Kommunalråd tror på vikten att unna sig jam

– Jammet kommer säkert ge många spännande idéer för oss i kommunen att tänka vidare kring. Kanske något vi kan realisera nu eller senare, säger kommunalråd Marina Johansson (s) på besök.

Marina Johansson, kommunalråd (s), besökte jammet på lördagen. Med nyfikna ögon och öron gick hon runt och tittade bland deltagarna.
– Det är kul att det görs något annorlunda. Det verkar roligt för dem som är med, ett roligt sätt att komma fram till nya idéer. Vi behöver annorlunda idéer, hitta nya lösningar på dagens och morgondagens problem. Vi har många stora utmaningar här i Göteborg, miljö, klimat och ekonomi. Jag tror att de här tre dimensionerna ni presenterar här av social, ekonomi och ekologisk hållbarhet är viktiga.
Marina Johansson tycker att staden borde bli bättre på att höra vad medborgarna tycker i alla frågor – alltifrån stadsplanering till skola, kretsloppsfrågor och omsorg.
-Jag tror kanske att fler vill vara med och bidra till utvecklingen av sin stad än tidigare.
Idag lyssnar man mest på medborgarna i efterhand. Mer delaktighet och engagemang skulle ge medborgare en känsla av att bli lyssnade på men också större helhetsbild och öka förståelsen för vissa beslut, tror hon. För att få en mentalt trygg stad krävs det även bra mötesplatser, att kommunikationen flyter.
Göteborg stad arbetar alltmer med att få göteborgarna mer involverade i stadsutvecklingen.
De tio, nyindelade stadsdelarna söker nya metoder för att föra en konstruktiv medborgardialog. Kanske kan sådant som jam vara en metod.
Varför används inte mer kreativa metoder i samhället, tror du?
–        Alla har bråttom, politiker, företag. Vi tar oss inte tid. Vi rutar in oss själva i dagordningar.
Marina Johansson berättar om en härlig informell konferens socialdemokraterna i Göteborg ordnade för ett tag sedan.
-Vad härligt att bara få sitta och fundera fritt! Inte ha en massa punkter att hålla sig till, hade flera deltagare sagt efteråt.
Att delta i en händelse som ett jam tar ju tid konstaterar hon, men hon tror bestämt att det lönar sig på sikt, att man tar igen det senare med de nya lösningar jammet ger.
-Man unnar sig inte att ge sig tid att göra på ett annorlunda sätt. Jag tror man måste bestämma sig: nu gör vi på ett annorlunda sätt.
-Jag tror att denna metod är något vi kan använda oss av. Och idéerna de kommer fram till hoppas jag att vi kan få dem till oss i kommunen och titta på dem och se om det kan ge något. Om idéerna passar in på vårt dilemma.
Hon konkluderar att ska staden bli hållbar måste man fokusera på framtiden: alltså barnen.

Text: Ruth Aniansson

Foto: Emmy Jonsson

Happy mood of the event

The event has from an perspective on someone sitting at the next table, trying to listen and interact with the participants at certain moments, been one of the most creative, calm and happy events ever seen. At least for me.

The participants are very focused, taking on their challenge with eagerness and creativity, cooperating well (sure there has of course been some quarrels but nothing totally blocking it seems) and with a good spirit. I look forward to seeing, hearing and experiencing their presentations in one hour…

Through the ustream channel a lot of the mood of the event has been caught. Here are some clips:

Focused work 😐

Lunch beat  : )

Happy helpers and participants 

Participants 5

Jiang Qian, Lund, home country China
Studying Industrial Design
The jam IN 3 WORDS: respect, responsibility, vividily
Sustainability IN 3 WORDS: human-centred, enviromental-friendly, forever
I heard about this event in China last year because some of my friends joined it in Changhai. A profesure in Lund told about it in Gothenburg so me and some clasmates came here.

Gustaf Josefsson, Göteborg
Founder of Entreprenörsjakten
The jam IN 3 WORDS: fast, challenging, love
Sustainability IN 3 WORDS: economic, social and ecological
I’m here beacause I’m an entrepreneur.

Anna Jivén, Göteborg 
Consultent Public affairs Energy, Member of Swedish association of nature conservation (Naturskyddsföreningen)
The jam IN 3 WORDS: mind opening challenge
Sustainability IN 3 WORDS: make it right
I read about this event at the facebookgroup of Naturskyddsföreningen. It’s easy to only work in your own group. A tip for next year is to connect the groups but also to make the global link more obvious.

Niclas Lundmark, Göteborg
Studying marketing, School of business, economics and law
The jam IN 3 WORDS: fun, different, creative
Sustainability IN 3 WORDS: fun, needed, economic
An other participant told me of this event. I found innovation and sustainability to be interesting subjects.

