INNOVATIONS IN SLOW LIVING FUTURES - uefiscdi

INNOVATIONS IN
SLOW LIVING FUTURES
Prof. Sirkka Heinonen
21st WFSF World Conference
”Global Research and Social Innovation”
Bucharest, Romania 27th June 2013

Futures Greetings from Finland
Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC)
This year:
launch of the Doctoral Programme
Looking backward 20 years:
WFSF Conference in Finland, Turku 1993
On Chaos and Coherence
Prof. Pentti Malaska, President of WFSF in early 1990s
Looking forward 2 years:
Proposition for WFSF to co-organise with FFRC:
World Conference in 2015 on
Futures Consciousness
– Solving Wicked Problems with Creativity and Wisdom

Structure of My Slow Story
1. Slow as Emerging Future
2. Innovations in Slow Design and Action
3. Slow as Part of Meanings Society

1. Slow as Emerging Future

Future is About Time and
Emerging Change
Future is about thinking (of the futures)
Origin of futures thinking is age-old
Various futures – various ways of thinking about the futures
Future is about acting on the futures – making it happen
© Sirkka Heinonen

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Slow is Also About Time
As Future is about Time,
So is Slow about Time
Future emerges as Change, indicated by strong
megatrends/weak signals
Slow is an Emerging Future!

Slow as a Growing Seed
for the Future
The seeds of the future are embedded in the
present – they just have to be identified and
interpreted
Slow is a marginal future – countercurrent to
FAST LIFE
Slow Movement is the revival of the Slow

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Slowing down the speed
Following and listening to your own rhythm
Awareness of the layers of history
Adopting long-term perspective
Holistic approach to life

Fast Futures as Uncertainties
RISKS
Each organisation
needs a
futures strategy!
WORLD RESOLUTIQUE
The FLAT World
By Thomas L. Friedman
Nations E
Companies
Organisations
Humans
Citizens
RAPID CONSTANT CHANGE
WORLD RESOLUTIQUE
Megatrends/Discontinuities
Weak signals/ Emerging issues
Wild cards/ Black swans
WORLD PROBLEMATIQUE (Club of Rome)
GLOBAL CHALLENGES (Millennium Project)

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Collaborative Futures Design –
Slowly but surely creating the Futures
We can design, create and work towards our
shared scenarios and visions either
1) to reach a desirable future or
2) to prevent an unfavourable future

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Slow Movement
Cultural shift towards slowing down modern life’s hectic pace
Carlo Petrini’s protest against a fast food restaurant in 1986

Slow Life – Lifestyle -
Philosophy
©chasingcar.Flickr.com

SLOW FOOD

- Fresh ingredients
- Locally produced
- Organic
- Self produced
- Prepared in company
- Enjoyed with friends and family
- No hurry
-...
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2. Slow Design and Action

Slow Cities - Slow Città
– Slow cities – focus on healthy food, living and
enjoyment in community
– Japan: Shiodome, Kakegawa; Finland:
Kristiinankaupunki

Slow Design as Architectural Challenge
Auditive
Space
SPACE
Physical
Space
Visual
Space
Slow
Design
Digital
Space
Sensory
Space
Slow
experiences
Fragrance
Space
Virtual
Space

Slow Design as Architectural Challenge
TIME
Rhythm
Timeless
Flow
Slow
Design
Pace
Timing
Slow
experiences
Layers
Balance

Slow Design in Architecture
= individual, non-standardised buildings in
aesthetic, safe and stress-free living environments
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Two Functions of Slow Design in
Architecture
1. Enabling slow living/lifestyle
- the location, looks, structures, functions
2. Designing the construction process
- choice of materials
- respect for local traditions
- local production
- sustainable building (biomimicry)

Physical Space
Location – Spacious living in the countryside
© Sirkka Heinonen

Physical Space
Location – Urban living in the city

© Sirkka Heinonen
Space and Scenery

© Sirkka Heinonen
Sauna and Spa

Solitude and Secret Retreats

© Sirkka Heinonen
Space for Silence

SLOW GARDENING

Chapel of Silence
Located at the entrance of a shopping centre
Part of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 Program
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-
mZ11ijrEl_M/UCfrwpQuuII/AAAAAAAAJeo/DUUkt8ce9Hc/s1600/DSCN7187.JPG

Open every day from morning till night for silent moments
Innovative wood architecture, main hall 11.5 m high
Wood glazed with a special wax using nanotechnology
On the quiet chapel area, busy surroundings blocked away

SLOW IN LEISURE
- longer holidays
- slow transition to place of vacation
- longer stay
- staycation

Slow is about Rest and Relaxation

SLOW HOBBIES
gliding, cycling, skiing…

trekking in Lapland…

SLOW TRAVEL
- not just moving from place A to place B
- enjoying the trip

New business services from Slow routes
© SirkkaHeinonen

Identification of silent places by crowdsourcing
a city’s quiet corners (Eric Jaffe May 15 2013)
Stereopublic – an app (Sweeney/Adelaide, Australia): ”earwitnesses”
submit peaceful locations accompanied by visual or audio snapshots

SLOW AGEING
Those with access to advanced
technologies can expect a healthy
life beyond 120 years
Institute for Alternative Futures
Goal is to prevent physical and
cognitive degeneration
Aubrey de Grey

© SirkkaHeinonen

Slow - in work life

Slow allows creativity and effectiveness
Creative Foresight Spaces to Offices and Public Places!

SLOW MUSIC
John Cage -"Organ²/ASLSP
(As SLow aS Possible)"
a musical piece subject of one of the longest-lasting musical
performances yet undertaken
the current organ performance of the piece at St. Burchardi
church in Halberstadt, Germany, began in 2001 and is
scheduled to have a duration of 639 years, ending in 2640
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Slow_as_Possible

SLOW MONEY
Slow Money is a movement to organize investors and
donors to steer new sources of capital to small food
enterprises, organic farms, and local food systems.

3. Slow as Part of
Meanings Society

Slow as a New Meaningful Story
”It’s all a question of story. We are in trouble now because we do
not have a good story. We are in between stories.
The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how
we fit into it, is no longer effective. Yet we have not learned the
new story.”
Thomas Berry

SLOW – focus on long horizon
The Long Now Foundation
established in 1996, private, non-profit organization based
in San Francisco
very long-term cultural institution - a counterpoint to today's
"faster/cheaper" mindset and to promote "slower/better"
thinking.
The Long Now Foundation hopes to "creatively foster
responsibility" in the framework of the next 10,000 years, and
so uses 5-digit dates (e.g. by writing 02013 rather than 2013).
http://www.greeno.it/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Sun-Clock.jpg

New jobs: Slow Counseling
– Personal Trainers
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©sirkka.heinonen@vtt.fi

Ubiquitous Society Based
on Knowing Yourself
• Jerome Glenn (2012) and Jim Dator (2012)
both stress that in future people earn their
living on their hobbies and personal
attractions
Glenn, Jerome (2012). Interview of Jerome Glenn by Sirkka Heinonen on the Future
of Work, Economy, Growth, and Ubiquitous Technology, Turku, 6th June, 2012 Part 2
https://sites.google.com/site/futuremediac/videos--presentations
• Knowing yourself – ’Know Thyself’ – will be
the most crucial competence in future work
Dator, Jim (2012). Interview of Jim Dator by Sirkka Heinonen and Sofi Kurki on 1
Futures Studies, Espoo, 14th August, 2012
https://sites.google.com/site/futuremediac/videos--presentations
Slow helps us to stop and dig deeper in
self-reflection: who we are in the world
and what we can do for a better future!

Thank You!