NEW AtlasVideo ► Inside the event: Fixing the future 2019
“I am the Amazon. Please look after me.” Thought–provoking and emotional, the stirring sound of a 22-year-old afro-indigenous eco-activist from the Brazilian Amazon drumming on a Barcelona stage signified the beating heart and soul of our planet, an urgent need for a new era… and the start of Fixing the future 2019. This year’s event opened
Video ► Ugly ducklings can transform into ‘Green Swans’
Exciting rewilding projects are happening at vastly different scales all around the world – as more and more people make efforts to replant trees by the billion, and reintroduce species. It is no longer good enough to just talk about halting the destruction of our natural world. We have to to move to a restoration
Video ► 100 ways to solve global warming
“As we struggle with climate catastrophe, what needs to be addressed is what we do down here.” – Paul Hawken We must, we can and we will solve the climate crisis. It ain’t looking good. Even half a degree of extra will affect hundreds of millions, decimate corals and intensify heat extremes. But there is hope. Even the darkest
AtlasVideos ► If you own fossil fuels, you own climate change
Climate change is probably the most urgent problem facing our species and the planet today. It even threatens the existence of our favourite species: homo sapiens. In September we went to the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS 2018) in San Francisco to create a series of videos on a global investor movement that’s accelerating the
Video ► Green fingers design a better future: Inside London’s Green Lab
Let us take you inside an old school made from recycled theatre salvage, decommissioned bio labs and art freight containers – because something special is happening. Green Lab is creating a vibrant city community for creative sustainable food innovators. As London’s first incubator workspace for urban farming entrepreneurs and ‘agritech’ startups, the space was set up by Ande Gregson. Having
Videos ► What is ‘cleantech’? – and other LA stories
In an era of rising environmental awareness, cleantech has become the fastest-growing technology sector in the world. And sunny California loves it. That’s why they buy more electric cars and do more recycling than any place else. So what is ‘cleantech’? At its simplest, it’s any technology that helps a more efficient use of natural resources. We travelled
Video ► Inside the event: Fixing the future
Ever travelled back to the future? Well, you’re about to. Strap in, because we’re transporting you into the heart of Barcelona’s ramshackle old town, to within the sleek white and glass walls of its modern CCCB cultural centre – and smack bang into our very first AtlasEvent, Fixing the future … via the medium of video. It’s
Atlas of the Future presents ► Event videos with Meaning
It takes a special combo of people and ideas to make an event what it is, not just on stage, but everyone involved. Having just caught our breath after our first event Fixing the future, we have newfound appreciation for those of you putting on some of our favourite congresses, like Maker Faire, Vevolution, OFFF
Video ► Why you should ❤️ carbon
How do we tackle climate change whilst maintaining a healthy economy? Just ask carbon. In the third of our three-part video series for the United Nations Global Compact with the ‘Godfather of modern sustainability’ – John Elkington – we explore the wonderful world of C with some of the world’s leading innovators and thinkers. Considered a dirty
Video ► The future mindset
If we are to achieve a sustainable future, the role of big business is critical. That’s why we’re working with the Godfather of modern sustainability John Elkington to produce a new three-part video series on ‘breakthrough’. Together with his team we’ve spoken to the world’s leading innovators and the CEOs of its most powerful companies. And they
Video ► Jessi Baker: Every product has a story
Do you know where your handbag, or your fish, comes from? Knowing more about where products come from is vital to brands and retailers – and being aware if there slavery or huge environmental damage in their supply chain is integral. Jessi Baker is the woman behind Provenance, a software company that uses novel technologies like the blockchain (a
Video ► Agamemnon Otero gives power to the people
In South London a ‘renewable dynamo’ is tackling fuel poverty with renewable power – while showing the true democratic involvement of people power in the energy system. In the UK the number of small-scale energy systems has jumped from a few thousand to over half a million – in part down to the Uruguayan-born, New York-raised community entrepreneur
Video ► BuffaloGrid is connecting the next billion
“When you need a doctor, you phone someone, when you are in trouble, you phone someone. If you want to find out the prices for your crops in the nearest market, you phone someone.” Mobile phones are increasing their penetration, but it’s common for farmers in rural India or Africa to travel for hours to reach
Video ► The future of finance
Part of the problem with the investment industry is that it has been very backward-looking. But there is a bunch of people who are concerned about building a financial system that can deliver the future we want. Ten years on from the global financial crisis, our partners at Project Breakthrough brought together a group of the
Video ► Enter the Matrix with Herman Narula
Perhaps the grandest challenge that exists is being able to answer “what if?” What happens to a city when all the cars start to drive themselves? Or when a certain policy is implemented, or an economy or a piece of physical infrastructure fails? The answers may just lie in the virtual worlds of Britain’s hottest tech startup, Improbable. Already
Video ► Do you speak carbon?
