. Inspiring and passionate
speaker, lecturer, teacher with wealth of experience in innovative
problemsolving….and he walks his talk”.

Karen Blincoe Director of the Schumacher College UK,
and is the Founder of The ICIS Center Denmark.

More about Schumacher College please click here.

More about ICIS Center please click here.

NPF has been teaching, lecturing etc. At The Danish Design School when
KB was head of Visual Communication and also at ICIS center, Denmark.
NPF has also taught at Schumacher College.

Nigel Stansfield about NPF:

“An inspirational lecturer and creative teacher, Niels Peter Flint brings
to sustainable design not only his experience but his enthusiastic belief
that design and radical thinking is the way to solve the problems faced by
the world today. “

Nigel W. Stansfield
Senior Director Product, Design and Innovation InterfaceFLOR

More about InterfaceFLOR please click here.

NPF has developed various sustainable design concepts for InterfaceFLOR and held lectures, developed workshops etc. See one of the concepts by clicking here.

Yorick Benjamin about NPF:

“Every year the group that Niels Peter Flint teaches at University College Falmouth is engaged by his high paced approach to sustainable design. NPF’s teaching is hands on, workshop and practice driven and entertaining. Students know that they are being taught by a designer practitioner who has sustainability at his heart and will steer them to a holistic design vision with real values. A visiting lecturer with extraordinary energy, experience and vision”.

Dr. Yorick Benjamin M.Des RCA
Senior Lecturer
3D Design for Sustainability,
University College Falmouth

More aboout Falmouth Design Department please click here.
and examples from one of the workshops NPF was in charge of on Falmouth please click here.

The renovation has started

The Renovation of The Old Moulin De Planchette has started and it will gradually be turned into The Micro Macro Monde Center. this is just the beginning of a long process where the old mill will be transformed more or less totally

The first part of the renovation is to make the old stable building into a my private sphere on the first floor as well as making space for office, showroom etc. on the ground floor.

Obviously the renovation is done in the most eco friendly way. Ill explain more about the consideration later.

Here for now you can see the video explaining about the initial steps.

By Niels Peter Flint

The world is full of people and tomatoes. And the people all want tomato ketchup and concentrated tomato and tomato sauces and peeled tomatoes in cans and sun dried tomatoes and a few fresh watery red tomatoes to put on top of their burger or salad covered in tomato dressing.

Tomatoes are produced mainly in Europe (Greece, Italy, Spain) and the US (Florida, California). Huge land areas are covered in plastics and tons of pesticides and other agro chemicals are used to satisfy this lust for the red watery veggie. The pluckers are mostly severely underpaid, in fact, paid below the minimum level of existence. Most often they are illegal immigrants, who cannot complain since they have no official papers and they live under horrible conditions – almost like slaves, surely worse than pigs in modern pig farms. And tomatoes are dirt-cheap. The total world production of fresh tomatoes is not more than at most 1 billion USD. The total world value of tomato sauces on the other hand is app 50 billion USD. So the processing is creating the value, which the consumers evidently are willing to pay.

Right now the between 1 and 2 billion “haves” can enjoy a material superiority, however often a lousy life quality some would say, but we get our tomato ketchup cheap. The currently 4 billion “have-nots” wants tomato ketchup and cars and fridges and automatic pet feeders and electric toothbrushes etc. too. Can they have this? Just like so many other things that we take for granted in today’s world tomatoes has become a modern commodity, using vast amounts of resources in order to be available for the consumers everywhere at any time – at extremely low and totally unrealistic prices based on slave labor and a completely exaggerated agricultural economic support from various governmental structures.

Tomatoes are fragile and have long been packaged in all sorts of ways mostly in order to be protected and keep fresh as long as possible. Approximately 10-30% of tomatoes in underdeveloped countries decay during transport, due to rot, rats etc. You can easily genetically engineer the long-lasting tomato.

Nowadays tomatoes don’t taste of anything when they are out of season. The flavory tomato having a high taste has been genetically engineered, and sold by Sainsbury, UK. However, the producers had to withdraw due to consumer reactions. Millions of euros, yens and dollars are put into research in genetically manipulating tomatoes so that they last longer, taste better etc.

