If you're someone who's tired of the over consumption and often meaningless gift giving associated with the holidays (really though, I did love those socks last year), here are a few links for you to check out that aim at making a difference in todays world.

+Changing the Present is a webiste that acts as a central hub allowing you to purchase gifts from various organizations around the world such as 25 chickens and a rooster for a family in the developing world ($50), the clearing of landmines from 10 square meters of land ($15), or 10,000 water purification tablets ($75) to name just a few. The site is easily searchable by category of gift or price and the options are nearly endless.

+One Laptop Per Child is an endeavour a few years in the making. Their mission: "to provide a means for learning, self-expression, and exploration" through the development of a laptop that is cheap enough, strong enough, and flexible enough to be distibuted to the more than 2 billion school aged children in the developing world. The first iteration of this laptop is now available to give and through their special "give one, get one" promotion is available to the public until December 31st ($200 each).

+The World Wildlife Fund is a great option for the animal lovers out there. You can adopt an animal of your choice and help protect it from extinction. A $50 donation gets you a plush stuffed animal and the satisfaction of helping save a beautiful creature.

Enjoy the holidays!

Within the last few weeks Volume 1 presenter NEED magazine has begun to gain some much deserved attention. For a newly formed humanitarian aid focused magazine, it doesn't get much bigger than having Global Humanitarian and former President Bill Clinton hug your latest issue.

Need magazine was on hand to speak about their endeavor at the Slate 60 Conference held in October at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Slate 60 Conference is an event in which 60 of the most generous philanthropists convened to discuss and inspire change through Philanthropy," and listen to presentations from people such as Justin Rockefeller, Michael J. Fox, and New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Click here to learn more about the conference and to see audio and video from the October event.

In addition to their recognition at the conference, NBC News Producer Patrice Fletcher wrote a piece on NEED for the MSNBC website. It does a great job of telling the inspiring story of this great local organization so if NEED is new to you, check out the article here.

Congratulations also goes out the the crew at NEED magazine for winning the Gold Medal for "Best use of photography: consumer under 250,000 circulation" at the prestigious Folio: Show as well as gold awards for "Best use of Visuals/photography", "Best overall design", and "Overall excellence" at this years MMPA Excellence Awards.

True to form, there seems to be about a month lag between each event and our ability to digest it all and wrap it up. Well at V2 plus 5 weeks, we're at that stage once again. For those of you who remember reading about our frantic lead up to Solutions Volume 1, we are happy to say that Volume 2 got off to a much smoother start - we even made it to the venue on time!



A bit about the space: Studio 1414, Minnesota's second largest sound stage, stood out in contrast to the dozens of old theaters we investigated for SV1. It's a raw, open space where rough textured white walls rise roughly 32 feet in the air to meet a grid of steel trusses, enclosing a massive space capable of containing everything from commercials to blue screen work. One attendee even pictured the space outfitted for the acrobatic rope work you see in martial arts movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Though the night wasn't quite that... well, athletic - set up was none the less exciting as the space had never been used for such a large scale public event before.

Once again, 13 of the Twin Cities finest took the mic and relayed their stories and ideas to an audience of over 300 people. With a live theater performance, an interactive video presentation, and two time-lapse photography segments, presenters are beginning to engage the standard format of the event in some really exciting ways.



About half way through intermission temporarily shifted the focus to a delectable spread of food, drinks, and conversation. For those who attended our first event, you may remember the not so delectable spread of carrots and pretzels. Well, this time around Signature Cafe, one our favorite restaurants in the cities, supplied some kind of beautiful. With appetites filled and taste buds more than pleased, the night continued, providing another set of amazing presentations complete with a flying red ball representing an alien abduction (you had to be there), image capture from audience members, and the answer to one of the night's most burning questions: what was the Smitten Kitten going to present about. Once again, we sat in awe of the amazing work, dedication, and inspiring thought of all the presenters.