Today carbon is considered a dirty word; consigned to dirt, dust, something that’s in the air, something that is dark. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Taking many forms, from diamonds to exhalation of CO2 as a gas, carbon can be used for good. And that’s the idea behind Carbon Productivity. As we struggle with climate catastrophe, this remarkable
Video ► John Elkington: Grit in the corporate oyster
John Elkington wants to take sustainability exponential. No pigeon steps on his watch. As a pioneer of the sustainability movement for over 30 years (since before the concept was born), the prolific author and Chairman/ ‘Chief Pollinator’ of think tank and advisory firm Volans is responsible for coining the well-loved business phrases ‘breakthrough capitalism‘ and ‘triple bottom line‘ (people, planet,
Video ► Andrew McAfee: This is the warm-up act
Tech progress is changing the world in profound ways and letting us do more with less. Industries from communications to education to health care are being transformed, and technological barriers are falling. Acclaimed MIT Professor Andrew McAfee feels fortunate to have a front row seat to watch the “next industrial revolution unfold”. As principal research scientist, the self-described “wannabe
Video ► Bye bye banks! The Robin Hood of currency exchange
Estonian adventurer Taavet Hinrikus is transforming the financial industry by creating money without borders: “If banks had been thinking how to give customers a quick, cheap way of transferring money, they could have done it a long time ago. But there’s something in the water that they’re drinking that’s preventing them from doing it.” After starting Skype, he created TransferWise to help money
Video ► Zenia Tata: Smiley serial social entrepreneur
Space buff, scuba diver and pilot; Mumbai-born Zenia Tata was a social entrepreneur “four or five years before we even knew we had a place in the world!” Inspired to do good by her grandmother, who contributed in slum areas near her home, today Tata is XPRIZE‘s Executive Director of Global Development, Passionate about using exponential tech for
Video ► Ryan Bethencourt: Biotech in his genes
Ryan Bethencourt plays with the substance of ‘us’ – our DNA – through marrying biotechnology advancements with successful business models. Just don’t accuse him of playing God. “I am playing God as much as any computer programmer does or mechanic or engineer who builds planes, makes us fly in the sky when we don’t have wings.
Video ► Josh Tetrick: Cracking the future of food
A vegan mayo CEO wants to change the world by making the right thing easy and sexy: “The thing that, if you’re an evil person you still eat it, if you’re a poor person you still eat it, if you’re too busy and you don’t give a damn you still eat it.” And who are we
► Best Breakthrough Videos of 2016
As we enter a new year, it’s time to look back at our recent videos for Project Breakthrough. Whether it’s the ex-American football player-turned-food saviour, the ex-Panamanian prisoner demanding transparency or the ex-travel writer fighting toxics, these nine FutureHeroes all have one major thing in common. They are all ex-ponential leaders. And they’re all disrupting entire industries – from food to
Video ► Rick Ridgeway: The real Indiana Jones
Panamanian prisoner. Power broker. Himalayan avalanche survivor. And now Patagonia‘s VP of Environmental Affairs. We got to break the ice with legendary mountaineer and conservationist Rick Ridgeway (aka “The real Indiana Jones”), who wanted to tell us about the importance of managing risks – not taking them – and the uselessness of despair. Also an environmentalist, writer and filmmaker, Ridgeway has walked from
Video: A History of Architecture
The future of construction goes far beyond 3D printable homes or smart cities. In this video created for Beyond Building Barcelona 2015, Atlas FutureHero Tomás Diez breaks down the history of technology applied to human housing, from its origins to the possible future. With his work a IaaC and Fab Lab Barcelona, Tomás is interested in how the history
The cleantech collective keeping our planet cool 🌵
For those working to battle climate breakdown, the complexity, uncertainty and scale of its challenges can make any single solution feel insignificant. That’s why the aptly-named Clean + Cool is on a mission to bring together and celebrate a community of cleantech FutureHeroes who share the same vision: relentlessly pursuing the reduction of negative environmental impacts. “Those working in
💥 15 rebels with a cause: bold ideas from unlikely places
“In these volatile times, with so much in flux, there’s everything to play for.” The most daring innovators aren’t found in boardrooms or tech startups, but in protests, street markets, prisons and refugee camps… and at Meaning Conference. Taking place this year on 14 November at Brighton Dome in the UK, expect encounters with pioneers on the edges
