Designing your City of Tomorrow with Anna Asikainen, Nina Martin and Francisco Blockstrand

Beirut and any city is only as vibrant as its citizens. And the same can be said of the services you experience in the city. How can we design these services in a way that allows citizen participation to shape the Beirut of tomorrow? New technologies now lie in the palm of your hand. As users and designers, how can these technologies make your city more connected and smarter, and not just more high-tech? Taking Bourj Hammoud as a case study and looking at the intrinsic social network of people and their disciplines, the designers are analyzing how the area functions, how the artisans interact, and how the local identity has been shaped to try to translate those insights into services.

Nina Martin is a social designer and aspiring entrepreneur from Berlin, Germany with a background in New Media and Film Production. Using video tools, new technologies and design thinking methodologies, she engages with social challenges through participatory workshops and frameworks.

Anna Asikainen, currently working as Competence Manager at Aalto University Executive Education, is a social entrepreneur and education professional from Finland who feels passionate about social business, smart city initiatives, cleantech and renewable energy solutions.

Francisco Blockstrand, Co-founder and CEO of Usaver Mexico, is a social entrepreneur with a passion for sustainability, social responsibility and environmental solutions from Mexico.

Find this event on the Beirut Design Week map by searching for the red bubble marked #8.