SUSTAINABILITY AND CONFLICT
Bogotá
At the time of our immersion, Colombia was experiencing a moment of redefinition — culturally, politically, technologically and economically. With the recent signing of a peace accord between the FARC and the Colombian national government, Colombia was attracting more attention as a global economic power than ever before.
This sudden influx of new capital posed an opportunity for the country to redefine itself from the decades-long infamy as one of the most violent places on Earth to being one of the most appealing destinations for business, tourism, and culture.
Through experiential site visits with local hosts and partners, immersion participants shaped insights in the Colombian context that could be applied to their own circumstances.
Our Colombian immersion was founded on three critical pillars of common interest.
Identity: In the Colombian context, this pillar focused on the pride of Colombia’s past and future. For our visiting immersion participants, our focus on identity asked that they redefine how they create value for themselves and the organizations they lead.
Conflict: On the heels of the longest civil war in history, Colombia had to address its history of conflict in its path to its future. Immersion participants applied this context as a case study of how opposing views become a stimulus for innovation.
Sustainability: For both our Colombian partners and immersion participants, practices that prioritize the wellbeing of the planet and communities must be a central business value.
Our visit to Proyecto Deveras in Zipaquirá with founder Michel Pineda Deom considered how holistic food systems, combining farming, sustainability, and design in one business could set the stage for systemic change across the country’s agricultural industry.
“We are about to begin a fantastic project with the United Nations… to build a model farm to show people that they can quit planting coca… to have a life away from the dynamics of the coca plantations.”
- Michael Pineda Deom, Proytecto Deveras Founder
At La Palma y el Tucán, the hotel serves as an educational tool. While offering guests a behind-the-scenes look into a family-owned coffee farm, the company communicates the importance of sustainable models within the context of today's corporatized agriculture industry. The space doubles as a circular economy hub, as hotel revenues provide resources to 200+ local farms.
The global advertising company, MullenLowe SSP3, hosted our cohort for a discussion about their multi-year campaign collaboration with the government which urged guerrillas to drop arms and return home to their families. Through these crafted stories, they were able to also humanize the perspective of the guerillas to Colombian civilians and help people open to the idea of welcoming guerillas back to society.
Our cohort was welcomed to consider gaps in their own communities and what power they might wield to bridge those gaps for the sake of social good.
“The most important lesson the government can learn from design is the value of open, iterative experimentation processes, in which evidence derived from genuine user interactions can be used to build insights and drive decision-making.”
- Javier Guillot, Public Innovation Team Lead at
Colombia’s National Planning Department
Rappi began by solving a simple but universal problem in Bogotá: traffic.
As the second startup ever to surpass the $1bn valuation in Latin America, Rappi has taken full advantage of emerging technology and the changing nature of work since its founding in 2015. By embracing the gig economy in the early stages of its growing popularity and investing in robust consumer behavior data analytics, Rappi positioned itself ahead of key curves that are now foundational to the delivery industry.
CREDITS
RUBEN OCAMPO
ConicGroup
LAURA ADIWASITO
ROBERTO CARLOS ROMERO ZAPATA
JAVIER GUILLOT
ADRIANA SENIOR
Corporación Colombian Internacional
JUAN PABLO GARCÌA
MullenLowe SSP3
NINI DIAZ
Rappi
FELIPE SARDI & FELIPE PINÓN MUÑOZ
La Palma y El Tucán
CHEF THOMÁS RUEDA
Tábula
ANA VILLA
DJLU, GRAFFITI ARTISTS
BREAKING BORDER
NATALIA MACIAS
Crêpes y Waffles
CLICK CLACK HOTEL
IVÁN HERRERA
Film