With the presentations completed and the music turned up a notch, many peopled stayed to celebrate and learn more about what was being done and how they could get involved. All in all, the night could not have gone better, surpassing even our insanely high expectations and setting the bar even higher for V3. Stay tuned everybody: videos from V2 are on their way, a Happy Hour is in the works for mid December, and V3 is tentatively scheduled for mid to late Spring.

A few months ago the Walker Art Center invited Solutions Twin Cities to guest curate a portion of their October Free First Saturday event. Called "Move Your World," the event focused on how children could actively shape the world around them. To aid in this effort, we brought in four local organizations (Land Stewardship Project, Alliance for Sustainability, Juxtaposition Arts and Background Stories) to give short Solutions style presentations geared towards this young audience.

Another portion of the event was an art making activity inspired by the day's theme. We brought in arts educators Judy Gallas (yes, Troy's mom) and Mary Legris to help kids understand their role in shaping the future through art. Usually, the Walker likes to facilitate art-making projects where kids can bring their creations home, but Judy and Mary worked with the Walker's Family Programs Manager Ashley Duffalo to create a project that was a little bit different. Called "Gift to Forever," the project asked children and their families to think about what kind of gift or contribution they could make to our future and represent that gift using homemade clay.



After visualizing their gift, participants placed it on a central table to aid in the creation of a "new world." What cannot be seen in this video - and what we never even anticipated - was the amount of thought and care individuals took in how and where they placed their gifts. For example, throughout the course of the day we noticed a lone bird-like gift become surrounded by a whole flock of similarly bird-like gifts, creating a small community within the larger landscape.



Nearly 500 people participated in the project - creating a wide range of thoughtful and inspired gifts. In fact, so many people participated in the project that the clay ran out before the day was up. Improvising on the fly, participants were asked to draw their gifts using colored chalk and paper (you'll see this addition late in the video). At the end of the day, we had the pleasure of viewing each individual gift before rolling them together to create one massive gift for the Gallas family compost pile so that the hundreds of "gifts to forever" would become a part of our world.



We would like to thank Judy, Mary, and Ashley for their help creating the event, and Karl Frankowski for taking a few thousand images and creating the time-lapse video you see above. Enjoy!

Check it!



You'll soon be seeing more of this baby all over town!

As we prepare for Solutions Volume 2, we thought we should take a moment to recognize our wonderful poster artist. Jason "the Paper Prophet" Norman captured the energy of Solutions Volume 1 perfectly, and from what we've seen so far, the Volume 2 poster he's been working on is another head turning thing of beauty.

So for all of you who enjoyed the V1 poster and for those who missed it, we wanted to give you one last look before the Solutions Volume 2 poster is unveiled. Keep an eye out for it.



Click the image to see the whole thing. Thanks for all the hard work Jason!

One of our goals has always been to make Solutions accessible to younger audiences and thanks to the Walker Art Center we are getting a chance to make that goal a reality much faster than we had ever imagined.

Solutions Twin Cities will be guest curating a portion of the Walker's Free First Saturday event on Saturday, October 6th. We've brought together 4 great presenters for a Family Forum on how youth can begin to "move their world" for the better. In addition to the forum, we've brought in teaching artists Judy Gallas and Mary Legris to lead an art making activity for kids centered on the theme "Thinking about the future, thinking about forever."

Free First Saturday - "Move Your World"
October 6th, 10am - 3pm
Walker Art Center - Event Details

Bring the whole family and see how everyone can get involved in changing our world.

Recently, I visited the Goldstein Museum of Design on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus to see their new exhibits, "Affordable Housing: Designing an American Asset" and "Leading from Policy to Practice: Affordable Housing in Minnesota." I was unsure of what to expect, but found a small exhibit rich in the history of affordable housing, and current projects both locally and nationally that are leading examples of positive steps in affordable housing. The exhibit highlights projects that are both economically, politically, and socially responsive, and in a few cases, showcases projects, such as Swan's Marketplace (above) and Colorado Court, that point to the future of affordable housing.

Check out this exhibit now through the 1st of July and visit the museums website for more information on the exhibit, the museums history, and to see what they have in store for us next.

