Presentation of the paper presented in EFITA 2013 by Charalampos Thanopoulos of Agro-Know Technologies

1. Green Ideas: A Social Generator of
Green Solutions, Deconstructed
Nikos Palavitsinis, Angeliki Papageorgiou, Laura
Gavrilut, Vassilis Protonotarios

2. What is Green Ideas?
• Engaging and interactive events, exploring
how green innovation can be empowered by
education and technology
• Events that capitalize on the collective
brainpower and creativity of the participants
to come up with ground-breaking ideas

3. Who attends Green Ideas?
• Green Ideas events attract people from
different backgrounds and combine them
into groups that work collectively towards
common environmental “goals”
– scientists of the agricultural domain,
– researchers of natural history,
– teachers,
– computer scientists
– concerned parents and citizens in general

4. Methodology
Components / Steps

5. Methodology (1/2)
1. Harvest Requirements: Participants extract
the experience of invited experts through
interviews related to the goal(s) of the event
2. Plant Seeds: Participants share their ideas
with one another on a common space and
add new ideas, elaborate on existing ones

6. Methodology (2/2)
3. