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 PICNIC
Sep 22-24, 2010, Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
PICNIC 2010 Redesigns the World in just three days |
Europe’s leading event for creativity and innovation kicks off three days dedicated to a better future.
 Today, visitors from the Netherlands and abroad descended on the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam with one clear goal in mind: to redesign the world. This ambitious goal was set by PICNIC, the annual festival for creativity and innovation that unites like-minded individuals with an interest in making a positive impact on business and society.
The fifth edition of PICNIC approached theme of redesigning the world from four distinct angles: Life, City, Design and Media. In addition to these topics, they also continue to focus on the PICNIC Academy program for students and introduced a new track called the PICNIC Business Program to stimulate growth in both new and established businesses.
In the lecture room, Steven Hayden got the crowd going with “Hayden’s Mandala,” his take on deciphering human and corporate behavior. Jo Royle entertained with tales of her role as skipper on the Plastiki, a boat made completely of recycled plastic bottles. Lenovo’s new CMO David Roman revealed the challenges and opportunities of doing
business in growing foreign markets with ever more connected consumers. Mark Bünger of Lux Research gave a thought-provoking overview of the latest developments in life sciences and the questions and responsibilities raised by these technologies. Matt Stinchcomb of Etsy.com discussed the online marketplace for hand-made items that has taken America by storm and is quickly gaining a foothold in Europe.
 But PICNIC is not just about talking, it’s about doing! Outside the lecture room, the focus was entirely on getting involved. Eric J. Wilhelm, founder of Instructables.com opened the Instructables Restaurant, an interactive concept based on his website that lets visitors make everything themselves – from the tables to the food. Peggy Weil kicked off a challenge for designers to transform climate data into an interactive animated digital display with the HeadsUp! 2011 International Design Competition. The Synthetic Biology Design Workshop let participants explore molecular biology and rethink biological organisms, and the FabLab let everyone play at being a designer, with their 3D printers, laser cutters and other tools of the trade.
The general programming ended just after 5 pm, but for some of the participants, the excitement was just starting. From 6 pm, ten selected companies took the stage one by one for PICNIC Pitch Night. Hosted by Boom Chicago’s Jon Rosenfeld, this exciting session was a chance for young companies to get feedback from a panel of experts and potential investors. The best pitch was awarded a consulting session with Ernst & Young as well as well as a spot on the PICNIC stage later in the week. Robin van Lieshout from InSided (www.insided.nl) was named the winner of this competitive closing session.
Wednesday was only day one of PICNIC ’10, and the next two days promise to be just as exciting as the first.
About PICNIC
PICNIC is about innovative ideas for business and society. It is an annual three-day festival that blurs the lines between creativity, science, technology and business to explore new solutions in the spirit of co-creation. Curious minds eager to exchange their knowledge, ideas and skills gather at PICNIC, making it the place to create the future – together.
PICNIC ‘10 takes place at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam from 22 to 24 September 2010.
PICNIC
www.picnicnetwork.org |
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