COP28
To achieve the necessary speed and scale of change, we believe creativity must be woven into every climate action.
Humanity has arrived at a precarious state of existence. Too many of us are working in our own silos, and too many of us are waiting for others to take the lead. Humans are the cause of climate change but also the key to its mitigation and reversal.
Limiting climate change calls for:
- Creativity to play a role (in provoking, catalyzing, accelerating, and delivering solutions and changes with rigor)
- The kind of creativity that generates new, real-world solutions for the climate era.
From December 4–7, 2023, practical creativity took center stage at the inaugural kyu House at COP28. Hosted by the kyu Collective, in a converted warehouse in Dubai’s Alkersal Avenue, the four-and-a-half-day experience saw people and ideas coming together for panel discussions, interactive workshops and presentations to explore tangible solutions to climate change. Seven of kyu’s companies: ATÖLYE, BEworks, Gehl, IDEO, Lexington, Neol, and SYPartners, crafted the programming along with Public Digital, and kyu itself.
Leading climate and sustainability organizations Aspen Institute, Urban Partners, Kite Insights, Futerra, and NOW Partners joined the kyu companies in exploring a range of topics, including leveraging AI for urban design, moving from intention to impact, understanding Gen Z’s mindset around climate, and using storytelling for human connection.
- PAST SPEAKERS
Director of the Arts, Culture and Heritage, Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation
Pradeep Sharma
Pradeep Sharma
Director of the Arts, Culture and Heritage, Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation
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- Creative Economies
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- Design and Innovation
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- Cultural Systems Design
Pradeep Sharma is the inaugural
Director of Arts, Culture and Heritage at
the Salama bint Hamdan Foundation
in Abu Dhabi. Sharma was the Provost at Rhode Island School of Design, Professor
of Design and Innovation, and is a regular speaker on creativity, complexity, and creative economies.
Pradeep Sharma
Director of the Arts, Culture and Heritage, Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation
-
- Creative Economies
-
- Design and Innovation
-
- Cultural Systems Design
Pradeep Sharma is the inaugural
Director of Arts, Culture and Heritage at
the Salama bint Hamdan Foundation
in Abu Dhabi. Sharma was the Provost at Rhode Island School of Design, Professor
of Design and Innovation, and is a regular speaker on creativity, complexity, and creative economies.
Chief Solutionist and Co-Founder, Futerra
Solitaire Townsend
Solitaire Townsend
Chief Solutionist and Co-Founder,
Futerra
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- Sustainability
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- Change-Making Narratives
-
- Social Impact
Solitaire co-founded the change agency Futerra in 2001, now one of the leading sustainability agencies in the world, working with the world’s most influential organisations to activate social justice
and environmental restoration.
Solitaire Townsend
Chief Solutionist and Co-Founder,
Futerra
-
- Sustainability
-
- Change-Making Narratives
-
- Social Impact
Solitaire co-founded the change agency Futerra in 2001, now one of the leading sustainability agencies in the world, working with the world’s most influential organisations to activate social justice
and environmental restoration.
Chief Innovation Officer, Gehl
Jeff Risom
Jeff Risom
Chief Innovation Officer,
Gehl
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- Green and Thriving Cities
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- People-first Urban Design
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- Partnership with Mayors
As Chief Innovation Officer, Jeff works to apply people-first design principles to the way human experience the ecosystems that communities share. He works at the intersection of urban governance, business and culture to deliver projects that are economically viable and socially equitable while efficiently using energy, land and time.
Jeff Risom
Chief Innovation Officer,
Gehl
-
- Green and Thriving Cities
-
- People-first Urban Design
-
- Partnership with Mayors
As Chief Innovation Officer, Jeff works to apply people-first design principles to the way human experience the ecosystems that communities share. He works at the intersection of urban governance, business and culture to deliver projects that are economically viable and socially equitable while efficiently using energy, land and time.
Stories From COP28