FutureHero Easkey Britton: Surfing the big waves of a sustainability storm
“The environment would be just fine without us – so we really need to take a look at ourselves.” Easkey Britton is an ocean pioneer in so many respects. A multiple championship-winning and big wave surfer. An interdisciplinary academic researcher, driven by a passion for our intimate, interdependent and inextricable relationship with the oceans. A
Global Climate Strike ► Why I strike: Fridays for Future
This week, the Global Climate Strike will go down in history. On Friday 20 September 2019, the world witnessed the biggest environmental protest the world has ever seen. In 185 countries, from Kabul, Afghanistan to New Delhi, India, millions of children didn’t turn up to school. Instead they took to the streets to support young climate strikers
FutureHero Alex Atala: Enter the jungle with Brazil’s top chef
“Ants are an example of the little surprises gastronomy can give us.” Amazonian fruits, canastra cheese, fermented manioc, ants; these are just some of the Brazilian indigenous ingredients being championed by South America’s number one chef, Alex Atala. Named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people on the planet, the double
FutureHero Tony Lovell: 5 billion hectares of hope
Cows are often the scape-goats (or scape-cows) for climate change; the methane-burping livestock animals have become confused with our management of them. By giving the animals a more holistic hook, carbon-canny cattle rancher Tony Lovell, co-founder of SLM Australia Livestock Fund, has raised a whopping $100 million to help to regenerate the billions of hectares of damaged
FutureHero Jock Zonfrillo: Australia’s top chef builds database for native flavours
“You’ve got to give back more than you take.” Jock Zonfrillo is going above and beyond in taking Down Under on a journey of Aboriginal food discovery. He’s the Italian-Scottish ‘Mad Max of foraging’ who happily swapped three Michelin-starred kitchens in London for starting a nonprofit in Australia – and then won the prestigious Basque Culinary World Prize
FutureHero Agamemnon Otero: Dynamo of renewables
“If you want to be Che Guevara, stop walking around pointing to what’s bad. Want to be a true revolutionary? Rip up the paving slabs, plant a garden and cover your roof in solar panels.” In South London a Uruguayan-born, New York-raised community entrepreneur and artist is tackling fuel poverty with renewables – while catalysing
Food as a portal into the future: FutureHero Carolyn Steel
Urban visionary Carolyn Steel has captured the public imagination by giving us food as a way to understand how we live our lives and build our cities. With food at the centre of our civilisation, we have a medium to practically design an ideal world for the future and live a good life. “The shared meal
Top 10 cities fixing the future: Architect Vicente Guallart
If we had asked former chief architect of Barcelona City Council Vicente Guallart what his favourite city in the world was in the 1990s, he would have said Barcelona. In the 2000s he preferred Colombia’s Medellín. Vicente uses the principles of global connectivity and local self-sufficiency to invent the city of the future and build it in the
Biodiversity: save the bees, the trees and the chimpanzees
Biodiversity is a hot topic at the moment, but what is it? Put simply, biodiversity helps regulate climate, air, soil and pretty much all of the good things we need for life. But a drop in global biodiversity is putting our ability to produce food at risk. Insects are dying off at record rates — an
► Fixing the future is back! Meet the speakers…
We’re overjoyed to announce that ‘Fixing the future’ is back. And this year it’s bigger, better and faster – because the future can’t wait. ► Download the full programme After 2018’s sold out event in Barcelona, we’re returning to the CCCB – in partnership with Holaluz – with TWO full days and 40+ FutureHeroes from around the world. This time
Vegan Top 9 AtlasChart: What an eggscellent time to be alive
An egg has become Instagram’s most-liked post ever. Yep, a regular egg. In its shell, without avocado. The world’s most famous egg now has 54 million likes on Instagram (and counting). Welcome to 2019… Despite its rising profile, the industrial egg is starting to crack as people look for plant-based solutions. Is the egg toast? As Veganuary convinces people to ditch meat
Happy holidays! 12 days of good actions
Have you been naughty or nice this year? Good news: you can redeem yourselves! As the bumpy, transformative, but never-boring 2018 comes to a close, we’re spinning ‘The 12 days of Christmas’ into 12 sparkly, positive ways to take action and spread holiday cheer. No ode to conspicuous consumption here. Join a flavour mutiny, put plastic
