Ellen Macarthur Foundation. Rethink the future

Project ReDesign launched today

• by ReDesign Team
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• 22 Feb 2011
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Project ReDesign

A free hands-on workshop, hosted by Dame Ellen MacArthur, on the the challenges and opportunity of a future re-think. Aimed at students aged 16 – 18, the event offers the following benefits:

• Learn about the circular economy – a positive and comprehensive approach to sustainability.
• Work as a team on an exercise to re-think and re-design how we might live and work at the end of an era of cheap energy and materials.
• Meet and question industry professionals already working in sustainability.
• Build on, and practise skills, including problem solving and critical thinking.
• Opportunity to win an all-expenses paid quality internship with one of the UK’s leading businesses to better understand the challenges and opportunities of the circular economy.
• Winners will attend a prestigious gala dinner in London with leading players in sustainability and industry in the autumn of 2011.

Accompanying teachers can choose to attend a parallel seminar run by Ken Webster, Head of Learning at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and co-author of Sense & Sustainability, a key resource in educating for sustainability. Relevant teaching materials will be available for teachers to take away.

Ellen MacArthur during the pilot phase of Project ReDesign.

© Ellen MacArthur Foundation

What’s it all about?

We have a finite supply of resources and energy with which to fuel our industrial model, and the current model of ‘taking’, ‘making’ and ‘disposing’ cannot work long term. Project ReDesign questions whether we are stuck in a cycle of bad design. It explores the use of creativity to eliminate waste, maximise energy efficiency and re-design products to be ‘made to be made again’… and again and again… The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is taking a leading role in promoting closed loop thinking and the circular economy as a framework within which to stimulate innovation and inspire young people to rethink, redesign and build a positive future.

What will we do?

Hosted by Dame Ellen MacArthur and supported by advocates in business and industry, students will actively engage in real-life case study issues. During the day they will be challenged to re-think and re-design how our world might work in a different way within a circular economy. Students will work together as a team, with access to advocates from a cross section of industry, including energy, transport, consumer products and systems & communications, who will be on hand to answer questions and act as experts. The top teams selected in a first stage ‘gallery’ will have the opportunity to present their ideas to the plenary group.

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One team will win the opportunity to take part in a week long, fully funded internship in industry with one of the founding partners of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Each internship will be designed to maximise the exposure of students to real life business challenges. Following on from this will be a gala dinner, again hosted by Ellen MacArthur, where teams will have the unique opportunity to meet with key players in sustainability and industry, at a prestigious venue in London.