The inaugural Maker Faire Africa was a gathering of inventors and entrepreneurs from around the globe. One of the main purposes was to showcase African ingenuity to world. Taking place in Accra, Ghana, Maker Faire Africa had local artisans as well as Makers from as far as Liberia, Malawi and Uganda.

http://makerfaireafrica.com/

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 by Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein of KleinDytham Architecture as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation (”chit chat”), it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

PechaKucha is currently in 255 cities worldwide and is growing every week. I myself am now part of the London team who have brought it back to the capital, with the first event happening on the Monday just gone. You can join the London PechaKucha Facebook group here.

With a recently re-launched website, you can now view presentations online here and make sure to check out all the other information on the PechaKucha website.

http://www.pecha-kucha.org/

Cities x Design as featured on DESIGN 21, is a 35-city trans-media research trip across the United States that is recorded online and will later be released in film, exhibition and book form. Through visits, observations, and interviews Cities x Design will examine, during this time of economic instability and questioning about America’s future, the connections between cities, local culture and people in the United States. It will highlight how investing in design can change perceptions, boost economies and create unique places.

The documentary created will explore cities where local creativity, commerce and culture merge. It will highlight people, organizations and businesses that use design as a medium to reflect a deeper understanding of their city’s identity. It will reveal the diversity that lives in America’s most creative corners: from a cutting-edge entrepreneur who is working with the New Orleans Government to regenerate a historic riverfront, to a graphic design firm in Austin working with local musicians, a Native-American fashion designer in Santa Fe, or a small furniture company in Denver that uses domestically sourced material. The website, book, exhibition and film will showcase people who play an important role in the regeneration, tourism, branding, and creative economy of their cities. Their ideas are inspired by authenticity, craftsmanship, local identity and culture. These people are charting a new course for a sustainable future in American cities.

Cities x Design began in Orlando, Florida and will pass through New Orleans, Austin, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Boise, Salt Lake City, Boulder, Denver, Omaha, Iowa City, Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, Columbus, Lexington, Knoxville, Atlanta, Charleston, Savannah and Miami.

The idea of taking around a group of people in a sort of ‘tour’ format, to travel around individual countries trying to solve problems has such potential, and doesn’t just need to be design. Imagine taking an MP, philosopher, plumber, businessman, student and a vicar around your country putting their heads together to try and solve local problems within communities. More of this type of conversation I think should take place regularly and documented online like Cities x Design does. A worldwide network of ‘tour buses’ could be created perhaps?

http://trip.citiesxdesign.org/