You may have noticed we really like to post about people, ideas, and projects that have a local connection. However, it would be a disservice if we were to ignore issues and ideas that, while not distinctly local, still have an impact on our lives here in the Upper Midwest. Last Sunday, Discovery Channel aired the first installment of it's exciting new four part series, "Building the Future." Much like Solutions Twin Cities (albeit on a grander scale), the series is aimed at highlighting past, present, and future solutions to many of todays biggest issues; Energy, Shelter, Climate Change, and Water. The series takes you around the world for an informational and inspirational look at some of the grandest and most meaningful undertakings in human history - such as a solar tower, water theater, and fusion technology.

The "Building the Future" website offers more about the series, including video clips, an image gallery, and television listings.

This may stray from the usual post, but recently, a few issues have come up centering around the cultural and political influence of Disney that have made me take a closer look at the power companies, such as Walt Disney Company, have in todays society.

People are quick to set their children down in front of a TV, pop in a cartoon and think nothing of it. While most are concerned with screening for violence, sex, drugs and other content in film that is deemed "inappropriate" for children, one group of Brigham Young University researchers have focused their attention on films produced by Disney, looking particularly at their depiction of elderly characters. The results of their recent study show the majority of elderly characters were villains and more than a quarter showed signs of decreased health - hunching, sagging, missing teeth, rough voices, etc. Because there is limited interaction among youth and elderly in todays society, films like these are becoming as influential as schools, parents, and religious institutions in shaping the thoughts and opinions of children; sending them out into the world with a misguided image of the elderly. We do not need to go out and edit every film, rather, it is time we think about creating a stronger relationship between todays youth and elderly, so their depictions in film carry little meaning and influence.

For more facts and information on the study, read Jennifer Viegas' article for Discovery News: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/06/11/disney_hum.html?category=animals&guid=20070611120030



The other issue stems from recent conflict between Disney and the City of Anaheim, California regarding the proposal of new affordable housing (for a comedic look, watch the clip above). Disney, the largest employer in Anaheim, has carried much clout over political decision making in its 52 years in Southern California, but when the city approved plans for the construction of 1500 apartments over a mile from their attraction, 225 of which were subsidized units, their objections did not get the response they were used to. With the City standing its ground, Disney is now suing the City of Anaheim to see this housing does not get built. While the new housing would mean an affordable and local place to live for many of Disneyland's low-wage earning employees, it appears Disney doesn't want to risk ruining the character of their landscape.

For more, read Fred A. Bernstein's article in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/business/yourmoney/20natreal.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=64067c7a448281a4&ex=1181707200

We are nothing if not timely. It's been over three weeks since Solutions Volume 1 and we are just now catching our breath long enough to recap and review the past 6 months. Before we get into that, we'd like to point you towards George Byron Griffiths' beautiful photographs from the night and also Jeremy Stratton's article "Saving the World - In Less Than 7 Minutes" - both offer a better perspective of what Volume 1 was all about then we could hope to crib together ourselves (though that won't stop us from trying!).



Over the past 6 months, and the entire process of putting Solutions Volume 1 together, we have gone through a tremendous learning curve. Every step of the way we had to teach ourselves, make decisions, and then troubleshoot. If we rewind to the day of the event, May 2nd, we had what will probably prove to be our biggest learning experience yet. Afternoon snags and a severe underestimation of time constraints meant that we didn't arrive at our own event until about 7pm - precisely as doors were officially opening to the public! Luckily, we had some amazing volunteers who obviously didn't need much help from us to get the Southern Theater in full party mode.

Shaky start averted, the rest of the night went off better then we could have hoped for. At 8pm we got things started by stammering wide eyed and speechless in front of the 250 people that showed up before passing the mic to our very capable emcee for the night, Jeff Gallo. All of the presenters handled the challenging format gracefully and with style. As we both know from experience, 6 minutes and 40 seconds is not a very long amount of time, even less so when you have something important to say. Many kept crib notes or even wrote their speeches out, timing them perfectly to the 20-second rhythm of the slides. While others relied on what we can only assume was hours of practice and preparation.



