From 'Do less harm' to 'Leave things better'

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM - THE NEXT GENERATION

A talk and workshop with John Thackara, "one of the great voices on sustainability" (Business Week)

This workshop is aimed at designers and creative thinkers looking to expand their skills and expertise in the areas of service design, design thinking and design integration. As a participant you will work with CEO's from leading Queensland eco-tourism organisations to bring value through design to the current challenges facing this industry. Participating organisations include:

The Spicers Group

O'Reilly's

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Tourism & Events Queensland

This highly interactive event combines lecture, brainstorm, and service design clinic. You will learn how sustainable tourism is changing, and why; discuss the new concept of Leave Things Better travel; and you will learn, by doing it, how to develop a new service based on emerging opportunities in the region. 

09:00        REGISTRATION

09:30        JOHN THACKARA LECTURE     

Sustainable tourism has grown dramatically on the back its promise to do less harm. But ‘less harm’ in a growing market often means that things still get worse on the ground. A new generation in tourism is inspired by a commitment to leave things better - both for communities, and for the living systems we visit. John’s lecture covers: ‘active travel’ (from WWOOFING, to Fibershedding); new kinds of guided tour (learning journeys, Green Grand Tours); new kinds of destination (watersheds, bioregions, food routes, industrial heritage, and urban nature sites); Peer-2-Peer travel and the sharing economy (AirBNB as the world’s largest hotel; the fact that 40% of us use mobile devices when traveling); New actors and new business models in the tourism ecosystem (ecomuseums, festivals, Fair Trade Tourism);What to do about greenwash ecotourism (verification and certification issues, P2P Accreditation).

10:30        Coffee

11:00        BRAINSTORM

12:00        LUNCH

13:00        DESIGN CLINIC

In mixed groups (industry professionals, designers) you will design the blueprint of a new service, or experience. Your blue print presentation needs to cover these items:

1. Value proposition

2. Name

3. Actors and partners, key roles

4. Platforms and Channels

5. Service touch points

6. Revenue streams / business model             

16:00    "DRAGON'S DEN" STYLE PRESENTATIONS

17:00    NETWORKING, DRINKS

Registration includes all materials, meals and refreshments. Please advise if you have any specific dietary requirements.

Date - Monday, 14 October 2013

Time - 9:00am - 5:30pm

Venue - Bank of Queensland Room, Level 4, State Library of Queensland

Please be advised that your financial institution may incur an additional processing fee. Cancellations will be accepted up to 48 hours prior to event commencement.

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About John Thackara

John Thackara travels the world looking for live examples of what a sustainable future can be like. He writes about these stories online, and in books; he uses them in talks and workshops; and, as director of Doors of Perception, he presents them in ‘social harvest festivals’. John is the author of a widely-read column at designobserver.com, and of the best-selling book In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World. He is a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art in London, and a Fellow of The Young Foundation, the UK’s social enterprise incubator. He chairs the World Design Forum in The Netherlands; is a visiting professor at the Ambedkar University Delhi, in India; he also sits on the UK Parliament’s Standing Design Commission.

Among John’s recent encounters with regions, designers and industry groups:

XSKOOL, GRINDA (Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden) In what ways can design help visitors interact with living systems in ways that help both of them thrive?

TOURISM IN TRANSITION CONFERENCE (Austria, 2013) Sustainable contributions of Austria’s tourism industry in times of change and upheaval.” Keynote for Austria Tourist Board.

FOOD ON THE ROAD (India) Specialists from 20 global cities explored the markets,communal kitchens, street food (below) and farms of Delhi. 

FOUR DAYS IN HALIFAX (Nova Scotia) A time-compressed mini-festival whose aim was to help the city identify The most important preparation work was to identify neglected local assets: people, mainly, but also projects and places.

CITY ECO LAB (St Etienne, France) A two-week “social harvest festival” of projects that involved productive urban gardens; river restoration; and software tools to help people share resources.

BRASILIANDIA LEARNING JOURNEY (Brazil) A learning journey to favelas, organic kitchens, a creative digital hub -  and a favela called Brasiliandia whose development has damaged local watersheds.

AUDI “Urban Future Award” (Istanbul, 2012) John chaired the international jury and delivered a keynote text on the theme ‘Think more, move less”. What new social practices, enabled by technology, can help us move around and between cities in new ways?

GENERAL ELECTRIC “Knowledge Ecosystems” (France, 2013) For a meeting of GE’s worldwide Design Council, a presentation about knowledge ecosystems and new mobility concepts.

PONTIO “Innovation In A Small Nation” (Wales, 2012) For this new innovation centre in North Wales, a workshop in which a range of local businesses - ranging from high-end sea-salt, to high altitude climbing equipment - shared experiences.

CLARO PARTNERS “Informal Economy” (Barcelona, 2012) Interactive workshop to explore ideas for next-generation enterprises that create value by the enhancement of natural and social assets - such as the food systems of a city, or watershed restoration. 

BANK ITAU “The End of Usual” (Brazil, 2012) For product developers and service innovation teams at Brazil’s largest bank: talk and discussion about energy transition; the emergence of a “less stuff, more people” social economy; the concept of “5% services”; social “micro-revolutions”; the end of money; resilience.

IKEA “From Human-Centered to Life-Centered” (Sweden, 2011) For a two day retreat for senior product managers (curated for Ikea by Simonetta Carbonaro): a talk and discussion on the topic of life-centered design; how to talent-spot emerging solutions; how to determine what value Ikea might add; and how to operate in a multi-actor context.