FutureLeague Hip Hop Caucus: Keeping politics real
Hip Hop Caucus are using the power of hip hop culture to activate people across America and around the world to be an active part of the civic process and make change happen in their own communities. Hip hop, the Caucus don’t stop – not until everyone feels able to take action and have their voice
We mean business: behind the scenes of Meaning 2018
Turbulent headlines on the morning of 14 November (in the form of a domino run of Brexit-toppled MPs) provided a poignant backdrop for the gathering of 500 future-conscious minds at the Brighton Dome, who had come to hear about strategies for making sense of – and creating sense in – an often precarious world. Meaning,
Lynne Segal: joyously radical
Good news: the power of true happiness can be discovered collectively. Australian-born, British-based socialist feminist academic and cheery activist Lynne Segal wants us to embrace the art of ‘radical happiness’ – the liberation that comes with transformative, collective joy. With such obvious ecological disaster looming and an ideology of individual happiness thriving, today, more than ever, we
Brazil’s rivers of creativity: FutureLeague Rios de Encontro
“We know a new politics of solidarity, individual responsibility and collective transformation is urgently needed. Can we culturally educate ourselves to understand how to create it?” This question has driven community-based arts educator, author, playwright, poet and eco-cultural activist Dan Baron Cohen for many years. He’s travelled from ground-breaking work in post-industrial Manchester and conflict-transformation projects
FutureLeague Fab City Global: DIY cities of tomorrow
Imagine if you could click a button and be able to grow and make almost anything. That’s what Fab City is all about: a creative collective of pioneers and makers who simply want digital technology to make the world more self-sufficient. And they’re doing it more than one city at a time. In fact, 28 cities are already
Fab City Summit 2018: A new urban manifesto
Imagine if you could get a ‘city’ to agree to making the world more self-sufficient. A creative team of pioneers and makers is doing exactly that. They’ve created a set of ten principles as a sort of instruction manual to build a more sustainable and inhabitable new world. And they’re getting cities to agree to it. In fact, 28
Brazil’s eco-cultural youth activists: Rios de Encontro
“The youth are co-creators, coordinators and researchers of everything that Rios de Encontro does.” – Dan Baron Cohen, Co-founder, Rios de Encontro In the small Afro-Indigenous community of Cabelo Seco, Marabá City in Brazil – once known as a ‘no-go favela’ – an arts-as-transformation project in the Amazon is addressing the survival of both the community and our
It’s an economics puppet rap battle! (Yes, really)
“Not everybody wants to work for money on a platter. Sometimes we do things just because they matter.” An economist, a songwriter and a puppet-maker walked into a recording studio. What do you think came out?… We love a surprising collaboration, but didn’t see this one coming: animatronic-loving puppet designer Emma Powell, musician Simon Panrucker and renegade
Enter the magical, curious world of Beakerhead
“It’s in the freely shared ideas that collisions, oddities and thrills emerge.” – Mary Anne Moser, Beakerhead Co-founder Widely known as ‘the world’s greatest arts-science smash-up’, Beakerhead makes breaking down the complex look effortless – but it takes a collective effort to make STEAM this fun. A fire-breathing serpent mother, inflatable octopus, trash robot, giant
Fixing the system: dream of an open world
In today’s world, platforms like AirBnb and Uber are increasingly creating connections and exchanges. Platform co-ops want to go one step further to serve the communities who use them by offering a new model of ownership for a more democratic future, with peer-to-peer tech and ‘sensual’ social software. In this guest post by Oliver Sylvester-Bradley, co-founder of
Create better futures with storytelling, media and fashion
An anonymous pirate radio DJ in Nairobi, ‘electro-modern’ remixes in Costa Rica, slum kids with cameras in Argentina and miraculous videos from the streets of San Francisco; this week’s #CultureFutures collection is an audiovisual treat. Over the past few months we’ve been digging deep into the joyful world of virtual reality, comic book artists, filmmakers, photographers,
8 Agricultural Mavericks
