John Wood's? Role

He is facilitator / rapporteur / host at Pines Calyx 2008

Welcome to Pines Calyx workshop, and to the m21 project at Goldsmiths. We are so grateful to you for coming.
You have an events programme and task brief to guide you through the next two days.
And our delightful research team is at your disposal. (Not in the 'recycling' sense)
Some of you may be concerned about IPR issues. Can we agree to follow a Creative Commons approach?
As we are recording these sessions, may I suggest that you might like to abide by Chatham House Rules?

Question: Why has eco-design failed? Answer: Largely because of the economic system.
Then why don't we change it? Is it because it's impossible? No, because the idea of radical change became unthinkable.

This is only a problem because citizens = voters = consumers = choosers not dreamers
The first step is surprisingly easy, provided we can muster some imaginative courage.
Secondly, the idea of sustainability is confused and misguided. What would happen if we sought synergy instead?
This means re-designing design itself - perhaps as a creative democracy, (or holarchy) that constantly transforms itself.

Nature resembles a synergy-of-synergies that reconciles many domains - human + non-human, technological + ecological, etc.
Design Synergy must therefore become far more comprehensive, cunning and enterprising at all levels.
The challenge for metadesign teams is whether they can deliver synergies that can also synergize with one another.
We need an auspicious mode of reasoning that makes practical solutions more attractive to the human mind.
This is why we have brought together such a variety of high calibre design thinkers. This is an important mission.
But it is not a mission impossible...it is our first, shared visit to the gardens of serendipity.
We hope that you will learn more about synergy and metadesign...and that the journey is memorable and rewarding for all of us.

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