Social Innovation
Social Innovation
Tackling ocean plastic with design thinking
Intro
Every year, 8 million tonnes of plastic materials enter our oceans. Thailand along with China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka account for up to 60% of the global plastic waste leaking into the oceans. This initial finding spurred the realization and urgency of the need to act on plastic waste in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Project
The Circular Innovation Jam is a 48-hour ideation event that brings innovative minds together to learn about the circular economy. Participants use design-thinking tools to develop new solutions to tackle ocean plastic pollution. The event is organized by The Incubation Network and local partners in 12 cities across 5 countries in Asia. The solutions they develop are then to be showcased on regional level, with the top ideas receiving 3,000 USD support from incubation partners.
My Role
This year, I got the chance to project manage the Circular Innovation Jam in Bangkok. The first step was to come up with a challenge statement that address a particular plastic-related pain point within the local economy. Together with the facilitators, we followed Benjamin Franklin’s words “investment in knowledge pays the best interest” and framed our challenge statement around the education sector. We asked ourselves and our participants “How can we reduce plastic waste in schools and universities across Bangkok?”
Next Step
The second step was securing venue, catering, contacting knowledgeable speakers and industry experts to attend the event. Unfortunately, due to covid-19 it has been postponed until further notice.
If you are interested in participating as a speaker, mentor or simply want to contribute to ideation process, drop me an email at liepa.olsauskaite@gmail.com and I will reach out to you once the event preparation is resumed.
