Our Shared To-Do List

 The World's To Do List | The Global Goals

The 17 Global Goals are the #WorldsToDoList.

As world leaders meet at the United Nations this week, this film serves as a big reminder of what we need to do to achieve the #GlobalGoals This To Do List for the World needs to go somewhere everyone can see it – on the world itself. Share the film and find out how to get involved by clicking here: https://worldstodolist.org/. Credits: Agency: Karmarama CEO - Ben Bilboul, Business Lead - Eilidh McGregor, Account Director - Sophie Jackson, Senior Planner - Max Richards, Executive Creative Director - Adam Kean, Creative team - Rachel Holding & Dan Leppanen, TV producer - Carol Oakley, Creative Producer - Christina Lambrou, Head of Design - Simon Wakeman, Artworkers - Sam Coyle & Dipesh Soni Production: Nineteen Twenty Director - Ludo Fealy, Colour Grade - Kai Van Beers, 2D artist - Jamie Stitson, Producer - Isabella Hunt-Davis, Post Producer - Ondrej Faltin Sound: 750 mph Sound Engineers - Mike Bovill, Michalis Anthis About the Global Goals ------------------------------------- In 2015, world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals (officially known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs). These goals have the power to create a better world by 2030, by ending poverty, fighting inequality and addressing the urgency of climate change. Guided by the Goals, it is now up to all of us, governments, businesses, civil society and the general public to work together to build a better future for everyone. More about the Global Goals initiative here ▶ https://www.globalgoals.org/

Cultural Diversity Day 2021

Happy Cultural Diversity Day 2021

Why does cultural diversity matter?

Three-quarters of the world’s major conflicts have a cultural dimension. Bridging the gap between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability and development.

Cultural diversity is a driving force of development, not only with respect to economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life. This is captured in the culture conventions, which provide a solid basis for the promotion of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is thus an asset that is indispensable for poverty reduction and the achievement of sustainable development.

At the same time, acceptance and recognition of cultural diversity – in particular through innovative use of media and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) – are conducive to dialogue among civilizations and cultures, respect and mutual understanding.

Origin and purpose

In 2001, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. and in In December 2002, the UN General Assembly, in its resolution 57/249, declared May 21 to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, and in 2015, the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution on Culture and Sustainable Development A/C.2/70/L.59, affirming culture’s contribution to the three dimensions of sustainable development, acknowledging further the natural and cultural diversity of the world, and recognizing that cultures and civilizations can contribute to, and are crucial enablers of, sustainable development.

The day provides us with an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to advance the four goals of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions adopted on 20 October 2005:

• Support sustainable systems of governance for culture
• Achieve a balanced flow of cultural goods and services and increase mobility of artists and cultural professionals
• Integrate culture in sustainable development frameworks
• Promote human rights and fundamental freedoms

https://www.un.org/en/observances/cultural-diversity-day

ICDAY's Virtual Event : World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

Why cultural diversity matters | Michael Gavin | TEDxCSU

"This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Michael Gavin, associate Professor of human dimensions of natural resources researches biological diversity, and discusses the importance that history, language and tradition have in the preservation of culture."

Cultural Diversity: The Sum of Our Parts | Hilda Mwangi | TEDxUCSD

"In this talk, Hilda Mwangi discussed cultural diversity as it relates to our ever-changing world. She shares her life story, and how her experiences forge her identity as a sum of her parts."

How Culture Drives Behaviours | Julien S. Bourrelle | TEDxTrondheim

Julien argues how we see the World through cultural glasses. By changing the glasses you can change the way you interpret the World.

Tällberg Forum 2013

Tällberg Forum 2013

 See all sessions from the Tällberg Forum here:

• 13 June, 14.00-14.30 (CEST): Press conference
• 13 June, 16.00-18.30 (CEST): Session I (Opening)
• 14 June, 08.30-10.00 (CEST): Session II
• 14 June, 14.00-15.30 (CEST): Session III
• 15 June, 08.30-10.00 (CEST): Session IV
• 15 June, 16.30-18.30 (CEST): Session V (Final Session)

http://www.tallbergfoundation.org/ACTIVITIES/T%C3%A4llbergForum2013/webbstreaming/tabid/1316/Default.aspx

http://www.tallbergfoundation.org/Portals/0/Documents/TF13/Companion_Overview%20program.pdf 
http://www.tallbergfoundation.org/Portals/0/Documents/TF13/Companion_Day-by-day%20program.pdf


At the heart of the Foundation’s activities lies the annual Tällberg Forum. 

