The focus of Globe Forum on the Irish Diaspora is supported by a number of efforts focused on using the Irish experience as a way forward for “Transnational Knowledge transfer through Diaspora Networks.” (UNESCO).

The actual definition of Diaspora is an interesting one. Diaspora is the Greek word for the ‘scattering or sowing of seeds.’ It refers to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture (Mahroum et al 2006).

The origins of the Irish Diaspora, as you probably well know is rooted in tragedy and catastrophe. It includes the millions of Irish Refugees who fled from Ireland to escape the potato famine and the associated political oppression.  In recent years, Ireland has experienced a cultural renaissance and (until the recent economic crisis) exceptional economic performance that helped to pull Ireland into the 21st Century as Ireland positioned itself as a hub for the headquarters of multinational corporations while encouraging the return of the overseas Irish with free education and an openness to leverage the skills and experience of those millions of citizens that had moved away from their beloved homeland.

Many of these visionary policies can be attributed charismatic former Irish President, Mary Robinson who, in the 1990s began speaking in glowing terms of the Irish Diaspora and incentivizing their return through intelligent and innovative policy-making. This reversal of ‘Brain Drain’ has been coined ‘Brain Gain’ and is a complex process. Here is a short video on ‘Tapping the Irish Diaspora’

Ireland has suffered through the collapse of its housing market and dismal economic performance but is now re-envisioning its future and looking at new ways to make the most of Irish innovation both within Ireland and by reaching out via international partnerships to members of its diaspora in far-flung countries from the U.S. to New Zealand and Australia. Globe Forum in Dublin will no doubt contribute to this process by bringing together talented individuals and organisations in the spirit of open innovation and ‘crowdsourced’ solutions.

Some of the session highlights from the event are the following;

- Cities as Innovation Ecosystems:

This session will look at case studies of Smart, Open, Green cities. It will look at urbanisation as a driving force of sustainability

- Movement and Connection; Realising Innovation:

This session looks at the evolution of transport systems towards sustainability and asks the question, what might a sustainable transport system look like in 20 years or so?

- The Biomass Revolution

This session focuses on experts and innovators exploring the potential of biomass to drive an energy revolution and address the shortcomings of first generation biofuels. Algae, agricultural waste products, and other experimental sources are part of this equation.

For full details of all the sessions and to keep tabs on the event as it evolves and comes together, head over to the globe forum page here; http://bit.ly/aDkyYh

As we move closer to Globe Forum Dublin, I will be blogging about the individuals that will share their experiences and expertise on open innovation and related topics in a country that is home to a talented diaspora ready to contribute to defining Ireland’s future as a key player in sustainable innovation.

Soon, I will bring you all something special from an expert on the Irish Diaspora, stay tuned…..

Wind a friend indeed.

You and only you have the power to save energy.

Source: ecopolitology.org

However, we can’t improve anything unless we work collaboratively with the crowd.

Chief Lyons started by pinning down what it takes to be successful in new sustainable businesses:

“It takes a lot of courage and dedication and once the hurrah is over it is all about the grit to see it through that is what matters.”

Chief Lyons then went on to shed light on other projects in the pipeline including ‘Plant a phone’, which is about turning cell phone towers into lush green areas and ‘Plant a car’ which is a research project investigating running cars on wood pellets which involves a bio-digester small enough to fit inside a car, pretty amazing, creative and out-of-the-box innovation. Chief Lyons did not mince words and made a strong call to action:

“Oil is over, if you don’t start making changes now, you will be caught flat-footed” and “Business as usual is over now, now it is cooperation not competition”

Chief Lyons was asked by Patrick Dixon, in 20 years time, what will people be discussing with respect to the earth and the journey towards sustainability.

“Two paths; if we are collectively innovative and work together and cooperate, and we prepare for immigration problems, food and water shortages and prepare for it now, we can meet the problem, if we don’t then….”

Chief Lyons also framed the urgency of the environmental challenges we face by pointing out that there is too much discussion around negotiating with nature and coming up with a compromise;

“You know who is going to win the debate, nature is going to win the debate, the question is how we respond to the demands of nature.”

