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Honey bee publish details |
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ICCIG III: Part-I |
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Third International Conference on Creativity and Innovations (at/for/from/with) Grassroots January 19-22, 2015 |
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| Abstract |
ICCIG III was organised at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad to enrich the ecosystem for inclusive and empathetic innovations. The main objective was to pool the insights from the ground and global playfields of ideas, institutions and initiatives. The conference covered four major themes of grassroots innovations: Technological, Cultural, Institutional and Educational. |
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“I have an apple, you have an apple. If we exchange them we still have only 1 apple each. But if we share an idea each, we both have two ideasÓ. Pomegranate farmer Genabhai Patel talked about the importance of sharing ideas. That was the underlying theme behind the Third International Conference on Creativity and Innovation at/for/from/with Grassroots. There was participation from various countries namely, India, China, US, UK, Russia, South Africa, Canada, Germany, France, Brazil, Portugal, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Togo, Nepal, Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, Italy, Sri Lanka and South Korea. Close to 230 abstracts were received. There were around 300 participants from across the globe. There was also an exhibition of innovations and glimpses of Shodhyatras during the conference. A Doctoral Colloquium was organised by FPM students in which 26 students had registered from around the world.One of the goals of the conference was to define the boundary of the concept of frugal innovation, is it about affordability or more than that. Frugality has to be in terms of its compatibility with the interests of current and future generations. There is a paradox of outstanding achievements in science and technology despite basic needs and dignity not being provided for. The concerns of the working class are not addressed by those who run the system. There is a need for a paradigm shift in management science and vision - to reach the unreached.Prof Catherine Odera Hoppers spoke about how she is incorporating South African indigenous knowledge systems into the curriculum and research agenda of the University of South Africa, the largest in Africa. One of her strategies is to include elders, guardians of indigenous knowledge, to work alongside 30 professors from a variety of disciplines, in defining a new indigenization of the curriculum, to represent African metaphysics which starts from ubuntu - I am because you are, your problems are mine, my triumphs are yours. Quadra Helix: Linking Education, Culture, Institutions and TechnologyThere were papers presented and insightful discussions in parallel session, which tried to bring out various dimensions linking formal and informal sector and the four pillars of the Honey Bee Network, Education, Culture, Institutions and Technology. Highlights of some of the presentations are given here. A detailed report can be seen at www.iccig.org .InclusivenessPeer Mohideen Sathikh, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore spoke about inclusiveness as an issue for development directed innovation. He said, this can be best achieved through culture focused innovations to gain social acceptance at the grassroots. Design for Multiple Life CyclesAmaltas Khan explained how we can develop a culture of ÒDesign for Multiple Life CyclesÓ to maximise the utility of resources used in developing a product by planning its multiple life cycles during its design stage.He gave an interesting example to explain the multiple life cycles and how our society has used it for years:A British man asks an Indian man (wearing a pyjama) ÒHow long do you wear these pants. On this the Indian replies that first I wear this for one year. Then my wife tailors it to make pants for my son. He wears it for one year. Then my spouse again tailors it to make pillow covers. After one year, she makes floor wiper which is again used for a year.Ó The British man then asks whether he threw it after that. The Indian replies that he uses it for six months to wipe off shoes and wipe his vehicle for next six months. Then my kid makes a playing ball out of it. After that we use it to fire our coal stove and then use the ash for cleaning utensils (Dainik Bhaskar, 2014)!Designers are required to identify the users, the various contexts of use of the same product, and redesign it so that the user can identify the next use of the same product after completion of one task. From Designer centred to user centredProf Aguinaldo dos Santos discussed the appropriate use of five approaches to design on a continuum from designer centred to user centred through immersion by the designer. Crowd sourcing works in the space between companies and communities and is the basis of the Sustainable Maker Project, which is a consortium of organisations and universities that has an online platform (www. innovatives.com) based on the principles of open innovation and connecting people to develop sustainability-related solutions.Semiformal as a link between informal and formalThe formal and informal economies have distinct systemic features, and the semi-formal concept takes the properties of both. The institutional innovation of the ‘semi-formal system’ can provide an effective mechanism to understand the linkages between the informal and formal systems. Some traditional examples of the semi-formal system are community organisations like the bhat-barot in Gujarat, the caste panchayats, the samaj, the mahajan, various mandals of youth and women, forums for training, religious activity, entertainment, etc. Some contemporary examples of semi-formal systems are federations of self-help groups, registered trade bodies of self-employed people, registered forums of youth, women, registered community forums for agriculture, governance, justice. Some semi-formal institutions are highly organised, but are refused recognition by government as there is no formal database. This reflects the societal challenge of providing an organisational umbrella for people in a culture where the oral tradition prevails. Late Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Former President of IndiaDr Kalam said ICCIG is a unique platform for innovation and creativity thet can empower the nation. He said development is powered by competition; competition is powered by technology which is powered by creativity. Innovation has to be continuous, on multiple dimensions and is based on the ability to imagine. Scientific endeavour leads to a culture of excellence. “Those who imagine the impossible will change the world.†|
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| Volume No. |
HB26(2) 14-15, 2015 |
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