The Forum integrates nature and the arts, where people feel free to step outside of their professional identity, to share doubts and new ideas, and search for ways forward outside of established frameworks.

The annual gatherings organized for over two decades by the Tällberg Foundation have evolved into an innovative global Forum characterized by an atmosphere of openness, honesty, warmth and creativity. Every year, leaders from all over the world and from various sectors of society gather to talk about and reflect upon the challenges and opportunities that stem from global interdependence.

The Tällberg Forum acts to stimulate the conversation on, and design solutions to the problems of our times in order to foster new thinking and solutions. People from business and finance meet people from politics, science, international organizations and civil society on equal terms, and not as stakeholders. They come to talk, listen, reflect, question their assumptions, and gain the new insights that give them new responsibilities. For many, the Tällberg Forum is viewed as a natural extension of a highly respected Swedish tradition of internationalism, progress, intellectual curiosity, mediation and sustainability.

The film is an overview of the Tällberg Forum 2007, published by Tyler Brule at Monocle.com. Monocle is a monthly magazine with original coverage in global affairs, business, culture and design along with a web-based broadcast component with news reports and mini-documentaries.

http://www.tallbergfoundation.org/ABOUTUS/AbouttheT%C3%A4llbergForum/tabid/1267/Default.aspx 


"How on earth can we live together?" is the over-arching theme of the Tällberg Forum

The Tällberg Forum gives leaders – and their families – from all over the world and from all sectors of society to convene for a few days in a beautiful environment to reflect and converse on the over-arching theme: “How on earth can we live together?” 

The Forum is characterized by humanism, systems thinking and principled pragmatism. The Tällberg Forum makes no declarations and issues no recommendations. Its impact lies in the many initiatives and ideas that the participants bring back home and integrate in their actions in their own environment.

It is the combination of place, people and process that makes the Tällberg Forum unique. The informality and beauty of the place has a decisive influence. The environment, in which people can freely, unpretentiously and creatively converse, conveys harmony and aesthetics.

The people are chosen to provide diversity of men and women, of old and young, and a true mix of nationalities from all continents: Politicians, global corporate leaders, thought leaders, artists, clerics, civic leaders and NGO leaders. Many participants bring their families and this strongly influences the atmosphere.

The process and program allow for each participant to combine sessions, talks and discussions with excursions, walks in the woods or spending time with their family. The conference program is a blend of plenary sessions, workshops and conversations that carry on in smaller settings where participants can explore in more depth subjects of their choice. Cultural performances and nature walks are an integral part of the program, as they help open minds and stimulate ideas.

We live in a world of transition, where the need for new ideas and strategies to deal with our common challenges is greater than ever. The Tällberg Forum is a contribution in this direction.