Something special is happening inside an old school made from recycled salvage from a theatre company, decommissioned bio labs and art freight containers. As London’s first incubator workspace for urban farming entrepreneurs and ‘agritech’ startups, the Green Lab is creating a vibrant city community for creative sustainable food innovators. Having previously co-founded Fab Lab London, Ande Gregson was
Will creativity save us? ► Culture for good
Let us transport you from Mauritania to Indonesia via blood, sweat and paint, pixels and words… Over the past few months we’ve been digging deep into the joyful world of artists, filmmakers, photographers, illustrators, curators and collectives who are helping to build a better, and more imaginative, world – in all its technicoloured glory. This week
► Ready Player One: the future is already here
In the 1980s, sci-fi prophet William Gibson coined the term ‘cyberspace’ to describe a consensual hallucination created by millions of computers that we can jack into. By 2003 the visionary had warned: “The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.” Even though we are optimists at the Atlas, we’re also big fans of dystopian
The Future is Female: 11 kick ass role models
As a women-led editorial team, we’re that happy to hear that female empowerment is firmly on the agenda right now. So we’re introducing you to 11 of our favourite female FutureHeroes who turn it up to 11, starting with the real life inspiration for ‘Charlie’ in arguably one of the best films of the 80s… Top Gun! ⚡ 1. Real
Adventures with FutureHero Gaia Vince in The Age of Humans
This year it will be ten years since environmental journalist and broadcaster Gaia Vince began her 900-day journey around the world to take stock of humanity’s impact on the planet. Back then she never expected to see the important changes now happening globally – the explosion of renewable energy production, the rise of electric vehicles, tariffs
FutureHero Nelly Ben Hayoun: Designing the impossible
Faster-talking than the speed of light, louder than a sonic boom and sparkier than a volcano, extreme ‘experience designer’ Nelly Ben Hayoun has simulated all of the above. The hyperreal world is her disaster playground. From the safety of her East London pad, the French space enthusiast catapults us through her flights of fancy-made-real – including
Fixing the future: Introducing the event line up!
Future curious? On 13 March a future-‘supergroup’ will gather for the first time in Barcelona. Brought to you by Atlas of the Future and Ara, ‘Fixing the future: adventures in a better tomorrow’ will explore the talent solving the audacious goals of our planet with radical methods. Join us at the CCCB to meet the innovators
FutureHero Richard Ballard: Growing greens in bomb shelters
A microgreen-fingered hydroponic hero is proving that ‘zero km’ is possible – in London’s disused bomb shelters. With his groundbreaking subterranean farm Growing Underground, Richard Ballard demonstrates how plants don’t need sunlight and that urban agriculture can help tackle food scarcity. Located 100 feet (33 metres) under the streets of London in a disused World War II air raid shelter,
FutureHero Kate Raworth breaks down Doughnut Economics
In today’s world we are addicted to growth. That’s why renegade economist Kate Raworth wants to radically reframe the way we look at economics: “The goal of the 21st century economy should be to meet the needs of all within the means of the planet.” It’s an exciting challenge to ensure that no one falls short on
FutureHero Marco A. Attisani: Supercomputer creator
If you’re responsible for creating the “biggest solar powered computer in world” and it’s capable of delivering three fundamental services – clean water, electricity and the Internet – to the developing world, then you’ve probably got high ambitions. A generator that can supply a hat trick of the pillars of modern civilisation, Watly harvests the sun’s
Un dia ‘fixing the future’ amb l’Atlas del Futur
Coneix deu ments brillants que estan canviant el món! Tenen en comú que han trobat solucions a reptes globals que semblava que no en tenien i les han posat en pràctica. Són, doncs, “arregladors” del futur que per primera vegada es trobaran a Barcelona el dimarts 13 de març a la jornada ‘Fixing the Future adventures in
FutureHero Mark Stevenson: Stories from the future
There is no better time to reboot our world than right now, which means there is no better time to read the two bestselling books by ‘reluctant futurist’ Mark Stevenson. The pragmatic optimist tells stories of people doing things differently to meet humanity’s challenges in innovative and surprising ways. Part of a subset of people who think differently, Stevenson
Feel the love! 20 reasons 2017 gave us so much joy
