Here is a selection of the interdisciplinary projects we have done in House of Futures:
Conference: “Reduce … but use with aarhus” for Aarhus Kommune, Aarhus Vand, energinet.dk, NCC, Co-Create Construction. June 2012. NCC Conference on sustainable urban development in Aarhus. House of Futures provides concept development, program, and execution of the futures installation “In100Years”. Read more about the event to be held at www.isbjerg.com and view the program here
Futures Studies Project: “In 100 years – starting now” supported by The VELUX FOUNDATION. 2011-2012. A one-year conversation about visions for sustainable futures for mankind on Earth. 170+ experts in various fields of sustainability and from different sectors took part in the project “In 100 Years – starting now”, as a preliminary study to scope the potentials for a new Danish Centre for Sustainability supported by The VELUX FOUNDATION.Read more at www.in100y.dk and see videos from the four In100Y-seminars here
Movie: Ask yourself… for the Nordic Council of Ministers. 2012. The Nordic Council of Ministers needed a short movie to help raise awareness about the development of sustainable societies in the long run. The movie is to be shown at Rio+20 and then afterwards in other international and Nordic forums. The diverse, global audience set strict requirements to the movie: it had to work both with and without sound, address non-English speakers, profile the Nordic region’s pioneering work in sustainability, whilst inviting dialogue and global participation. The title of the movie is “Ask yourself…”.House of Futures produced a stop motion piece, verbally sparse and stylistically far from stereotypical, clean Nordic design. It addresses the multifaceted and fundamental questions of sustainability: what are the relationships between human, nature and sustainability? The movie includes a platform for social, mobile and local participation by users, allowing them to propose answers to these fundamental questions via their smartphones which track and graph the inputs.Watch the movie, go to site to donate a word, or get Behind the movie
Here is a selection of projects that the partners in House of Futures have done using their specialized academic and professional competencies
Co-Create Construction 2010. Flemming Wisler helped Danish building contractors, NCC create their “NCC innovation campus”. For a whole year, NCC invited partners from the Danish construction sector to develop the future of building and construction. A series of conferences, seminars and exhibitions showcased and explored new venues in materials, construction techniques and collaborative partnering. Flemming Wisler and Stine Skøtt Olesen contributed throughout development and execution, from concept development and programs to conference planning and communication. See the website here
The Danish Council for Socially Marginalized Groups; “I dream of my journal being burnt…” 2012. Søren Steen Olsen and Steen Svendsen completed a report on poverty and social exclusion for Rådet for Socialt Udsatte (The Danish Council for Socially Marginalized Groups) as part of Denmark’s contribution to a National Reform program and the European Union’s 2020 strategy for socially marginalized groups. The report builds on three meetings with people personally afflicted by poverty. It collected their experiences with a system they described as tumultuous and degrading as well as their ideas for improving it to provide insights for social innovation from a grassroots perspective. The report presents new perspectives on new forms of poverty that exist in a modern, developed country, and an idea bank of potential remedies.Download the report as PDF.Read press coverage
ICT Foresight 2011. Søren Steen Olsen and Steen Svendsen did a foresight for the Danish Ministry of Science on current tendencies, future developments and growth possibilities for Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The Foresight combines a thorough review of international foresights, National strategies for ICT, interviews with Danish IT experts and a Delphi study with 30 central Danish figures in the Information Technology sector. In the Delphi study, the participants provide their assessments on the development and then rate each other’s answers to make the results more reliable. The foresight sums up a range of tendencies and perspectives on ICT development, and presents a framework for developing strategies for the growth potential of ICT. The report is confidential.
Opinion survey among socially vulnerable people 2011. Søren Steen Olsen and Steen Svendsen did the first-ever representative opinion survey of socially vulnerable people in Denmark. Partly modelled on sociological surveys of the general population, it presents an illuminating portrait of attitudes, expectations, norms, dreams and issues for a group of people who are often treated as objects of public policy rather than people with real lives and views of their own. Among other things it provided a necessary critical view of social policy and general attitudes towards socially disadvantaged people in Danish society. The survey was reported on Danish national TV and in print media.
Holbaek Muncipality 2009-2010. Søren Steen Olsen og Steen Svendsen conducted a comprehensive visioning process with Holbaek Municipality. It involved the Mayor, the executive staff and the entire city council. During the spring of 2010, a new vision for the municipality was formulated and adopted unanimously by the city council. During the summer and autumn, Søren Steen Olsen and Steen Svendsen contributed to the implementation of the vision in three policy areas: Business and entrepreneurial services, care for the elderly, and culture and leisure. Gry Worre Hallberg, Madeleine Kate McGowan and Inga Gerner Nielsen was involved in the culture/leisure effort. Gitte Larsen and Stine Skøtt Olesen were involved in text, layout and graphic design.
Blender Crack 2010. Gry Worre Hallberg, Madeleine Kate McGowan and Inga Gerner Nielsen. Was manifested as part of vision 2014 on September 18th 2010 at Denmark Radio’s concert hall in cooperation with “vi kbh’er” and the campaign “bland dig i byen”. The Aim was to inspire citizens of Copenhagen to manifest their visions for their city in their everyday lives.
13.12.11. 2011. Gry Worre Hallberg, Madeleine Kate McGowan and Inga Gerner Nielsen. And the fight against discrimination continued. On 13.12.11 Fiction Pimps took to the streets to give pedestrians an experience of being discriminated against. The ultimate purpose was the elimination of discrimination. A viral video for the event racked up 10.000 hits in a matter of days and attracted the attention of several print publications. See it here
Det Kolde Bord (the “Cold Table”). 2011. Gry Worre Hallberg, Madeleine Kate McGowan. Manifested at “Internationale Dage” (“International Days”) 2011. A Project exposing the absurdity of discrimination through the fiction of the sisters Bodil and Karen who serving home baked goodies – but only to a chosen few who lived up to constantly changing utterly random criteria. See video footage from the day.
The Crack. Gry Worre Hallberg, Madeleine Kate McGowan and Inga Gerner Nielsen. The Crack is a sensory and poetic borderland in everyday life, where another mode of being in the world is explored. The outcome tends to be extraordinary energy, deep reflection, visualized and materialized dreams, bodily engagement and stress-reduction. Ultimately it is a transformative experience allowing for a new mindset to shape.Among others, Fiction Pimps has cracked The Danish Agency for Governmental Management.
Futures days and weeks
Futures day 12 October 2012. Ode to the 5th culture – the alchemy of In100y a procession led by the agents of the fictional travel agency Future Mind Tours. Læs programmet pdf
Release party! Spring 2012. Future mind tours’ laboratory and Launch of ’issues 2’. Læs programmet pdf
Not politics as usual Spring 2011. Den politiske topchef; Island kalder, jorden svarer; ”Perform the change you wish to see in the world!”; Politik-festival: Engagement og øretæver; politik på nye måder; en planet, en menneskehed – mange fremtider; Embassy of Untrue Reality. Læs programmet pdf
Art futures Autumn 2011. Bogreception for ”i begyndelsen var ordet”; Nerve; Art future; Økonomiprofessor Ingeman Arbnor forelæser. Læs programmet pdf
Lost Futures Autumn 2010. Lifesourcing; Lost futures!; Politikudvikling ‘live’; Find din egen vej – installation; Desert Girls; På Roastrip; Kulturnat. Læs programmet pdf
Fremtidens uge Spring 2010. The Crack; Rock’n’roll ledelse; Den kønne bevægelse