Reboot

• About this group
• Forums

• Home
• Groups
• Reboot
• Forums
• Reboot
• Diversity Session: continuing interaction, and taking action steps

• 
  Ton Zijlstra

  The company name is only visible to registered members.

  Diversity Session: continuing interaction, and taking action steps

  Hi all,
  
  At the session Lee Bryant, Martin Roell and I gave on Diversity as Europe's unique opportunity to leverage an innovative culture, the group present decided on wanting to carry forward the momentum generated there.
  
  To be able to do so, we will keep the wiki page alive with notes, contact info etc. If you were present please add your names (and a pointer to profile or contact info). If you were not there but want to take part anyway, please add your name as well!
  
  The wiki page is at http://reboot.dk/wiki/Diversity_as_engine_for_a_European_inn...
  
  So:
  add your name and pointer
  
  add thoughts for action points
  
  • 05 Jun 2006, 4:07 pm
  Ton Zijlstra wrote: > Hi all, > > At the session Lee Bryant, Martin Roell and I gave on Diversity as > Europe's unique opportunity to leverage an innovative culture, the > group present decided on wanting to carry forward the momentum > generated there. > > To be able to do so, we will keep the wiki page alive with notes, > contact info etc. If you were present please add your names (and a > pointer to profile or contact info). If you were not there but want > to take part anyway, please add your name as well! > > The wiki page is at > http://reboot.dk/wiki/Diversity_as_engine_for_a_European_innovative_cu > lture > > So: > add your name and pointer > > add thoughts for action points
• Post visible to registered members
• 
  Ton Zijlstra

  The company name is only visible to registered members.

  Re^2: Diversity Session: continuing interaction, and taking action steps

  Precisely because of what you say:
  Diversity is important, because creativity and innovation are only born in environments of mixing and matching different, eccentric and crazy ideas, people, cultures and disciplines.
  
  It's the traditional role of cities: crossroads where creativity, ideas, goods, resources, capital and critics collide to create new combinations for creating value (human, social, cultural, financial ). Europe is our crossroads, our city. Through the net and globalization society's complexity has increased once again, which means we have to scale. We are in the process of scaling our activities we think normal in cities, to the level of Europe as a whole.
  
  The session tried to tap the notion that now we have spend a lot of time on working out what we have in common in EUrope, we have created the space for ourselves again to start leveraging our differences in language, culture, history, values and attitudes. Including the realization that migration has always been an integral part of that.
  
  Interesting to note was that those present in the session really seemed to get energized by that. While at the same time also a number of people told me before the session that they'd already given up on Europe and had a Rumsfeldian look on Europe as the world's retirement home. Even though I too think that economic balances are shifting in a major way worldwide, this in no way should mean giving ourselves up. Economy is not a horse race where only the one first over the line counts, even though we portray it as such most of the time. It is about the number and quality of transactions and the value that creates for us on different levels.
  So if I intend to keep on living in Europe I need to help find those ways for creating new value. You can't say your neighbourhood is going to waste and stay indoors bemoaning that, without acknowledging you're part of that yourself and need to take co-responsibility.
  
  I see it a lot with clients when faced with big questions. They either say: we can solve it, but then we would need total control of everybody involved, which is not the case so we can't solve it. Or they say: this problem is so big we are never going to solve it on our own, so we won't even start. Good way to rationalize sitting still, but it totally sidesteps the fact that everybody has a sphere of influence around any problem or question, and has the responsibility to address that.
  
  Sorry for ranting so much in that last part :)
  
  • 08 Jun 2006, 08:21 am
  Ton Zijlstra wrote: > Precisely because of what you say: > Diversity is important, because creativity and innovation are only > born in environments of mixing and matching different, eccentric and > crazy ideas, people, cultures and disciplines. > > It's the traditional role of cities: crossroads where creativity, > ideas, goods, resources, capital and critics collide to create new > combinations for creating value (human, social, cultural, financial > ). Europe is our crossroads, our city. Through the net and > globalization society's complexity has increased once again, which > means we have to scale. We are in the process of scaling our > activities we think normal in cities, to the level of Europe as a > whole. > > The session tried to tap the notion that now we have spend a lot of > time on working out what we have in common in EUrope, we have created > the space for ourselves again to start leveraging our differences in > language, culture, history, values and attitudes. Including the > realization that migration has always been an integral part of that. > > Interesting to note was that those present in the session really > seemed to get energized by that. While at the same time also a number > of people told me before the session that they'd already given up on > Europe and had a Rumsfeldian look on Europe as the world's > retirement home. Even though I too think that economic balances are > shifting in a major way worldwide, this in no way should mean giving > ourselves up. Economy is not a horse race where only the one first > over the line counts, even though we portray it as such most of the > time. It is about the number and quality of transactions and the > value that creates for us on different levels. > So if I intend to keep on living in Europe I need to help find those > ways for creating new value. You can't say your neighbourhood is > going to waste and stay indoors bemoaning that, without acknowledging > you're part of that yourself and need to take co-responsibility. > > I see it a lot with clients when faced with big questions. They > either say: we can solve it, but then we would need total control of > everybody involved, which is not the case so we can't solve it. Or > they say: this problem is so big we are never going to solve it on > our own, so we won't even start. Good way to rationalize sitting > still, but it totally sidesteps the fact that everybody has a sphere > of influence around any problem or question, and has the > responsibility to address that. > > Sorry for ranting so much in that last part :)
• Post visible to registered members