Lina Nilsson, Göteborg
Studying Mechanical Engeenering
The jam IN 3 WORDS: intense, fun, creative
Sustainability IN 3 WORDS: resource, cirkled, renewable
One of my teachers at Chalmers told our class about this event. She belived that  it would have a lot to offer so she gave us the name of the website.

Agneta Carlsson, Göteborg
Swedish association of nature conservation (Naturskyddsföreningen)
The jam IN 5 WORDS: Innovative results in short time.
Sustainability IN 5 WORDS: See impacts for future generations.
We share the same office with the jam organisers and Naturskyddsföreningen is a partner of the event.

Jenny Heier, Munich, Germany
Industrial designer freelancing
The jam IN 3 WORDS: 3 day-world changing.
Sustainability IN 3 WORDS: Shift from me to us.
I crashed in here, visiting a friend. I am an exchange jammer from Bavaria where they started the idea of design jam.

Tjänstedesigner på Volvo kom förbi

Fredrik Brynolf, jobbar med tjänsteutveckling på Volvo technology, en nytt område inom fordonsjätten. Han kom förbi jammet på sista dagen och blev imponerad.

Vad tycker du om jammet?

–        Det är jättekul att så många kommit. Det är intressant att se hur ni fått olika människor i olika grupper, och som utvecklat så olika saker på samma tema. (playground, red. kommentar)

Han gillade gruppernas direkta inställning där de gjort intervjuer på stan och byggt prototyper och bekräftade att det liknar hur de jobbar på Volvo.

Fredrik Brynolf hade själv gärna deltagit i jammet, om han inte varit jetlagad efter en global tjänsteutvecklingskonferens i San Francisco förra veckan. På Service Design Global Network träffade han bland annat Sustainability Jam’s initiativtagare Adam Lawrence. Fredrik ser tjänsteutveckling som ett allt ökande fokusområde i samhället.

-Det är oerhört intressant se den här sakta rörelsen från produkt till tjänst. Förr till exempel köpte alla sin matkasse på ICA, men nu kan du få din matkasse hemskickad med färdiga recept.

En bra lösning för stressade småfamiljer påpekar han.

-Förr var produkten det man sålde och tjänsten en liten del. Nu säljer man mer tjänsten och produkten ingår i det.

Volvos tjänsteutveckling är i startgroparna och Fredrik är imponerad av den breda bakgrunden bland deltagarna på jammet och säger att man på Volvo jobbar med att bli mer multidimensionella.

Skulle ni kunna ta med er något härifrån?

Det känns som ni har god stämning här och god kultur.

Han skyndar vidare men avslutar med: Jag hoppas jag kan vara med nästa år.

Text: Ruth Aniansson

Foto: Eva-Karin Fredriksson

Participants 4

Anna Martinez, Göteborg
Devoloping sustainability tourism at Västsvenska turistrådet
– It’s amazing how workable ideas can be created when a group of people meet under 48 hours! From idea to business plan to a workable product. Many people don´t even achieve this during five years, or even a lifetime!

Anna Risell, Göteborg
Studying arcitecture
Part of a think tank, Super sustainable at the architecture firm Kjellgrenkaminsky
– This is like a storm of creative ideas and thoughts, really inspiring to be a part of. What’s inspiring is to get all different perspective from different fields. It’s interesting how to make sustainability to an everyday aspect and something concrete, a part of an everyday pattern of thoughts.

Satu Hamed, Varkaus, Finland
Master student in business design at HDK, Göteborg
Working part-time at company CAD-quality Finland Oy doing marketing and projects
– It’s been very interesting, it is not only about the group work, a very essential thing is to get different views on sustainable things and actually other things too. It’s learning with a team but also personal development and group work experience. Listening and compromises is a big thing. Everybody is so eager to do things, more than it often is. The groups are actually a bit too big, four people would be good. With six now we have to use a glas to decide who’s to speak.
How did you hear about the jam?
I accidently saw an add at school pinbord decided to go with a friend.

Anneli Selvefors, Göteborg
PhD student in design for sustainable behavior at Chalmers university of technology
-It’s been very inspiring and very intense. There are so many different people from different backgrounds and different thoughts and ideas about sustainability.
How did you hear about the jam?
I was contacted by organizer Anton who said “You have an interesting profile, you should join us.”
What does sustainability mean to you?
My philosophy is that sustainability is not only what resources we use, but what kind of relation we have to nature and all life.