From one presentation to the next, we were at the edge of our seat (or pillow) and were constantly in awe of their great work, amazing dedication, and hopeful vision of the future on display. As the night progressed you could feel the energy of the crowd intensify; ideas were flowing, inspiration was heavy in the air, and as the final 6 minutes and 40 seconds wrapped up, it was time for connections to be made. The audience filtered down to the stage to meet with presenters and learn more about what they were doing. They exchanged ideas, gathered information, and continued the conversation with fellow audience members. Some people found it hard to put their thoughts into words without adequate time to digest what they had just seen - something we think we can address in Volume 2.

Yep, Volume 2. The name has always implied it, but through ticket sales, drink purchases, and generous donations we are happy to announce that Volume 2 is officially in the works. The fact that 250 of you attended our first event supports our claim that people in the Twin Cities and surrounding area are not only ready for change, but are ready to be engaged and actively participate in that change. We'd like to thank everybody that came out; we hope you had a great night. You made it a night we will never forget.

Connections are already being made. Just hours after witnessing NEED magazine's 6 minute and 40 second presentation at Solutions Volume 1, Minnesota Public Radio contacted them to do an interview. You can listen to the resulting audio and check out the interactive webpage here.

Clockwise from the top: Disasteratti, Poor Posture, Class of 86, and Red Phone Dispatch.

These bands rocked Memory Lanes last Friday night, and for a cause! Our cause in fact. The bands waived their usual pay for the night and donated it to Solutions Twin Cities to help us cover our expenses for Solutions Volume 1 and help us get ready for Volume 2 (coming this fall). A special Thank You goes out to everyone who played, it was a great night!

Colin even bowled a personal best... 154 baby!

We'd like to recommend everyone check these bands out and support your local music scene, you can also check out each bands MySpace page above to listen to some of their tunes:

Disasteratti - May, 25 2007 at Club Underground, $5
Red Phone Dispatch - May, 26 2007 at Big V's PUNK ROCK PROM
Class of 86 & Poor Posture - May, 30 2007 at The Hexagon, 21+, no cover

(This blog post is currently looking for a better title, please let us know if you have one.)

Troy and I would like to invite you to one hell of a rocking benefit show that our friend Mariah has put together. Cementing our love of hybrid style entertainment in this sensory overloaded world we live in, the night will bring together three of our favorite things: bowling, rocking, and the drinking of various types of beverages. Wahoo! Here are the vitals:

WHO: Well, You of course (its all ages) and: Class of 86, Red Phone Dispatch, Poor Posture, & The Disasteratti
WHAT: Bowling, Rocking, & the Drinking of Various Types of Beverages
WHEN: Friday, May 11th @ 9:00pm
WHERE: Memory Lanes, 2520 26th Av S, Minneapolis, MN
WHY: To support Solutions Twin Cities
OH & HOW COULD I FORGET: No cover!!!

So come on out to bowl, rock, and drink beverages with a whole bunch of really cool people. It will be fun!

Hello Fellow Solutionists! Our first event is just one week away so we have a big update for you today!

A QUICK RECAP
Maybe you got an email from a friend or maybe you have seen a poster or two around town, but chances are that if you've found our website, it's been through one grass roots effort or another. That said, we'd like to welcome any new readers and thank all the old ones that have been helping to get the word out. For those of you that are new to the site, you might still be thinking: "OK, this sounds cool... but what exactly is it and why should I care?"

Solutions Twin Cities is a new organization that is dedicated to showcasing, connecting, and inspiring future-positive creativity. How do we do this? Well it often takes an outside eye to sum up something in the simplest terms. Eric Larson wrote this over at Worldchanging Twin Cities:

The format is simple: Find people with the best and brightest design ideas. Put them in front of a live audience. Allow them to present twenty images for twenty seconds each (that's six minutes and forty seconds per presentation). No guff, no fluff, just the essence of the ideas.

