summ( )n

I was lucky enough to get into a very interesting gathering event last week, so called Future Sketching held by the Foundation biELAt (an agency facilitating the development of the cross-border ‘triangle’ region, with Eindhoven, Aachen and Luik (or Liège) in the corners. There is a very good website providing the details about the background and the process of this event, but however nice, the process pictures do not convey the real atmosphere of the event.

For me it started in a misty morning near Genk, at the former mine now converted into business and art center C-Mine; I was somewhat puzzled with the scope of the event, and also with the list of the participants (from more than 30 different regional businesses). The event was called ‘Open Innovation’. I’ve been to quite a few of those ‘open’ things in the past, and the majority of them were quickly turning into distrustful and mutually suspicious (thus, resultless) business gatherings, so I had a few pinches of salt in my pockets.

This one, however, was very different, and from the very beginning. I guess, the ambience played a big role too: all these heavy industrial machines didn’t support the usual blah-blah, but stimulated a rather practical, working attitude.

Plus, the whole moderation was also down-to-earth, sleeves-up and no-nonsense. But I think the most important was the presence of the so called ‘owners’ of the problem, the companies who did need to come up with something innovative, yet also who also understood very well that they can’t make it alone, especially in the current, pretty gloomy context. This all created a very energizing and stimulating atmosphere.

I know that ‘energizing’, ‘stimulating’ etc may sound as those obligatory buzz-words, and it’s difficult to express what was different this time. Perhaps, I can refer to my own feelings: I do like to take ‘creative’ pictures, but very rarely do it during the ‘business meetings’ of all sort. Here I managed to take dozens of them, and the whole atmosphere was on par with the best design workshops I’ve been in.

Also interesting was the ending of event: of course, there were project presentations, and well-deserved applause

but then there was also a very intense session, a true psychodramatic enactment of the ‘open innovation’ process with one of the (very brave, I should add) participant.

All in all, it was a great day, pleasant and memorable but also seeding a lot of future thoughts and actions.