Klara Hansson, Göteborg
Running her own firm Gemeko pushing for sustainability
-An eye-opener of things I already knew. You need to be reminded again, again and again. of some things. The different steps for a process and how a group work. The work process here is super cool. Once we found our mutual goal in the group, the process really took off.
How did you hear about the jam?
I was at the thinktank Supersustainability and heard about it.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Surplus. Not just making something a little bit better, but getting a surplus. Humanity can create more. A material and social surplus. My vision of sustainability is a world where we are not only using resources but also creating resources. Can be music, poetry etc.

Inspiring book on cultural SustainISM

That sustainability is a cultural – how we live – thing is becoming more and more obvious. Our mind-set, our values, our views is decisive, then affecting our lifestyles and what we produce and how.

A cool, inspiring new book on this topic is Sustainism is the new Modernism -design, idea and network all in one – check it out under the tab Inspiration here above !

We form our mental world with words and symbols, the book provides a lot of new key words for what a sustainable society is about. Many of them goes well together with this jam, see  !

Participants 3

Fredric Bauer, Göteborg
Student at Sustainable Energy Systems
– Sometimes it feels like we are animals at a Zoo, visitors from Röhsska are looking and pointing at us. But there has been a lot of ideas of how the community can improve.

Anna Grzelec, Göteborg
Project Manager at Tillt (Put artists in organizations to stimulate creativity)
– The Global perspective is very complex but people with different competences need to collaborate to solve the problems. It is a sweaty challenge, but if it wasn’t, the sustainability problem wouldn’t exist.

Imad Agi,  Strömstrad
Egenföretaget Byggakuten
– This is a unique experience! I’m learning a lot of the teamworking and this kind of processworking. In a team you have to be democratic, give and take and adapt to the others. It takes time to go from an idea to a product.

Per Brolund, Malmö
Industri Designer, recently were in Cambodja working with WWF, Sustainable Rattan Production
– I like that the young and hungry people are like a volcano of creativity when they come together. It’s inspiring that people sacrifice a whole weekend for this. But at the same time it would be nice to have a wider spectra of demography. Older people with a longer experience have other insights.

Malin Lagerkvist
Studying architecture
– This is very inspiring. I like the method that we’re working in, and it generates a lot of new ideas. 

Sofia Nygren 
Studying Cognitive Science, Collaborative consumption, Internship at Miljöförvaltningen
– I think that this is a very nice way to let innovative communitys get together. Many small ideas becomes something great and big. A global problem at the local level.

Interview about innovation with Martin Willers

Martin Willers, one of the guest speakers at the event, who normally works at design consultant  firm People people in Stockholm, gives his views on how to address the issue of sustainability on a easy reality level and his expectations of the event and wishes for the participants:

Participants 2

Kristina Björkman, Landskrona
Game designer and founder of Adludo AB together with Johan Herrsdorf
– I think it’s interesting and inspiring to meet people from other fields. This is an interdisciplinary meeting ground.

Adrian Hedström, Göteborg
Business development at GU Holding
– It ‘s great! The possibility to connect with people and to talk about important issues as sustainability and innovation. 

Rasmus Palm, Göteborg
Technician at Göteborg Energi
Searching for a job related to his Master of Science in Industrial Ecology
– There is a lot of interesting people to interact with. People with the same vision but with different backgrounds and competences. This event has a diffuse prospective but is very interesting.

Sanna Bengtsson, Växjö
Studing enterprising and business development at Linneus University
– I like to try new things and get in new contexts. I also like to go from idea to a concrete product. It’s interesting to interact with other people from different backgrounds.

What do you think about the jam?

Anton Breman, one of the organisers of the Swedish jam, emphasised at the inauguration, that the most important thing for the participants is to have fun and do something, the outcome is secondary and doesn’t have to be great.

That the networking and experience of meeting people from totally other fields of society (and maybe even country), is the most prominent outcome of the event for the jammers, seems quite clear now. Several of the participants I’ve spoken to mention the interesting mix of backgrounds, views on sustainability and the broad exchange of ideas (and probably future friends) as valuable for them. Here are some lines of views of the jam:

“Fantastic people. Damn good recruitment. There are so good, interesting people here so that it is hard to focus on the process.”

“It is interesting to be here. Hard to see the goal, but maybe there is none in the ordinary sense.”

“Really challenging.”

“It is exchange of ideas. We have different languages and background but it is a strength I think. We’re talking about sustainability in different ways and it is interesting to hear different views. In our group we have people from the fields of philosophy, design, engineering, environment and economics. We need all the knowledge to address the challenges.”

“We have a dream team. It is a good mix of different competences: political science, game designer, politics, product designer, communication consult and business development. We just miss the environment scientist.”

“It is great to be here, to get to meet people from totally different backgrounds. It creates spontaneity and serendipity.”

Serendipity is to encounter sth one didn’t expect, a pleasant surprise. Just so you know. I had to check it up too.