As you might gather from that, the key component in our recipe for change is a live event, the first of which is called "Solutions Volume 1." It will feature a mixture of innovative ideas, programs, and projects, all displayed in a rapid-fire presentation format.

Additionally, this website will act as a hub for these ideas and for people wanting to connect to them. After each event (we are thinking 2 to 4 a year) we will broadcast the presentations through YouTube so that anybody will be able to watch them at their leisure. This website will also provide connections to many of the great local organizations making a difference in our community today, as well as keep you updated with the latest news about progressive design, art, and activism.

We believe that people have the capability and tools to make the world a better place for our children and for generations to come. By connecting you to what is happening locally and building a community around these progressive ideas, we hope that the change that is already taking place will become more visible, and will in turn inspire more and more people to think about how they can effect change in their own day to day lives.

But words can only convey so much, the only true way to see what we are about is to come to the event on May 2nd.



OUR FIRST EVENT IS JUST ONE WEEK AWAY!
"Solutions Volume 1" will showcase innovative design, art, and activism.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Doors at: 7:00 p.m., Presentations: 8:00 - 9:30 p.m., Reception: 9:30 - Midnight
Music by Cadillac Kolstad Band
The Southern Theater
1420 Washington Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Tickets: $6.00 online/ with student ID; $8.00 at door
Check here to get a sneak peak at the great work being showcased on May 2nd.

TWO LAST UPDATES
1) We just set up our mailing list, you can join it here.
2) We've already sold over 50 tickets online! ... why should you care? Because we can only fit 250 people in the Southern Theater and buying online will not only ensure that you won't miss this great event, but will save you a whole 2 dollars! Wahoo!

Thanks so much for all of your help! We hope to see you at our premier event "Solutions Volume 1" on May 2nd!

Until then, Solutionista!

The big day is quickly approaching and we are finally ready to hit the streets with a solid set of press materials. Even though Troy and I are doing our damnedest to get these into the right hands, an effort from the ground up is what we really need to get the word out. And for that, we need your help!

You can check out our official Press Release here, if you are so inspired, please feel free to get the word out to your colleagues & co-workers, friends & family, and anybody else you think might be interested in an event like Solutions Volume 1!

Together, we are connected to a MASSIVE network of people who are potentially interested in an event like this and, at this point, that is far more powerful than a blurb in the newspaper.

You can see our official poster here (if you haven't seen it yet, check it out - we think it's quite beautiful). Troy and I have been busy papering the cities with these posters, but if you have the means, feel free to print it out and hang it up at your place of work, local hang-outs, around your neighborhood, or anywhere else you feel it is appropriate.

Thanks so much for all of your help!

For many years, Cathy ten Broeke has used her skills as a documentary photographer to educate people about homelessness and inspire social change. Her most recent exhibit, "Picture Ending Homelessness," breaks away from the stereotypical image of the homeless, and focuses on presenting a true depiction of who the homeless are. Through this, she hopes viewers "will recognize themselves and their loved ones in these faces and stories" and no longer be able to ignore the problem.

As part of the Minnesota Center for Photography's Second Tuesday Lecture series, Cathy will give a presentation about her work and the issues surrounding it, and be joined by Spoken Word University and zAmya Theater Project. The exhibit opening is set for Tuesday April 10th at 7:00pm. Hope to see you there!

Look for Cathy to share more of her photography when she talks about her work as Coordinator on Homelessness for Minneapolis and Hennepin County at Solutions Volume 1.

In a happy bit of coincidence, John Dwyer of Shelter Architecture was interviewed on the Building Minnesota podcast last week (see our blog post from a few weeks ago, "Building Minnesota"). The focus was on John's labor of love called the Clean Hub: a portable structure providing clean water, toilets, showers, and electricity to refugee camps and slums throughout the world. Check out the Building Minnesota podcast to hear the interview with John Dwyer and learn more about the Clean Hub.