Tomatoes today like so many other things cost nothing due to massive in-direct support systems, which allows a totally hopeless ecological non-acceptable but also in the long run economically totally unsustainable development.

Imagine designing “the good tomato experiences” which would be about satisfying our need for this red substance in the most appropriate way according to the season. Why not have your own peeled and preserved “basil and honey with chili glassed tomatoes” out of season and fresh vice versa. Well because you don’t even know how to peel a tomato and by the way you don’t have time to do those kinds of silly time-consuming things - and then they are SO cheap in the supermarket anyway (well wait till you have to pay the real prices).

We tend to believe that it’s impossible to make people stop something that they already have gained access to like having access to consume tomatoes all year round. However considering the bad quality mostly being delivered in the winter and the consumer maybe starting to understand the real implications of something as banal as “the tomato need”, maybe many customers would love the following experience in case the below scenario was designed and developed. And imagining that the subsidies for tomatoes will probably not exist in some years from now, it might not be so unrealistic.

Scenario:

THE TOMATO EXPERIENCE year 2010

- in the Food Experience Place (FEP) you now have completely different, inspiring and beautiful fruit and vegetable / home cooking departments. They look like a mix of former vegetable markets with a kind of kitchens with high and low tech machines which in almost magical ways transforms veggies and fruits into all sorts of interesting semi- or ready-made products – designed either by the customer or by various chefs.

In the kitchens experimentation can happen and own recipes can be tested, etc. There are recipe-bourses where you exchange or sell recipes and ideas. You can grind your own coffee and add cinnamon – or mix your own tea from fresh end dried tealeaves, herbs etc. You can design your own mayonnaise or sandwich crème, mix your own yogurth, and blend your own shampoo - and you can make your own tomato ketchup and other tomato products. On the spot or by order. You can smell / taste your own creations as an artificial simulation is made in a computer, which gives you an indication of how the chosen combo of fx. tomatoes and pineapple will taste or smell like..

Tomatoes are still sold by the piece in the supermarkets but only when in season. Bulk gets to our doorstep ordered by your personal avatar via the Internet. You go to the foodexperience-places (FEP), to get inspiration rather than just to shop. In season there are numerous different kinds of tomatoes and just as many byproducts of the preserved tomatoes. When the tomatoes are getting too old, they are simply made into fx. tomato-ketchup or other products, either in the store or at other centrally located micro-food processing factories.

Heinz has designed this sophisticated system where they “satisfy your tomato-need” in the most (sustainable) appropriate way.

IN the FEP Heinz and other food processing companies provide you with various services based on what is in season. The left-overs are processed and can, as described, be “designed” by the customer, in case the customer has not been foresighted enough to by his or her tomato products off-season. Obviously, in case a customer desperately needs fresh tomatoes off-season – it can be delivered, but then you pay the real costs.

In the FEP tomatoes etc. are bottled or canned or put into newly developed eatable packaging that adds the spices, salts etc. when cooked (the packaging contains starch and aromas for the tomato soup). You can also bring your own container and you can of course buy loads of different kinds of fabulously designed recyclable or disposable or eatable containers, which are all made from best available materials.
The “new” and freshly made (but preserved) tomato-products are now sold either directly in the shops or on delivery since many order via Internet). Due to the RFID-tag development each tomato product is registered – if you as a consumer want that. This means that the tomato products you are designing and ordering – in season – will be available to others on the local “FEP-virtual (Tomato) bourse”, where the FEP sell your products on for you in case you fx. have ordered too many Pineapple-tomato-ketchups or just in case you want to be a new Heinz - with the help of Heinz.

The tomatoes (and obviously many other products too) stay in the store until they finally are bought in some form or another, which means that there is literally no waste. And the waste that might appear is put into the local biogas system, which powers machines operating in the FEP.

In 2010 most tomatoes in the FEP´s are NOT packaged - in case they are, they are covered with a very thin layer of bio-film which in principal is eatable too. But most places the TOMATO-cascading-life-system has been introduced, also called THE (Heinz) TOMATO EXPERIENCE.