A key issue that was raised is that new business models for sustainability require a different approach to achieving success; they must be fundamentally about clever partnerships, unexpected connections and a commitment to work together  to achieve a common purpose and of course reap the huge economic benefits that can come from doing so;

“Collective thinking is crucial for solving future sustainability challenges.”

Plantagon, a Swedish company owned by the Onondaga Nation of the United States of America really points to collaborative business models for the future that do not separate but genuinely integrate economic, social environmental and even spiritual dimensions to create true synergies.

In a fitting conclusion to Globe Forum 2010, Patrick asked Oren about his legacy for the future and Oren responded with the following:

“By future generations…I want to be known as the one that tried as hard as possible to ensure that life is as good in seven generations as it is for those alive now.”

This is not just idle words. As part of the commercial ventures set up by the Onondaga nation, 10% goes towards ensuring a desirable future for those alive in seven generations. This is supported by an innovative ‘futures contract’ system where investors and individuals can buy a stake in the future of humanity, a true legacy investment. This goes back to the heart of Native American philosophy in which notions of intergenerational equity and sustainability are deeply ingrained but as Chief Lyons aptly pointed out;

“This is an effort to teach people that they can do things differently and that 10% for future generations is good business.”

So with that remarkable piece of wisdom, I shall conclude and hope that you have been inspired as I have by Chief Oren Lyons to do things differently and always think about the legacy you will leave for those alive seven generations down the line.

This echoes Dennis Pamlin’s point about how important it is to actually be able to quantify positive action, which is partly what this circle resort project is all about, taking action to drive sustainable innovation. Some suggestions were made on how to improve the process for next time. To make it better, it could be prepared more, so potential solutions providers can develop their proposals ahead of the conference. It was pointed out that, this is only the start, the crowd sourcing Globe Forum platform is a way to ensure a continual process and an ongoing contribution of ideas.

Many of the things that were presented over the two days were remarkably clear and simple ideas and not all that expensive, particularly in the water and waste treatment space. This begs the question; why is this not being done everywhere?

It is clear that the next step is to ensure that WWP develops clear guidelines to encourage even more ideas to be sent in and in order to advance those solutions that have already been submitted that accurately match the needs of the project. Finally, if you have an idea email it directly to challenge@globeforum.com and get directly involved in the Globe Forum Platform, if you are not involved already!

I also feel more hopefull that there are posibilities to reach a sustainable development.

As I look at the screne in the center I see the Globe Forum logo.  Suddenly It all makes sense to me. I look at the three colors reaching for eachother in the logo. I see the green for the land and blue for our oceans and what unites them is the orange field. I interpret the orange as the creativity and ability of innovation and adjustment we humans are capable of, becouse I now I know we are. So what are we waiting for?

Prof Michael Braungart, founder of Cradle to Cradle points out that it is about focusing on the excellent service and exceptional experience that a company provides and not on the product. A product should have a defined use period and when that period ends, the company takes back the physical part of the product and uses those valuable raw materials and designs them in to a new and better product.

Prof Michael expanded on this by saying that companies will need to see themselves more and more as raw material banks that are experts in resource scarcity management. He stressed that the cradle-to-cradle concept and the deconstruction and re-use approach is fundamentally different to the old ‘recycling’ paradigm which is more or less a token approach to sustainability and is very limited in and of itself.

Thanks to new technology  people will soon have systems in their houses which control power supply automatically. Some people will have wind turbines on the yard which will supply their houses. Some people will buy a machine who can make water from air. Solar panel will be on all roofs to heat up houses.  

I have been more aware of all problems the world is facing with the waste of our resources. This forum is a initiative in the right direction of how we should use new technology in order to create a better world. Thanks to all innovators their is hope to make it better.

On the other hand it is scary that the human being needs a computer to do the thinking that we should switch off the light or decrease the temperature. We should understand that by ourselves.

If you are not an engineer who can come up with new ideas you can spread the message to stop waste resources. People can cut their resource waste a lot by just be in the shower for 9 instead of 10 minutes, turn off the light if you do not use it etc.

It´s like I knew somewhere that it would come… I just waited for this song..

M. Jackson interpreted by the amazing singers.