Newly formed Architecture for Humanity: Iowa (AFH-IA) is starting out with a bang. They have organized a two day event (March 28th & 29th) called BIGe that will examine how architects, designers, engineers and other professionals are addressing the interconnections of energy, humanity, and sustainability. While the main attraction for the event is a presentation by Architecture for Humanity co-founder Cameron Sinclair, other speakers and panelists include rebel designer, Pliny Fisk III from the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems and the Iowa Center on Sustainable Communities.



AFH-IA have invited their neighbors from the north, Solutions Twin Cities and Architecture for Humanity: Minnesota, to sit in on a few panel discussions and will be making the three and a half hour roadtrip down to Des Moines and Ames together. To be quite honest, we are mostly just excited to meet Cameron (who, as we can say first hand, literally travels the country blowing the minds of architecture students everywhere) as well as the crew from AFH-IA, who have been up to some very cool projects and have many more up their sleeve.

Events like BIGe are quickly becoming a mainstay of architectural education; allowing young designers to see first hand that they can make a difference in the world today. It is crucial to future of design that people know architecture is not only about creating iconic theaters, musuems and homes for the rich, but about the beauty created when design positively impacts the way people live, and inspires others to take action.

For more info on BIGe, read Kevin Lair's article in the Des Moines Register or check out event details at afhiowa.org. We'll post an event wrap up when we get back.

The open sharing of ideas and information is one of the best ways we can begin to create a better future. This concept, which inspired Solutions, is also the basis for the Open Architecture Network (OAN). Launched at the TED conference two weeks ago, the website provides a virtual place for people from around the world to share innovative, sustainable, and humanitarian design. The latest project from Cameron Sinclair and Architecture for Humanity, the OAN asks that you check your ego at the door, and share knowledge with the idea that one thought will inspire another, eventually resulting in a project that positively effects peoples lives. Whether it is a set of construction documents, a thesis project, or just a great idea, the OAN provides an outlet for designers to share their expertise with the world while learning from one another.



One of the 265 (and counting) projects you'll find on the OAN is the Clean Hub, pictured above. The Clean Hub was designed by Minneapolis' own, architect and teacher, John Dwyer. A variation of this design is currently being built by students in Studio 4284, and will be featured at Solutions Volume 1.

Building Minnesota is a podcast and blog that offers an engaging look at the world of architecture in Minnesota. With the recent flux of prominent buildings in Minneapolis, and the expanding popularity of Minnesota designers, one might think Todd Melby, the blog's lone writer, has his hands full. However, he swiftly moves from one topic to another, providing new insight (from a look into the Weisman Art Museum's newly announced Frank Gehry addition, to a piece titled "why we love malls") while connecting us to all that is Minnesota architecture.

[image]

The Flintstone's & Rubble's did it long ago, and the Jetson's continued it on into the future; so the idea is nothing new: carpooling. For those who make the long and arduous commute to and from work each day while listening to reports about the poor health of our planet, carpooling might seem like a logical answer. But while congestion on Twin Cities highways is getting worse and worse, ride-share programs just haven't caught on. NuRide, the nations first incentive-based online ride network, which just recently spread to the Twin Cities, has an approach that might finally see positive results: make finding a ride free, easy, and safe, and then reward people for doing so.

The reward system works like frequent flyer miles, with every ride you share you earn miles which can be redeemed for goods or discounts at participating sponsors. In an era where people want to see tangible results for their actions, this is a system where they can track their miles shared and begin to see the environmental impact being made. According to NuRide, already over 750,000 trips have been planned on their website, accounting for nearly 23 million fewer miles driven. While benefits to the environment are obvious, commuters will likely most drawn to the stress free commute to work and the possibility of making that morning java a freebie in the process.

For more on NuRide, read Laura Yuen's article in the Pioneer Press or check out their website at www.nuride.com.

Minnesota Stories is a daily video log focused purely on whats going on in Minnesota. From a short documentary about the Art Shanties on Medicine Lake, to coverage of what our Minnesota representatives are up to in Washington (Tim Walz and Kieth Ellison speaking in favor of House Resolution 157), this is life in the land of 10,000 lakes.