Before we were used to “tomatoes”, now we have green, and yellow, and Caribbean, and this and that kind of tomatoes - we have become aware that a tomato is not just a tomato. The consciousness about fresh food has increased drastically and the strong interest in fx. eating seasonal has allowed all these new (old) kinds of also tomatoes to be grown. Eating seasonal is not just because it’s better for the environment, and more healthy, but also because it’s more exiting. Seasonal food varies your daily eating. And the fact that the FEP-TOMATO EXPERIENCE project allows varied food, a lot of creativity and ecological as well as economic sense is probably what has made it very successful worldwide.

Why “the TOMATO EXPERIENCE” ?

This kind of project might sound problematical for some. However, it satisfies a need or trend, which we are seeing in the developed world today. Its not just about delivering tomatoes - its about delivering quality food experiences which, if designed the right way, will be sustainable too.

Why this would become a sustainable solution I could write a whole thesis about. My claim is that this concept will make economic as well as ecological sense - AND - it will create something new and better for both the consumer, but – if designed the right way - also for the farmer, the pluckers and many others.
It’s in many ways a radical solution, and then yet just one out of thousands of new ways of making projects that satisfies our basic “modern” needs in our daily lives.

Obviously this sounds as if it would become a very expensive solution. Well, considering the more than 50 billion USD turn-over in the tomato-biz every year, I’m pretty sure (when legislation is changed) and designers start developing concepts which really show how the world is working (the designer becoming the “eco-cascading expert”), at that time, which hopefully is as soon as possible, I’m pretty sure that a concept like this will make a hell lot of economic sense.

I’m proposing these kind of scenarios because I believe that we have to invent entirely new ways of consuming in order to survive. Basically EVERYTHING we do and design today needs radical change. Designing new bio-degrable walkmen does not save the world, neither does it make any real contribution, it just makes us continue to consume in a little bit less totally unsustainable way – and the traditional comment to this is that its not my responsibility, nor the responsibility of my company, to clean up the world; well who the hell should then – the MARS men????
We are all in this together, so lets get our fingers out and get going.

Designers should become a kind of “CREATIVE Overall-solution developers or designers.” If we combine that with being “eco-cascading experts”, then designers could come up with valuable solutions to the problems or challenges the world is facing (so I wrote 15 years ago too).
It might seem inadequate to target an issue as marginal as the production, distribution, sales and consumption of tomatoes. However its just one of thousands of daily commodities which we consider having no impact. But when seeing this in a broad context and knowing that if you apply the same thinking to all sorts of other “daily-commodity-issues”, developing extraordinary and beautiful, sexy and emotionally functional solutions. This could have a major effect on a prosperous, creative, sustainable development on the planet.

Having been the first O2′er I find it scary of course that nothing much has happened the last 15 years that O2 has existed. The same issues are still discussed. We need radical solutions. The TOMATO experience is of course only an example – and actually not that radical. But I hope that we will see much more powerful and radical – realistic – concepts being developed in the O2 network the coming years. O2 should worldwide be the voice of radical sustainable visions, especially designed by the young generations – if you dare. Or dare you not to………As Claude Fussler says (president for WBCSD) we need 4 planets in 30 years in case we don’t make drastic changes in the way we live and consume. The future is up to you….it can become hell; it could also become paradise. But one thing I can guarantee – it’s a lot of fun developing these concepts, it’s a lot harder to make them real.
Text by Experience Design Producer Niels Peter Flint
October 2003 – written for O2 Netherlands - 10 year anniversary magazine

I en vanvittig blanding af design, arkitektur, bæredygtighed, glocal politics, emotional functionality, leap frogging, experience design, artifical intelligence og anden ny anvanceret højteknologi ofte kombineret super lav teknologi og en masse andre smarte ord demonstrerer Flint hvordan verden kunne komme til at se anderledes ud set med en meget utraditionel visionær arkitekts, designers og fantasts briller på. Flint kommer med meget konkrete bud på hvordan verden kunne komme til at se ud og han gir´ også opskrifterne på hvordan det kan lade sig gøre. Flints visioner er meget pragmastiske og ofte så simple og enkle at det virker som ”logik for perlehøns” som han selv udtrykker det.
Der bliver ikke lagt fingre imellem og alt kan tages under behandling. Flint tager gerne udgangspunkt i den konkrete virksomhed / institutions produkter og viser hvordan der måske kunne tænkes nyt og anderledes til fordel for alle.
Samtlige Flints foredrag er fulgt af en særdeles stærk og imponerende billedside, med stills, video, musik etc.