http://www.tallbergfoundation.org/Default.aspx?tabid=165
  

Toyo Ito :: 2013 Laureate

http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2013/announcement

Biography

Toyo Ito was born on June 1, 1941 in Keijo (Seoul), Korea (Japanese). His father was a business man with a special interest in the early ceramic ware of the Yi Dynasty of Korea and Japanese style paintings. He also was a sports fan of baseball and golf. In 1943, Ito, his mother, and his two elder sisters moved back to Japan. Two years later, his father returned to Japan as well, and they all lived in his father’s hometown of Shimosuwa-machi in Nagano Prefecture. His father died in 1953, when he was 12. After that the rest of family operated a miso (bean paste) making factory. At present, all but one sister who is three years older than Ito, have died.
Ito established his own architecture office in 1971, and the following year he married. His wife died in 2010. They had one daughter who is now 40 and is editing Vogue Nippon.
In his youth, Ito admits to not having a great interest in architecture. There were several early influences however. His grandfather was a lumber dealer, and his father liked to draw plans for his friends’ houses. When Ito was a freshman in high school, his mother asked the early Modernist architect, Yoshinobu Ashihara, who had just returned to Japan from the U.S. where he worked at Marcel Breuer’s office, to design their home in Tokyo.
He was in the third grade of junior high school when he moved to Tokyo and went to Hibiya High School. At the time, he never dreamed he would become an architect—his passion was baseball. It was while attending the University of Tokyo that architecture became his main interest. For his undergraduate diploma design, he submitted a proposal for the reconstruction of Ueno Park, which won the top prize of the University of Tokyo.
Toyo Ito began working in the firm of Kiyonori Kikutake & Associates after he graduated from Tokyo University’s Department of Architecture in 1965. By 1971, he was ready to start his own studio in Tokyo, and named it Urban Robot (Urbot). In 1979, he changed the name to Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects.
He has received numerous international awards, including in 2010, the 22nd Praemium Imperiale in Honor of Prince Takamatsu; in 2006, The Royal Institute of British Architects’ Royal Gold Medal; and in 2002, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement for the 8th Venice Biennale International Exhibition. All of his honors are listed in the fact summary of this media kit. He has been a guest professor at the University of Tokyo, Columbia University, the University of California, Los Angeles, Kyoto University, Tama Art University, and in the spring semester of 2012, he hosted an overseas studio for Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, the first in Asia.
His works have been the subject of museum exhibitions in England, Denmark, the United States, France, Italy, Chile, Taiwan, Belgium, and numerous cities in Japan. Publications by and about him have appeared in all of those countries and more. He holds Honorary Fellowships in the American Institute of Architects, Royal Institute of British Architects, the Architecture Institute of Japan, the Tokyo Society of Architects and Building Engineers, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
One of his first projects in 1971 was a home in a suburb of Tokyo. Called “Aluminum House,” the structure consisted of wooden frame completely covered in aluminum. Most of his early works were residences. In 1976, he produced a home for his sister, who had recently lost her husband. The house was called “White U” and generated a great deal of interest in Ito’s works. It was demolished in 1997. Of most of his work in the 1980’s, Ito explains that he was seeking to erase conventional meaning from his works through minimalist tactics, developing lightness in architecture that resembles air and wind.
He calls the Sendai Mediatheque, completed in 2001 in Sendai City, Miyagi, Japan, one of the high points of his career. In the Phaidon book, Toyo Ito, he explains, “The Mediatheque differs from conventional public buildings in many ways. While the building principally functions as a library and art gallery, the administration has actively worked to relax divisions between diverse programs, removing fixed barriers between various media to progressively evoke an image of how cultural facilities should be from now on. This openness is the direct result of its simple structure, consisting of flat concrete slabs (which are honey-comb steel plates with concrete) penetrated by 13 tubes. Walls on each floor are kept to an absolute minimum, allowing the various functions to be freely distributed throughout the open areas between the tubes.“
In delivering the Kenneth Kassler lecture at Princeton University in 2009, Ito explained his general thoughts on architecture:
“The natural world is extremely complicated and variable, and its systems are fluid – it is built on a fluid world. In contrast to this, architecture has always tried to establish a more stable system. To be very simplistic, one could say that the system of the grid was established in the twentieth century. This system became popular throughout the world, as it allowed a huge amount of architecture to be built in a short period of time.
However, it also made the world’s cities homogenous. One might even say that it made the people living and working there homogenous too. In response to that, over the last ten years, by modifying the grid slightly I have been attempting to find a way of creating relationships that bring buildings closer to their surroundings and environment.” Ito amends that last thought to “their natural environment.”
In the fashionable Omotesando area of Tokyo, Ito designed a building in 2004 for TOD’S, an Italian shoe and handbag company, in which trees provided a source of inspiration. The Ito office provides its own description of the project:
“Trees are natural objects that stand by themselves, and their shape has an inherent structural rationality. The pattern of overlapping tree silhouettes also generates a rational flow of forces. Having adapted the branched tree diagram, the higher up the building, the thinner and more numerous the branches become, with a higher ration of openings. Similarly, the building unfolds as interior spaces with slightly different atmospheres relating to the various intended uses.
Rejecting the obvious distinctions between walls and opening, lines and planes, two- and three dimensions, transparency and opaqueness, this building is characterized by a distinctive type of abstractness. The tree silhouette creates a new image with a constant tension generated between the building’s symbolic concreteness and its abstractness. For this project, we (Ito and his staff) intended to create a building that through its architectural newness expresses both the vivid presence of a fashion brand and strength in the cityscape that will withstand the passage of time.”
After designing critically-acclaimed buildings like Sendai Mediatheque, Ito became an architect of international importance during the early-2000s leading to projects throughout Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Ito designed the Main Stadium for the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung and the under-construction Taichung Metropolitan Opera House, both in Taiwan. In Europe, Ito and his firm renovated the façade of the Suites Avenue Apartments with striking stainless steel waves and, in 2002, designed the celebrated temporary Serpentine Pavilion Gallery in London’s Hyde Park. Other projects during this time include the White O residence in Marbella, Chile and the never-built University of California, Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive in California.
Perhaps most important to Ito, however, are the projects in his home country, made more pressing by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. The disaster spurred Ito and a group of other Japanese architects to develop the concept of “Home-for-All” communal space for survivors. As Ito says in Toyo Ito - Forces of Nature published by Princeton Architectural Press:
“The relief centers offer no privacy and scarcely enough room to stretch out and sleep, while the hastily tacked up temporary housing units are little more than rows of empty shells: grim living conditions either way. Yet even under such conditions, people try to smile and make do…. They gather to share and communicate in extreme circumstances – a moving vision of community at its most basic. Likewise, what we see here are very origins of architecture, the minimal shaping of communal spaces.
An architect is someone who can make such spaces for meager meals show a little more humanity, make them a little more beautiful, a little more comfortable.”
For Ito, the fundamental tenets of modern architecture were called into question by “Home-for-All.” He adds, “In the modern period, architecture has been rated highest for its originality. As a result, the most primal themes—why a building is made and for whom—have been forgotten. A disaster zone, where everything is lost offers the opportunity for us to take a fresh look, from the ground up, at what architecture really is. ‘Home-for-all’ may consist of small buildings, but it calls to the fore the vital question of what form architecture should take in the modern era—even calling into question the most primal themes, the very meaning of architecture.”
The Pritzker Jury commented on Ito’s direct expression of his sense of social responsibility citing his work on “Home-for-All.”
Recently, Ito has also thought of his legacy, as apparent by the museum of architecture that bears his name on the small island of Omishima in the Seto Inland Sea. Also designed by Ito, the museum opened in 2011 and showcases his past projects as well as serving as a workshop for young architects. Two buildings comprise the complex, the main building “Steel Hut” and the nearby “Silver Hut,” which is a recreation of the architect’s former home in Tokyo, built in 1984.

