How to organize a summercamp
How to organize a summercamp
To create motion, direction, energy, and matter must be present. This fundamental physical law also drives transformative processes. Mere ideas, dreams, or words are insufficient to change the point of departure for a journey into reimagining our world. We need makers who bring energy and matter together and critical makers to steer us toward reconnecting human and non-human, current, past and future generations.
Frameworks and formats should be taken with precaution. Although they give insights and clearness on drivers and systems behind the setup, at the same time they also limit our view. By defining a framework, we make decisions that exclude options. I’ve never been a big fan of limitations and narrowing down complexity, nevertheless I’ll venture to try it this time. The reason is I foster a dream to unlock a hopeful future where people ignite their potential by actively contributing to a kind of tangible resilience. I witnessed at Timelab, people discover their inner power and their capacity for sharing by making. By developing this manual for a summercamp format I wish to touch the underlying impact of a seemingly light and pleasant event.
Institutionalized design, arts and engineering education is often siloed into specific disciplines and formats. Which is a great thing when it comes down to specializing and deepening your profession. On the other hand, the complexity we are facing needs a multiperspective approach. This approach, which represents the DNA of Timelab, offers a multifaceted perspective on research questions in real contexts. We call this Critical making. This specific type of making is characterized by its trans- and interdisciplinary practice. It tackles design and engineering aspects into a value driven practice on a systemic level.
In the following manual we will describe the key elements of creating the magic of Timelabs Summercamps based on years of trial and error.