* Radically Rethinking Design - Experience Design - The next dimension

Verden kræver radikale løsninger hvis alle på denne klode skal leve bare på nogenlunde samme vilkår som vi gør her i Europa. Pt. Er der 4 milliarder såkaldte ”have nots” (lad os kalde dem særdeles fattige materielt), som i højere og højere grad vil kræve deres ret til andel i ressourcer og materielt overflod. De er fattige godt nok i ressourcer, men ofte rige på kultur og åndelige værdier. Kan vi måske bruge hinanden til at skabe fælles grundlag for et liv i en global experience-økonomi – en økonomi der ikke er baseret blot på udnyttelsen af verdens fysiske ressourcer, men hvor livskvalitet og åndelige værdier er i højsædet.

Experience økonomien er på vej, men hvordan definerer vi den egentlig. Det at vi er ved at skifte fra en materiel økonomi til en immaterial er særdeles praktisk ud fra specielt et bæredygtighedsmæssigt synspunkt – vel og mærke hvis vi gør det på den rigtige måde. PPS (Product Service System), bæredygtig udvikling, nord-syd dialog, LCA (Life cycle Assesment), experience design, paradigme skift, mindshift etc. er alle buz-words i denne sammenhæng. Efter Flints mening er der ingen tvilv om at vi kan skabe en helt ny og bedre verden med al den viden, teknologi og på baggrund af de fejltagelser / erfaringer vi har gjort indtil nu. Men den skal skabes i samarbejde med verdens fremtidige førende nationer som Indien, Sydafika, Malyasia, Kina etc.

* Danmark – en utopisk død sild?

Hvis vi skal nogen vegne i Danmark er det nødvendigt at vi tænker helt nyt. Det er ikke nok blot at fortsætte med at produktudvikle grissebasser, IT osv. Der skal meget radikale ideer på banen. Og det interessante er at vi i manges øjne er radikale – det har været vores brand i mange år ude i den store verden, men vi er ved at miste det bl.a. grundet en del snak om tørklæder og deslige. Vi er ved at blive mainstream og ligeså kedelige som de kedeligste. Danmark og danskere er ved at drukne i middelmådighed, racisme og uengageret liv og omvendt jantelovshysteri og det vil på længere sigt medføre at vi bliver en 5. rangs nation uden indflydelse og velfærd. Hvorfor dette sker og hvordan vi kan lave om på det beretter Flint om i dette foredrag.

* Sustainable development and design???

Dette foredrag omhandler historier og syn på det der traditionelt kaldes bæredygtigt eller økologisk design. Flint er af den opfattelse at der ikke findes noget man kalde kalde økologisk. Er det bæredygtigt at spise økologiske tomater fra drivhuse i gasopvarmede drivhuse i Danmark eller er det mere fornuftigt at spise de flyfriske fra Tenerife – eller skulle vi finde på noget helt andet, fx. at spise årstidens grøntsager?
Flint gennemgår en række produkter og beretter om deres kvaliteter og det modsatte – et foredrag for dem der vil forstå kompleksiteten i moderne produktudviklng / design ud fra et bæredygtighedsmæssigt synspunkt kombineret med en radikal tænkers meninger og visioner.

* DOOOsign

Om at skabe design på nye måder, hvor brugerne er inddraget i en internaktiv proces – brugeren bliver en form for designer. Dette foredrag kan også laves som en som workshop af varierende længde, men kræver så et af de andre foredrag som introduktion.