Local architecture firm Alchemy Architects placed another weeHouse earlier this week, this time right in the middle of Minneapolis. Because the structure is prefabricated, with the majority of work being done ahead of time in a factory, the show was quick and sweet - check out the video below.



While there is still a long ways to go, each completed prefab project brings us that much closer to a world where affordable prefabricated housing is available to everyone. Currently, technological limitations are holding many ideas back, but as technology advances, and demand increases, we may reach a point where construction is entirely automated.

Look for Alchemy Architects' Scott Ervin to talk about these and other issues pertaining to their work at Solutions Volume 1.

In November of 2006 we attended the WorldChanging book tour to celebrate the release of their first book, WorldChanging: A User's Guide to the 21st Century. Already junkies of their website, we were excited to see how the night would unfold, and eager to discover what kind of crowd would show at the under-promoted event. The event took place at Kingman Studios in NE Minneapolis, a space filled with recycled art, theater props, and colored lights. Upon arrival we were shocked to see it filled to the brim, a fact that only added to the already surreal atmosphere. Everyone there had learned about the tour stop, as we did, through the website or by word of mouth and yet there were easily over 100 people there.


[Kingman Studios]

When Alex Steffen's presentation ended, the floor opened up for local groups and individuals to introduce themselves. Now, we both thought we had a decent beat on 'worldchanging' in the Twin Cities, but neither of us had ever heard of any of these groups... our eyes had been opened to the variety of people dedicated to changing the world, right here in our own backyard. We tried to meet as many people as possible, but as the night wore on and the room emptied, we sadly realized that we had only scratched the surface. As we returned to our everyday lives, connections fizzled and names faded, as if the whole night were just a collective dream.

While discussing the event the next day, we realized we needed to create a space for people to come together, share, and discuss future-positive creativity. A space where lasting and productive bonds could be made and new opportunities for collaboration and community building could be realized. Colin remembered hearing about an event in Tokyo called Pecha Kucha. Meaning "the sound of conversation," Pecha Kucha was a rapid fire show and tell event in which designers could share their work with peers in a comfortable and fun atmosphere. The event was spreading across the world, but always with a focus on design.


[Images from Pecha Kucha Nights around the world.]

It's probably important here to explain a little bit about where we are coming from. We are both graduates of architecture who have a deep respect for the profession and for design in general. But in the past few years, a lot has happened in the world. Many people have accepted the fact that the majority of our systems for living, working, and playing are fundamentally broken. War, poverty, and social injustice affect us everyday, and on a broader scale, global warming and a massive population boom constantly loom over a tomorrow that is already here. But we aren't pessimistic or cynical. People have the tools and capability to affect positive change on all fronts, and encouragingly, many are already doing so. We call it "future-positive creativity."

Shanghai, London, New York, and Los Angeles all have Pecha Kucha... but Minneapolis and St. Paul would have something different. We knew that to realize any kind of positive change, we would have to break down the barriers dividing our communities and open this vital discussion to a broader audience. We believe that when people come together they have a much greater capacity to see their ideas reach fruition and make positive change. We believe in the power of creativity.

This is our blog, The Solution Set.

Wikipedia tells us: "In mathematics, a solution set is a set of possible values that a variable can take on in order to satisfy a given set of conditions"

... well we'd like to amend that definition to say, "in the Twin Cities, a Solution Set is a set of possible ideas that humans can employ to turn around our interlocking global crisis."

This blog will be a sort of local dictionary-in-action for words and phrases like 'interlocking global crisis' and 'future-positive creativity'. All pretty vague ideas that we hope to make very real in the coming months.

It doesn't have to be a one way street either, we welcome... no, NEED your help with this dictionary. Tell us about a project you or your friends are working on, tell us about something that inspired you to take action, or even something that just gave you a small glimmer of hope. No action is too small, no thought too wild.

Changing the world is a participatory experience, join the conversation.