AOD to unveil inspiring new ‘design innovation’ vision for Sri Lanka

AOD Colombo Innovation Tower Founder Linda Speldewinde 

• Key insights at REVEAL 2019, Colombo Innovation Tower inaugural public event
  
   

A unique vision centring ‘design innovation’ as a central force to drive a one-of-a-kind innovation marrying ‘design and tech’ is soon to be launched by AOD at its new home, the Colombo Innovation Tower. It will discuss how design thinking-driven innovation can be incorporated with science, technology and entrepreneurial thinking, to empower young Sri Lankans to become creative technocrats, and business makers to drive a new phase of innovation for Sri Lankan industries. This promising new vision will be premiered at Reveal 2019, where over 100 of the most employable design innovators will be previewing their work which also coincides with the official opening of the Colombo Innovation Tower. AOD’s founder Linda Speldewinde joined in for an exclusive interview, discussing the significance of this new vision to Sri Lanka, how AOD envisions spreading its impact, to drive a new age movement of innovation across the country both at grass-root level in cottage industries such as handloom weaving and high tech ones such as apparel or the IT sector, and how this new approach marrying tech and creativity corresponds to the major shifts in education and the ways that young people access and process information.

Following are excerpts:

Q: What is REVEAL 2019, and what makes it a must-attend?

 REVEAL is a public event hosted by AOD. It’s really a must-attend one with a powerful message that is very relevant to the new Sri Lanka we all want to build; so, something I believe every Sri Lankan business, parent and young person must see. First of all, REVEAL is where AOD will be launching a new vision to educate the next generation of creative thinkers and innovators for Sri Lanka; we’ll discuss further later. 

Secondly, it’s not just the vision—it’s also the actual talent who will transform this vision to action out there, that you will be able to witness at AOD’s REVEAL this year. The theme for this year’s REVEAL is something I find incredibly inspiring—‘listen to the future’. 

Q: Why the theme ‘listen to the future’?

 Because the future should not have to fight so hard to be heard. Unlike past advice, new advice in this ear will come from the future. If we are direct the current of change to our favour, we simply must listen to the future and give a platform to the voices and movements driving towards the world we want to see. 

When we speak about a new design innovation vision that helps to build a new Sri Lanka, and creating the right kind of talent to bridge our industries with the global markets out there, we can’t go forward with any of these big ideas unless we create room and platforms for the young people who will be driving this. That’s what it boils down to, and this is what REVEAL is about. 

Q: When is it, and can anyone attend? 

 REVEAL is taking place during 29, 30 November and 1 December at the Colombo Innovation Tower. Yes, it’s free entry and absolutely anyone can attend. I think it is especially significant for industry leaders and businesses looking to employ the kind of innovators who can rethink the way products and services are used, made, promoted and sold to consumers worldwide; more importantly, how these things will be loved, remembered and repeatedly demanded for. 

I also think young creators, school students and parents interested in the future of their children, will also find REVEAL very relevant to them, and tomorrow’s career dynamics that they absolutely must understand.

Q: What is happening at this event? 

 A lot! I’ll try to capture everything in a nutshell, but invite you all to read the full schedule online (www.aod.lk). REVEAL 2019 will be spread across 18 floors, presenting some outstanding work in design innovation from our own AOD talent, and will host a series of innovation labs. 

These labs have been curated capturing the many interesting facets of design innovation; for example, the Discovery Lab allows experiencing different types of creative careers, their prospects in Sri Lanka as well as overseas. Meanwhile, the Makers’ Lab is all about the link between ideation and making products or services, when innovators bring ideas to reality. 

There’s also the Expression Lab that allows visitors to see how ideas are communicated through creative media like art, a Discussion Lab with interactive conversations on how designers solve problems, a Spatial Laboratory dedicated to the science of built environment, a Tech Lab where young designers, tech enthusiasts and school students can see where design and technology meet. 

It’s really a fascinating experience all around, and has been designed to create a deeper understanding of what design innovation really means. 

Q: You mentioned that AOD is launching its new AOD 3.0 vision. Can you tell us briefly about this?

 Yes. Education is long overdue for a disruption. No one knows the skills jobs that will be in 30 years. Which means no one knows what to teach now. So envisioning and disrupting your own self is key. For us, this new vision we created is something that really makes a lot of sense in terms of how Sri Lanka really needs to invest in driving this connection between design innovation and technology. 

It’s not enough that our young creative minds are just designers; it’s no longer enough that we just create entrepreneurs, or tech experts. We need to create innovators who think design, business and technology. We need to blur the boundaries between traditional education disciplines and open our minds further to see a broader picture. This is the future, and this is what we’re driving with the new AOD 3.0 vision.

Q: Do you think Sri Lanka is ready for this?

 Yes, I really do. We’ve always had the capacity to be a regional hub and with the Colombo Innovation Tower we are enabling this and ready to drive it over the next decade. 

Q: How will AOD drive innovation for Sri Lanka with this new vision?

 Education can lead or it can follow. In the space of design, AOD has been pioneering and led for Sri Lanka and head a blank canvass to create this talent responsibly, contributing back to Sri Lanka over the last decade. Moving to the future, AOD is evolving this role further, to shape Sri Lanka’s future innovators whole heartedly, and very seriously. 

The way we will make this happen for Sri Lanka is threefold; first and foremost, through our industries that already have a large economic influence and have the capacity to drive impact from the village onwards. We already have a fantastic relationship with these industries, as we all already know, and we mean to fully harness the power of this network to bring forth this design and tech integration for innovation. 

The next is our own ecosystem of businesses that serve as examples of how design innovation can drive revenue, employment opportunities and sustainable growth; we’ve made a lot of progress in this ecosystem lately and we mean to use their success to grow the network further and influence other businesses to also follow this path. 

Third, and most important—the talent. This is the AOD student, who is always at the heart of the movement we create. By giving them a powerful mix of skills that broadens their horizons to see opportunities through the lenses of technology, creative thinking and design innovation.

Q: Lastly, why is a new AOD needed? 

 Many people have asked me this. I think it’s because AOD has been moving forward, and the norm is to disrupt.  But the reality is a very different one to a decade ago, the reality is that design has changed and it has more power than ever before, design thinking has become mainstream and education itself has changed, and the world has changed. 

The way young people see things, interact with information and learn, is very different. Unless we disrupt education and the way we teach our future generations so they can build a better world, I think we’re failing as teachers and educators. This is why AOD is changing, even when we’re doing phenomenally well. It’s what makes AOD different, and true to what we do best, which is create, design, and innovate.