* 2033 – livet WORLDBY

En rejse til fremtiden, hvor livet beskrives i en helt ny by eller bostruktur, der rejser sig op af landskabet. Verden kunne komme til at se meget anderledes ud, men det kræver mod og vilje at lave den om.Dette foredrag er baseret på Flints nye bog, som kommer på markedet i løbet af efteråret 2003.

* Emotional Functionality / Emotionel Funktionalitet

Om det åndelige armod, der er opstået kva vores enorme materielle forbrug og hvilke konsekvenser det kunne komme til at få og om hvordan det hele kunne se anderledes ud.

* The NEW design curiculum

Der er ifølge Flint brug for et nyt design curiculum – en form for internationalt manifest som samtlige produktionsvirksomheder, designere og andre der beskæftiger sig med design og produktudvikling burde skrive under på eller tilslutte sig.
Flint arbejder pt. aktivt internationalt med bl.a. virksomheder, universiteter, skoler og andre på at få etableret et sådant nyt manifest og lægger op til debat.
Flint siger om sine foredrag:
”Titler siger sgu´ikke så meget. For mig handler det handler om at skabe en mere kreativ verden så vi alle kan få det bedre – og jeg mener ALLE. Det er ikke nok at vi blot udvikler nye smarte løsninger i denne del af verden til glæde for de aller rigeste. Vi skal tænke og udvikle nyt ikke kun for de andres skyld, men i allerhøjeste grad også for vores egen skyld. Hvad vil der fx. ske hvis inderne og kineserne begynder at bruge wc-papir? Svaret kan du få i et af mine foredrag, men jeg kan røbe så meget at hvis vi lærer resten af verden at leve vores livsstil, så skal vi bruge et par extra kloder ret snart.
Der skal kort sagt skabes nye radikale løsninger på stort set alt. Og paradoksalt nok er det er der det store væktsområde ligger og de utrolige kreative muligheder – Lige nu er der minimum 4 milliarder fattige eller ”have nots”, det er pt. verdens største potentielle marked. I Indien er der ultra-fattige bønder der ved mere om internet end en bondemand i Danmark. Udfordringern er at lave noget der kan skabe kreativ dynamik, glæde, lykke, velfærd etc. for os alle på et bæredygtigt grundlag og intet er helligt længere”.

Konstellationer:

Flint holder gerne oplæg, laver workshop, skaber event / konference med en lang række oplægsholdere fra såvel ind som udland.
Niels Peter Flint
Arbejder med konceptuelle løsninger på fremtidens produkter. Flint er uddannet arkitekt, designer og scenograf. Studerede bl.a. hos den legendariske scenograf Josef Svoboda i Pragh og arbejdede hos Ettore Sottsass og hans Memphisgruppe i Milano. Startede O2, som idag er en af verdens største netværk af designere der arbejder med bæredygtig udvikling, ny teknologi etc. Flint har også været design strateg for bl.a. Razorfish, som var et af verdens førende web-udviklingsbureauer. Flint´s speciale er hans dybe engagement og viden om design, kreativ og bæredygtig udvikling og ny teknologi. Han har holdt hundredevis, hvis ikke tusindvis, af foredrag over hele verden fra Hong Kong og Tokyo i øst til San Francisco og Haiti i vest, fra Umeå og Trondheim i nord til Cape Town og Melbourne i syd. Flint har undervist hovedsaglig på designskoler over hele kloden og har ligeledes udviklet og deltaget (og gør det fortsat) i projekter om alt fra økologisk byfornyelse til udvikling af øko-golftræningscentre i Japan. Flint har ligeledes arbejdet som professionel scenograf, skuespiller og performer og bl.a. optrådt på Teatret ved Sorte Hest og mange andre steder.
Flint HAR altid været undervejs med en ny bog / projekt om hans tanker og visioner for en bedre verden og en del af den kan ses her på siden ved at klikke her. Projektets arbejdstitel er 2033 og handler om hvordan verden kunne komme til at blive næsten paradisisk for stort set alle, hvis homo sapiens ændrer vaner lidt.
Flint er en meget engageret og dynamisk kommunikator og har stor erfaring som foredragsholder fra store til små forsamlinger, fra virksomheder til skoler.

Foredrag kan holdes på dansk, svensk og engelsk