When you find yourselves somewhere between Gotham City Police HQ and Blade Runner’s Leon’s Hotel chatting to a Westworld sexbot you know that it’s been an interesting – and surprising – year. OK, it’s been relentless too, but there are so many reasons to feel hopeful. From Cameroon to Patagonia, 2017 has seen your projects make the
Introducing our first AtlasEvent
In news unrelated to monkey clones, last night’s super blue blood moon or the adorable ‘shower rat’ (sorry to burst your soap bubble, but it’s a Peruvian pacarana), we’ve got big news of our own! Our first major AtlasEvent will take place on Tuesday 13 March. We’re excited to announce that ‘Fixing the future: Adventures in a
FutureHero Dr. Knatokie Ford: Wonder Woman of STEM
Biomedical scientist, South Central Los Angeles teacher, Obama White House Senior Policy Advisor, creative science communicator and #BlackGirlMagic ambassador; you would never know that Dr. Knatokie Ford was once a “shy girl” who had to learn to deal with confidence issues. But she did, and made her way from Harvard University onto the White House and
An African AtlasChart: 4 magical citizen initiatives
“Do you believe in magic?” These innovators do. In West Africa, a ‘grigri’ is a mystical amulet that protects. In Spain, ‘Grigri Pixel‘ is an international workshop that we were lucky enough to attend. Canoes made from plastic bottles, the world’s first e-waste printer, a fruitful laboratory, and art for all; four creators were brought together in Madrid
AtlasShoot: Money, data and trust
Fresh from editing videos for the Carbon Productivity event at London’s RSA, last week we returned to UBS‘s London HQ to shoot Volans’ Breakthrough Money – focusing on the confluence of money, data and trust. (We’re into venues that can be reduced to 3-letter acronyms.) Organised by sustainability think tank and advisory firm Volans as part of Project Breakthrough, it is part of
FutureHero Adam Clarke: The wonderful Wizard of Minecraft
Move over Harry Potter, there’s a cooler wizard around, and he’s got blocks and pigments up his sleeves. Wizard Keen (AKA Adam Clarke) teaches people how to experience art, culture and politics like never before. Through Wonder Quest and the creation of some of the most innovative Minecraft maps out there, the artist and digital producer proves video games are the perfect tool to
Trust this AtlasChart: Paul Armstrong’s Block Rockin’ Top 5
Upsetting banks and big businesses worldwide, Blockchain is a global online database that anyone with an internet connection can use. Though the technology seems steeped in jargon and mystery, it has the power to reshape our world beyond finance – with a lot to offer healthcare, identity and ownership. So it’s time to understand it. Best described as
AtlasChart: A Maker Faire Top 5
Makers are inventors, creators, engineers, students or grassroot innovators who enjoy play and exploration – but they can also be people who simply want to make the world a better place. And where better to innovate and experiment than in a city? Back in San Francisco in 2006, the Maker Movement arose out of the launch of MAKE: Magazine. Today, hundreds of thousands of people attend Maker Faire, the
AtlasEvent 8 May, London: Mapping the Possible
Atlas of the Future aims to ‘Democratise the Future‘ by raising the profiles of the people and projects creating a better world. In this lunchtime talk at Shoreditch House, co-founder Cathy Runciman will share the story of the Atlas and introduce her favourite projects from around the globe – from the skateboarders liberating girls in Afghanistan and
10 years of Fab Lab BCN: 10 projects that change everything
In March 2017, Fab Lab Barcelona celebrated ten years of innovation, participation, digital manufacturing, technology and creation with a big birthday fiesta at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). Over the last decade, the centre has helped people around the world to locally conceptualise, design, develop and fabricate, with a focus on truly world-changing open and accessible technologies. So
AtlasNews: Solar Impulse material will protect refugees
As pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andrè Borschberg took Solar Impulse around the world for its record-breaking journey, the world-leading manufacturer of high-tech polymer materials behind it was working on another initiative involving the same technology that was used to construct the plane’s cockpit and protect the pilots from extreme temperatures. The structural strength and insulating properties of rigid polyurethane is well
► We mean (big) business!
“You want to be a billionaire? Find a billion-person problem that you can make a dent in.” – Peter Diamandis. Business models are big news. Whether it’s Airbnb, Uber or the Trump Organization, we’re all interested in how other people make money – and in the impacts they are producing along the way, both positive and negative.