>>
http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2013/biography

http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2013/jury-citation

http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2013/works



 

KAASH - AKRAM KHAN

And Again Akram Khan

http://www.thecity2.org/

http://www.tedcity2.org/

It's Evolving =)

welcome to the city2.0 

an idea that been awarded bY TED  

Mr. Lenin is promoting De-signsimage courtesy city 2.0.

AUB > Understanding the Arab...Spring?

AUB Questioning >

Understanding the Arab...Spring? 

Uprising? 

Revolution? Awakening? Citizen revolt?

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF5nIE0aMDo&feature=g-user-u&context=G23c4959UCGXQYbcTJ33a2rhjn9qmgeBPFqjzZBPFKjTdAsgXjgrc 

Fix it!

Fix it! The Energetic Society as a New Perspective on Governance for a Clean Economy: Maarten Hajer

The ambitious goal of a clean economy and a high-quality society can be achieved.

It is "the existing powers of creativity and innovation within society that offer opportunities for green growth,” says Maarten Hajer in The Energetic Society, the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency Trends Report. Yet in order to exploit the potential of this energetic society, Hajer says, governments need to adjust and act in a timely way, otherwise they will be exposed to the powers of the energetic society that may effectively obstruct government initiatives. We need a new partnership and a new division of responsibilities.

