‘Driving safely in the dark: opportunities for design as the crisis unfolds’. It is the full title of the lecture held by John Thackara on December 15th, to celebrate BNO’s 15th anniversary. I have been a fan of him for a long time, following his ideas and projects from afar.

“We are not in a recession”, says John Thackara. “This is permanent. The industrial growth society is on its way out. The good news is that a new kind of economy is now emerging, and it’s full of potential for design.” For the jubileum of BNO, the professional association for Dutch designers, the self-styled ‘optimistic doomer’ will described what he calls the restorative economy.

“For life’s real necessities, lighter alternatives are emerging,” Thackara says. “This new economy is proof that we are creative enough to imagine sustainable and engaging futures – and take design steps to realize them”.

In his lecture, John Thackara focused on inspiring stories from the new economy: peer-to-peer health care and i-medicine; product upcycling; ride-sharing platforms; alternative trade networks, transition towns, and digital local currencies. His talk concludes with provocative suggestions for BNO’s next fifteen years – including a “BNO University”.

After his talk, we had a long an great talk about a lot of things, possibilities and views. It has been a while that I had such a shot of adrenaline from inspiration and recognition. Thanks John.