► Robbie Schingler: Taking the planet’s pulse
Rivers move. Fires occur. Cities grow. Forests shrink. Icecaps melt. Ecosystems change. That’s why Robbie Schingler founded Planet, with the mission to make global change visible, accessible and actionable. Five years ago, he began building satellites in a garage. Today he runs the largest constellation of Earth-imaging satellites in the world. It’s early days for the company but the data is
Tech For Good: 14 practical actions for 2017
It is now more important than ever that communities of people take a stand for the things they believe, and protect things that they previously had taken for granted. That’s why Tech For Good Co-founder Cassie Robinson got in touch with a bunch of people working to make the world better to ask them they were personally going to commit to – and what
FutureRead: We Do Things Differently – Mark Stevenson
There is no better time to reboot our world than right now – which means there is no better time to read this book. At the Atlas, we love people who speak ‘human’. Anyone who tells stories that help everyone understand the super-cool stuff making the world better is alright in our book. In his latest slice of
14 ways you can make 2017 better
As the world turns upside down and unhinged becomes the new normal, we want to provide some positivity from within the deep divisions of 2016. Take comfort. The world is better than you think. From Silicon Valley to Bulambuli Valley, social entrepreneurs are tackling the world’s most difficult problems. Technology is being democratised, access to education is causing global
► Patrick Thomas: No Doubting Thomas
Patrick Thomas aims to make the world a better place with his “80-year startup”. Covestro products are everywhere in modern life – from our cars, smartphones and mattresses to refrigeration and thermal insulation… to Solar Impulse‘s lightweight cockpit. We met the CEO of the world-leading manufacturer of high-tech polymer materials in a café to discuss a smarter use of materials: “Having
► Rachel Botsman: Trust me, this changes everything
After Uber and Airbnb, what next for the sharing economy? And what even is the sharing economy? One thing’s for sure, it isn’t just a technology trend. Over to Rachel Botsman: “The sharing economy is an economic system that takes unused assets. It can be anything from spaces, to physical stuff, to capital. It unlocks the value
► Marcus Shingles: Shoot for the moon
Marcus Shingles believes failure is meant to define the true parameters of what real success could look like: “If you’re not failing enough it means you haven’t reached those edges.” The XPRIZE CEO leads the innovation engine’s efforts to design epic public competitions that could benefit mankind – no mean feats that include space exploration and water scarcity. His
AtlasChart: The plastic fiver
While the Internet gets excited about the fact that the new polymer five pound note plays vinyl, we’re celebrating five projects that help with our planet’s plastic problem. The synthetic material is used everywhere, but it also ends up everywhere – mostly in landfills. (For the record, you can also play a record with your fingernail or
AtlasOffer: Join us at WIRED2016!
It’s not often you get so many of the brains behind Atlas of the Future projects in the same room at the same time, but that’s what is happening next week at WIRED2016 (3-4 November) – a two-day conference in London featuring more than 50 of the world’s most disruptive minds. Meet thinkers, makers and doers, such
► Peter Diamandis: X, why and the future
The super-optimistic Peter Diamandis (AKA “Pete in Space”) has hope in abundance. As Executive Chairman of both the Silicon Valley institution Singularity University and XPRIZE – the world’s leading designer of rapidly growing technologies and incentive competitions – Diamandis has dedicated his life to addressing humanity’s grand challenges. Throw in an asteroid mining company and a company extending the healthy human lifespan and those are just some of the 17
► Gary Cohen: The healthcare warrior transforming a sick society
Today health care practitioners worldwide take the Hippocratic Oath to “First, do no harm”. In the ultimate irony, hospitals and health care centres are the biggest polluters on the planet. As the co-founder and president of Health Care Without Harm, Gary Cohen has created an international coalition of more than 500 members in 53 countries working to transform
► Francesco Starace: The star of green power
“Carbon is risky, it’s bad for the world. How can we continue to invest in something that’s increasingly dangerous, risky and therefore a bad idea? Let’s stop that and let’s do something else!” Francesco Starace is the CEO of Enel Group, one of the largest producers of renewable energy in the world. His vision for the
Best of the Atlas 2016… so far
This year might have had its dark times, but there are many reasons to get excited. From the Faroe Islands to Patagonia, 2016 has seen the Atlas travel far and wide to bring you projects that democratise the future. Thanks to your suggestions and innovations, over the last six months we’ve explored sex hacks and exposed fast fashion; shone a light on projects bringing
The future is bright: AtlasChart Top 3
Nearly one quarter of the world’s population live in off-grid communities. Without access to electricity, households grind to a halt after sunset. Work is limited, medical care is dangerous to provide and education levels drop where children cannot study in the dark. Right now, many of those households use ‘dirty’ kerosene lamps after the sun has gone down. Known for
We want your projects!
