Watch the trailer here:

Members participate in PICNIC events and connect with a diverse group of Dutch and international professionals, entrepreneurs and young talent active in business, the creative industries, government, non-profits and higher education.

Today, the members of the PICNIC Creative Business Club came together at Corio in Utrecht. After a brief introduction by PICNIC board member Gerben Mak and Corio CEO Gerard Groener — who confessed that his half day of PICNIC gave him more inspiration than a year of real estate events — Corio shared their strategy to socialize retail spaces and invited the members of the PCBC to give their input, being a very diverse group — so perfect to learn from. Part of the discussion took place during a walkabout in the Hoog Catharijne shopping centre, one of Corio’s properties which also houses the company’s inspiring headquarters, and was continued later inside while enjoying a fabulous meal.

Central in the conversation was the question on how to create favorite meeting places. From time immemorial, human beings have felt the intrinsic need to meet and spend time with each other. That is still true today. But since our world is the object of constant change, our needs are impacted as well. With the introduction of the internet, an alternative for physical meeting was born. The online landscape offers exciting and new possibilities to connect to other people, thus making a physical meeting place an option rather than a necessity. Therefore, today’s meeting places have to offer more than just decor to appeal to us. So what needs should a social gathering place satisfy? How do these needs differ for a church, a museum, a shopping mall, a park or an event like PICNIC? How do we create favourite meeting places?

Most of the conversation was linked to Hoog Catharijne, which made sense since that was where we were. It would have been more interesting if the discussion had been a bit broader about meeting places at large, but nevertheless it was refreshing and inspiring.

Corio, a PICNIC Creative Business Club member, is also one of Europe’s largest retail property companies. Despite operating in a traditional industry, Corio has taken note of the changing world in which it operates. The company’s innovation strategy has shifted from building typical shopping centres to creating favourite meeting places: sustainable centres where people meet up, spend their time off, and shop; places they want to keep coming back to.

Photography by Maurice Mikkers.

One of the primary goals of BMW i is to actively participate in a dialogue about the future of urban environments. The PICNIC festival provided an ideal platform for such contribution. Both Benoit Jacob’s lecture on the innovative potential of design and the workshop “Challenges, Ideas, Startups” were aimed at raising new questions and shifting the status quo in creative notions of urban mobility.

Explosive urban growth is a reality—it is predicted that by 2030 the world’s population will exceed 8 billion people, with at least 70% of its inhabitants living in urban environments and megacities. BMW i aspires to be at the forefront of a movement sure to positively influence quality of life and mobility in the fast-approaching future. So we partnered with PICNIC festival to spark dialogue about the “Urban Future” and the relevance of modern mobility.

Watch this great impression they created at PICNIC festival 2011 and read and see more at the dedicated page on their website:

More than 5,000 people visited the picturesque site of the PICNIC festival to enjoy three days-worth of information, inspiration, collaboration and co-creation focused on creative solutions for developing cities.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

We kick off with
Chroma, an installation and interactive ecosystem by frog
The video documentary “1+1=11” on aid effectiveness and 22 African grassroots NGO’s by What Took You So Long Foundation
A contribution on the myriad opportunities of Hong Kong by Dutch designer David Wieland
An article on the role of temporary ruins in urban environments by Buro Stek 
A photo documentary on “Vinkega”, a Dutch Village, its residents and changed perceptions by Marije Kuiper
The iamoneworld solar mobile and a small documentary on its maiden trip by iamoneworld

Enjoy diving into Stories, contributing, sharing, and regular updates to come!

Great work Fran!

Design Martine Eyzenga
Art-direction Marcel Kampman
Printing Zwaan

The PICNIC Festival theme is Urban Futures. We will explore the impact of global urbanization on our cities, societies and our lives and the way creative and smart technologies can play a role. The challenges following from mega urban environments in areas like demographic shifts, (natural) resources, infrastructure, health and governance are getting more and more pressing. PICNIC brings creative thinkers, developers, designers and entrepreneurs together to collaborate on possible solutions.

What was largely a bold idea in April this year (“What will make PICNIC Festival 2011 really different compared to the preceding editions or any event out there is our theme as the starting point for everything. We are going to build an actual PICNIC City to prototype creative, urban applications and concepts and we will call upon the PICNIC community to help us build this temporary environment”), is currently being realized at the NDSM Wharf in Amsterdam.

Really amazing and thanks to a fantastic PICNIC team that is making it happen. See you next week!

Photography by Maurice Mikkers.