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Ide<strong>as</strong> 2020 – A Tour of Tomorrow’s World<br />
Images above: Helmholtz Association/N. Michalke, A. Blank<br />
Eagerly awaited and now formally opened under the eyes of<br />
more than 400 guests: on 13 March, the Helmholtz Association's<br />
exhibition "Ide<strong>as</strong> 2020 – A Tour of Tomorrow’s World"<br />
w<strong>as</strong> officially opened at the Paul-Löbe-Haus in Berlin.<br />
A high-rise building shaped like a sugar snap pea, an ice block<br />
made of acrylic gl<strong>as</strong>s that seems to melt before the visitors'<br />
eyes, bubbling algae panels, turned into a designer object by<br />
the use of shiny stainless steel plates, four life plans of elderly<br />
people <strong>as</strong> a mix-max game, a sugar shaker <strong>as</strong> a punch bag, a<br />
huge smartphone enc<strong>as</strong>ed in brickwork, a futuristic digital safe<br />
– these are the seven stelae that are at the heart of the "Ide<strong>as</strong><br />
2020 – A Tour of Tomorrow’s World" exhibition. Created by designers<br />
and artists, they visualise – sometimes <strong>with</strong> a twinkle<br />
in the eye and the invitation for interaction – the major challenges<br />
of the future.<br />
For their innovative concept, the exhibition organisers received<br />
official approval: Norbert Lammert, President of the German<br />
Bundestag, praised the successful balance between the presentation<br />
of scientific insights and playful components. Federal<br />
Minister for Education and Research Johanna Wanka emph<strong>as</strong>ised:<br />
"We can solve the challenges of our time only, if <strong>as</strong> many<br />
people <strong>as</strong> possible deal <strong>with</strong> and look into science." Accordingly,<br />
the President of the Helmholtz Association, Jürgen Mlynek,<br />
added that it is the intrinsic concern of any research organisation<br />
to contribute to the scientific literacy of the population. The<br />
Helmholtz Association fulfils this claim <strong>with</strong> initiatives such <strong>as</strong><br />
the "Haus der kleinen Forscher" (“Little Scientists' House”), the<br />
pupil laboratories and, l<strong>as</strong>t but not le<strong>as</strong>t, <strong>with</strong> this exhibition.<br />
The robot ARMAR, which in future will allow for prolonged selfdetermined<br />
living in old age, an Efficiency House Plus, which<br />
produces more energy than it consumes, vaccination by n<strong>as</strong>al<br />
spray, secure IT solutions turning a smartphone into a house<br />
key or a debit card: these are tangible examples proving that in<br />
the research laboratories the future is happening already now.<br />
More than 150 of these exemplary research projects are presented<br />
on the monitors to the left and right of the stelae. The<br />
short stories <strong>with</strong> pictures tell about research results <strong>as</strong> well <strong>as</strong><br />
about the process of "creating knowledge".<br />
Interaction <strong>with</strong> the visitors is of great importance: at a central<br />
dialogue desk they can submit their questions regarding<br />
the future and read the answers to questions <strong>as</strong>ked by other<br />
visitors. Both this can be done also on the website http://www.<br />
ideen2020.de/en. The protagonist from the future, Finn Peeters,<br />
likewise invites visitors to interact: What does a world look like<br />
that does not have to worry about energy supply? How about<br />
starting a second or even a third career in our old age? How<br />
do we feel, if our genetics allow for the prediction of potential<br />
dise<strong>as</strong>es? Finn's experiences take place in a fictive city in the<br />
future. The exhibition organisers hope that over the running<br />
period of the exhibition the visitors will continue the narration<br />
of Finn's experiences and, in doing so, reveal their own wishes<br />
and dreams <strong>as</strong> well <strong>as</strong> their fears.<br />
"Ide<strong>as</strong> 2020" is an invitation to think, discuss and co-create.<br />
Why? The path to a future worth living in can be successful only<br />
if it is a joint effort!<br />
Susann Beetz<br />
Images below: Helmholtz Association/A. Blank; BESL GmbH
Tour Dates 2013<br />
08 April – 18 April Technologiezentrum, Jülich<br />
29 April – 17 May GEOMAR, Kiel<br />
23 May – 16 June City Hall, Rostock<br />
20 June – 10 July KIT, Karlsruhe<br />
16 July – 25 July IHK, Nuremberg<br />
19 August – 25 August Stadthaus, Ulm<br />
30 August – 22 September Kunsthalle, Gießen<br />
26 September – 10 October IHK, Regensburg<br />
28 October – 10 November Reiff Museum, Aachen<br />
15 November – 08 December Zeiss-Mensa, Jena<br />
Image: BESL GmbH<br />
www.ideen2020.de/en