Have you spotted cyborg vultures catching illegal fly tippers; heard of a cool way tech is bringing clean water to the billions without it; or discovered a robot that teaches kids to code? At Atlas of the Future we love projects that find new, original or creative solutions to a problem. But to help us truly democratise the future,
Bitcoin: Be your own bank
This week Australian computer scientist and businessman Craig Wright claimed that he is the man behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency of the internet. However, recent publicity brought this into question. Since it became the first decentralised digital currency released as open source software in 2009, the peer-to-peer system has been
Soft Robotics Top 5: AtlasChart Cecilia Laschi
Nearly ten years ago, in the Tuscan seaside town of Livorno, a robotics researcher asked her father to catch her an octopus. Cecilia Laschi knew that a different bodyware was needed in robotics. The Professor of Biorobotics at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies went on to create a rob-octopus as a model for a project researching the new generation
Brave: Averting an ad-blocking epidemic?
The internet’s getting fired up over new web browser Brave which claims to block harmful ads and replace them with ‘clean ads‘ that meet its standards of not slowing down page load times or tracking users. The Guardian has called it the “iTunes of journalism”, yet critics say it is “blatantly illegal.” The argument for ads hinges
Here comes the sun: Solar Impulse touches down
On Sunday, Solar Impulse 2 became the first solar powered plane to cross the Pacific. After completing the latest leg and landing in California, the pioneering team is on a mission to make the first around the world solar flight without any fuel. 2016 is a big year for solar. As instability around oil continues and
AtlasChart Helena Puig Larrauri: A peacetech Top 5
Spreading a message of “You can do it!” all around the world, peacebuilding practitioner Helena Puig Larrauri facilitates projects through technology – from filmmaking on the Sudan-South Sudan border to polling think tanks in Somalia. When it comes to tech, the Valenciana doesn’t want people to be scared to be amateurs: “Face the future. Believe you can do it and get to it.” Over a
VR, kind robots and refugee tech
A lot of staring at screens happens at Mobile World Congress – whether tapping away at your own rapidly depreciating handset, ogling smarter ones, deciphering the agenda, or (in my case) simply trying to download the app that gets you a free coffee. ‘Mobile Is Everything’. The clue is in the slogan, but Barcelona’s MWC isn’t just about mobiles. Amid
Mesh networks: A parallel internet
Connectivity has been top of the agenda at Mobile World Congress this year and Facebook’s new project, announced at the Congress, aims to bring millions more people online. While Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson and Elon Musk might be scrambling to connect the world using balloons, drones and satellites, people living in underserved areas are already building their own networks without the help
Pi in the sky: The world’s cheapest computer
Dubbed ‘Ed’ and ‘Izzy’, a pair of Raspberry Pis onboard the International Space Station went live this month after being switched on by British astronaut Tim Peake. The size of a credit card – and with a price tag of just US$30 – the Raspberry Pi has become a huge global hit, selling five million units in
Happy New Elements!
Scientists in Japan, Russia and the US are celebrating 2016 by adding four new elements to the periodic table, finally completing its seventh row – and rendering science textbooks and the periodic table song out of date instantly. Currently bearing placeholder names, the super-heavy elements will be officially named by the teams that discovered them in the coming months. Element
Best of the Atlas 2015
From a Noah’s Ark of seeds and American Idol for rural farmers to 3D printing prosthetics in conflict zones and igloo orphanages on skis, this year has seen hundreds of projects mapped on the Atlas from Syria to the North Pole. We’re celebrating the end of 2015 and looking to the future by ranking our favourite 16. So get your
FutureHero Samantha Storr: The heroine of virtual reality
Samantha Storr keeps a low profile, but is very much the woman behind top directors Terry Gilliam, Chris Milk, Spike Jonze and Robert Redford. We chatted to the VP and Executive Producer of experience studio Here Be Dragons about the evolution of virtual reality for good, sharing immersive documentaries with world leaders and collaborating with the United Nations.
