UNSCHOOL LABS COMMUNITY EVENTS
On Monday, UnSchool Labs kicked off with alumni running Drink & Design Night events in cities around the world! The theme was the same for all events – Politics – and so was the challenge: redesign democracy so it works better for everyone. It's fascinating to see the range of ideas that were pitched back by teams! Read on for a recap of seven of the events, and the winning ideas...
Seoul, South Korea
THE EVENT: "True to the increasing multiculturalism of our city, Drink & Design Night Seoul had participants from 7 different cultural backgrounds - this made for really interesting discussions on what democracy is and what it should be. The competitive energy was high from Round 1, especially as the seemingly quiet Diverse Justice Party bolted off with a head start and continued to lead through Round 2. During Round 3, Bibim-dang rose to the challenge confidently, tying with the lead...but only to be beaten by the always temperate yet creatively fervent New Generation Party. At the end, party candidates battled it out until they were speechless (or converted) - but all parties unanimously agreed that a key starting point would be to address Confucianism-based hierarchical social norms, while simultaneously implementing a much more diversified education that would support the transition into a democracy that enforces true equality." - UnSchool Labs Host, Deborah Kim (UnSchool Valle de Bravo alumna!)
THE WINNER: The winning team, The New Generation Party (NGP), placed education as the center of national policy, especially considering how everything is linked and overlaps with each other, highlighting the work of NGOs, gender equality, and freedom of religion. They also proposed that the path toward social equality would heavily depend on taxpayers carrying the direct deciding power on where their taxes went and on setting a budget cap for the state. Congrats to all the NGP team members; Dyzee Alba, Daisy Kim, Jessica Kim, David Han, and Danny Kim!
San Juan, Puerto Rico
THE EVENT: "It was the most fun I've seen people have while dealing with politics. Even though 45min is an incredibly short time to think about solutions to redesign democracy, the teams managed to come up with interesting ideas that can definitely evolve into concrete solutions." - UnSchool Labs host, Carla Ramirez (#UnSchoolBerlin alumna!)
THE WINNER: As a way to improve government transparency and access, the winning team proposed an online platform and app that also includes an sms service for citizens without smartphones. Through the platform, citizens will have access to the contact information of their representatives, call scripts, templates for writing letters, access to laws proposed and their status. Congrats to the "UnTeam" behind the idea – Cecilia Bérriz, David Carrasquillo, Michael Pérez and Dillon McGuire!
Monterrey, Mexico
THE EVENT: "People in Monterrey arrived very excited for the first UnSchool Labs experience in the city. This #DrinkDesignNight pulled a special range of professionals, including Lorena, an elementary school teacher, Diana, a Recycling industry professional, Alfredo, a Brand strategist, and Darío, an Urban planner, among others." - UnSchool Labs host, Arturo Ortega
THE WINNER: Based on the criteria of positive disruption, viability and project structure, the winning idea was "Licence to vote", a mid-long term action plan intended to facilitate access to nonbiased information for an informed vote. Congrats to the team behind the idea, "The Random Party," made up by Gaby Betancourt, Gaby López, Eugenio Mora and Alfredo J. Márquez.
Melbourne, Australia
THE EVENT: "A fun and eclectic group of creative thinkers and change agents gathered at the Grace Darling Hotel in the hipster heart of Melbourne on an otherwise ordinary Monday night. Over drinks and sustainably produced meals, they formed teams (with some entertaining 'political party' names) and battled it out, impressing the co-hosts with their detailed knowledge of world politics and history, not to mention their genius ideas for transforming democracy and improving society for all of us." - UnSchool Labs cohost, Emma Blomkamp (#UnSchoolNYC alumna)
THE WINNER: Congratulations to team Drink Tank – Jenny aka JZ, Rachel aka Rajonce, Sarah aka Kitten Z, and Naomi aka #It'sNotAGame. Their winning idea? "How to vote for parties based on policies - rather than 'beer vs coffee' (a two-party contest that results in rule by majority), people take a survey about their values and their vote is based on the survey outcome."
Mexico City, Mexico
THE EVENT: "We had over 18 multidisciplinary cool attendees from politics, psychology, innovation, design and sociology. They pitched three ideas to redesign democracy and were evaluated by five awesome judges." - UnSchool Labs cohost, Diana Moya (#UnSchoolMX alumna!)
THE WINNER: The winning idea was called Collective Citizenship. Its focus was on redesigning the voting scheme, switching from voting for government candidates to voting for best projects. Congrats to Team Nadonada and all its members; Isabel, Jose Miguel Bando, Marcela Briseño, Arturo López, Iván Macías, and Augusto Ortiz!
Dunedin, New Zealand
THE EVENT: "The Dunedin event was held in Otago Museum's Beautiful Science Gallery, where we overtook 13 projectors and plastered the room with Drink and Design goodness. Five teams, each with four members creatively battled it out over the evening, culminating in a series of engaging pitches. From the Tinder-like 'Opposites Attract' app, to the Menage Trois system with three interlinked principles, and just letting everyone have a vote - even the kids, the ideation on how to solve this complex issue was flowing in Dunedin!" - UnSchool Labs cohost, Craig Scott (#UnSchoolMelb alum and #UnSchoolNZ co-host!)
THE WINNER: The winning Dunedin team, Delorous, had a "list of 600 ideas" but it all boiled down to their concept of RE-mocracy, including a new NZ flag made with beetroot dip - we did say use what was on the table! Congrats to the Delorous team members, Trudy, Matt, Leyton, Martin!
Guadalajara, Mexico
THE EVENT: "A vibrant night of creative rebels and people from different walks of life. An energizing experience that let everyone know that creative ideas for political change are feasible and amazing." UnSchool Labs cohost, Cristina Yoshida Fernandes (UnSchool Valle de Bravo alumna!)
THE WINNER: A The winning idea came from the team Los Miyamotos and involved artificial inteligence for political decision making and policy making. Congratulations to the team members: Diana Legorreta, Ravelly Tello, Irene Velasco, Inés Jimenez Palomar, and Salvador Rosas.
Huge thanks to all who hosted, judged, and/or participated in one of the first #DrinkDesignNight events by #UnSchoolLabs! Follow us on social (@unschools) and subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop on future events :)
