Design 2050 - Take the challenge!

[Flora Tonking]

The future is fiction. In fact, the future is a story that each of us participates in writing every day. While we cannot predict the future, it is absolutely vital that each of us consider the years to come, so that we are more prepared to prevent, anticipate and cope with that which may occur.

The world’s population has doubled in the past fifty years while the size of the planet has not. As our global population grows, the pressure upon resources, both physical and economic, is increasingly strained. Consideration of both the state of our resources and the state of our human society is central to not only the future survival of our planet, but to its thrival. When looking to 2050, we will need to be living "Life @ 1 Planet"…or naught at all.

That is why Arup Foresight, in association with ICSID and the Singapore Design Council, has put together a studio to take a look at what life on earth would look like if we decided to follow a trajectory towards "Life @ 1 Planet.” We believe that each of us has an important story to tell as we move towards an equitable distribution of the planet’s resources.

Only those who choose to participate in writing the story of the future can decide what y[our] story will tell. Will the story you tell be a success? Or will we fail to benefit from the opportunities presented?

Step one: from Monday 27th July 2009 visit www.thedesign2050challenge.com and participate with a team of up to 3 people or you can choose to participate by yourself.

Step two: follow the directions on the website and develop a character that can live and breathe on your behalf on the journey to "Life @ 1 Planet” in 2050.

Each week participants will be issued a new challenge and will need to submit their responses to the Design2050 Challenge website (www.thedesign2050challenge.com). The project will run from July 27th until the first week of September.