We’re currently bandying around ideas for our Fall ideaXchange (music? Intellectual Property law? Who can choose from so many options?!) and are soliciting input from any and all interested parties.
We want to avoid the boring PowerPoint/lectern talks that are frequently found at conferences, and would much rather employ innovative variations on traditional modes of presentation. Our main focus is in finding unexpected links between different fields of study and/or work.
Help us organize an event that will engage as wide a cross-section of Toronto as possible: if you have any feelings about what our theme should be, or ideas for brain-cleansers or fun activities, let us know by leaving a comment below, or by writing to us at ideaxchange@treehousegroup.org.
Thanks!
June 17th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
What about something on media?
We could have an event where members of various disciplines work in teams to report a story, bringing in their own particular approaches… Each team would have a particular type of story to report, and we would send the teams on the streets of Toronto where they could use the phone, Twitter, email, video cameras, and any other service or device to report stories. The second part of the event would be the presentation of the stories and debates — again from interdisciplinary perspectives — on biases, truths, and opinions. Could be fun and interesting… Highly original. Yet topical.
If we do something on music, we could look at the various interdisciplinary effects, uses of, and ways to make music. We had a great email from someone after the 2008 Grown Up science fair who suggested the following issues surrounding music:
Issues around music and mental illness:
http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/blog/interview/music-and-mental-illness
Researching how birds think and use birdsong, like the work of Barry Frost:
http://www.nserc.ca/news/2002/win_frost.htm
or the relationship between bird songs and music.
Making music from human DNA sequences:
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2002/05/52666
Alternatively, we could look for ways to bring more public music to Toronto. One of the fun things about India or many African countries — something that adds to the public sphere — is that there’s music playing everywhere. We could also look for innovative applications of music, create music through some kind of jamming session; we could have rap freestyling sessions; link music to dance; fuse different types of music (opera with rap, country with Indian, etc.). Groups from various disciplines could use music to tell the story of music from the perspective of their own discipline.
I’m just throwing out some ideas for now.
On IP, we could look at the need to redefine policy in light of the digital information age. Firms would certainly be willing to sponsor us if we could generate good ideas for the future and get a sense of how to balance the interests of consumers and producers/authors/artists. Another linked aspect to IP would be privacy. Again, privacy concerns and the need to reassess laws and policies surrounding protection of information stem from the new digital age.
Or, we could merge IP with music. A big issue in today’s world is idea of digital files and associated copyrights.
On “presentation/delivery” methods for our event, I’ve mentioned a few ideas above. Another really kick-ass presentation method for our event could be to end off the evening with a fashion show. That would be fun. Would add a degree of glamour as well.
On a last note, the problem with these 1-day type of events, as Treehouse has discussed in the past, is that it is difficult to arrange for long-term outcomes. People go home that day, having had a good educational experience, but the longer-term impact of the event is fairly restricted. Basically, the question is whether “stretching your brain” is a significant enough outcome. It would be interesting to continue to involve people afterwards, and to build our projects in such a way that continued participation would not only be encouraged by us, but also hoped for by the participants.
On this last point, it would be very useful to have *feedback from the public*. How can people get involved longer term with the ideas generated at the ideaXchanges? We obviously need a better web platform. But what format should it take? How can we get people involved? What do people want? What would entice them to continue discussing ideas from interdisciplinary perspectives and continue their associations with the people that they meet at the ideaXchange? We’re looking for *your* answers!
Thoughts welcome.
N…
June 18th, 2009 at 7:24 am
I just want to say that this group rocks!
Anyhow, my suggestion is more of the presentation medium than the topic.
Anyone heard of graphic facilitation? It’s like creating a storyboard as you progress with the topic presentation. Graphic facilitation can be a topic in itself as it helps deliver the message and breaks down language barriers in doing so. It is used in strategic visioning exercises - Al Gore uses it in delviering his presentationre: Global Warming. The UN uses it as a means to facilitate discussions in their meetings.
Just putting it out there :)Nudge me so I can send out some resources…
June 18th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I’d like to see some discussion on Peace Research - how can peace be preserved, what situations can be defused before conflict erupts, effective strategies for conflict resolution. What are the options for a Minsitry of Peace? I think Canada is the perfect country to be the incubator of Peace Research - and include our veterans and their experience the importance of conflict avoidance.
June 21st, 2009 at 8:44 am
Thanks for your ideas so far.
@ Jocelyn: It would be great to see good resources on graphic facilitation. From what I know of it (not much), it seems like a useful way to present a complicated or technical idea to a broader public. It could also be a good medium to perceive new ideas by looking at an issue from a different point of view. I would love to hear or read more about it.
@Diane: Peace Research is a fascinating topic, and its interdisciplinary nature is obvious, though too often ignored. There is tons of great literature on conflicts and peace from historical, psychological, sociological, economic, and any other perspective. Bringing their insights together would seem to be particularly useful. On that point, there’s some great work being done by the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiations:
http://www.law.stanford.edu/program/centers/scicn/
As you point out, it could be an ideal area of focus for Canada on the international scene, particularly as Canada has struggled over the past decade to redefine what its principal international role/functions should be (I guess this has come largely as a function of “traditional” peacekeeping’s decline and Canada’s lack of environmental performance — two traditional areas of strength for Canada internationally). What I wonder is whether Canadians share my and your interest in the issue and whether they would find it sufficiently important to discuss as a point of real engagement rather than a merely academic point. It seems to me that the prior discussion to have, before any talk of what peace research could do, is what exactly Canada’s role on the international sphere should actually be. This is the discussion that we need to have first, I would think, if we are to interest people sufficiently.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:14 am
Love the idea of sending people out as amateur reporters to gather a variety of media on a story in Toronto. We cold structure this like the 24 hr. film competition and have a screening at the end of the weekend where we post all the media on the website and have people vote on the best one.
We could use “peace and conflict” as a theme for this to meld in with Jocelyn’s suggestion.