Innovation means planning for action and initiative, accepting the fact that mistakes will be made, and making certain that improvements are identified and implemented rapidly. Such innovation calls for a different type of government based on the notion of “radical incrementalism.” Putting the sustainable achievements of institutions and businesses in digital, shareable form is important for providing valuable examples and feedback.

The challenge is to do more with less – something for which there is no instant solution. New ideas will constantly be required and may be stimulated by a government that commits itself to clear objectives and engages in new forms of social engagement.

http://www.picnicnetwork.org/maarten-hajer-1

City 2.0

At TED everything could happen. It's been a very enjoyable & inspiring platform ever since i learned about it in 2008.. it never fails one searching for an original, genuine words or some Courageous voice.

Thank You #TED platform & people behind it for make it happen. 

For the first time in history, the TED Prize winner is not an individual, but an idea that greatly impacts the future of planet Earth… and the winner is The City 2.0. The City 2.0 is the city of the future, a future in which more than ten billion people are dependent on. The idea is not a “sterile utopian dream” but rather a “real-world upgrade tapping into humanity’s collective wisdom.” More urban living space will be constructed over the next 90 years than all prior centuries combined, so it is time to get it right.

Continue reading for more information on The City 2.0 and details on how you can participate.
Provided by the TED Prize press release:

The City 2.0 promotes innovation, education, culture, and economic opportunity.
The City 2.0 reduces the carbon footprint of its occupants, facilitates smaller families, and eases the environmental pressure on the world’s rural areas.

The City 2.0 is a place of beauty, wonder, excitement, inclusion, diversity, life.
The City 2.0 is the city that works.

Each year, TED Prize is awarded to an “exceptional individual” who receives $100,000 and “One Wish to Change the World.” Visionaries from around the globe will be given the collective opportunity to craft one wish for The City 2.0.
Back in 2006, TIME’s person of the year was Y O U. It became evident that we are in charge of shaping our own destiny and we are one collective whole. If you wish to contribute an idea for The City 2.0, write to tedprize@ted.com and join the conversation here.

The wish will be announced on February 29th, 2012 at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California.

“On a Leap Year date, we have the chance, collectively, to take a giant leap forward.”

Reference: TED Prize, TIME Magazine

TED Conversations

This conversation will close in 5 days, 15 hours and 43 minutes, on December 13, 2011 at 4:43:19 PM.

Today, TED announces the winner of the 2012 TED Prize: the City 2.0.
......

A range of visionaries around the world will be advocates on behalf of the City 2.0. We are listening to them -- and to you.

What is your wish for The City 2.0? A wish capable of igniting a massive collaborative project among the members of the global TED community, and indeed all who care about our planet's future.
http://www.ted.com/conversations/7683/if_you_could_make_a_wish_on_be.html

Links...
http://www.tedprize.org/
http://blog.ted.com/2011/12/06/ted-prize-2012-goes-to-the-city-2-0/
http://www.tedprize.org/announcing-the-2012-ted-prize-winner/
http://www.archdaily.com/tag/the-city-2-0/
https://twitter.com/#!/ArchDaily


The last function of making a City That works bring back The words of Le Corbo to my mind...  Ones he discussed =that cities exists as long as they function as ones, and they have to be replaced if they failed to... sure he was extreme.
But ever since his time; Making A City That works is what everyone's craving for...   

VR - #AkramKhan

I must say Akram khan is simply Great!

DSS @stirling 2011

This post been shared on #Facebook by a good friend
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2414296583/
I would like to repost it here believing in the importance of the subjects mentioned besides it's all my favorite topics in one place/space!

Isn't that great!

http://www.ads.org.uk/urbanism/features/design-skills-symposium-2011-presentations

  Presentations from this year's Design Skills Symposium which was held in Stirling.




Sarah Longlands - The Role of Place and Diversity

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Steven Tolson - Investment Inputs: Citizens, Developers and the State

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Max Hislop - Liveable Places: Green Networks

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Tom Steele - Making the most out of Property and Assets

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Ben Hamilton-Baillie - Streets, Networks and Public Space

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Stephen Hill - How to live more sustainably: Aligning Personal and Professional Values

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David Sim - People Oriented Development

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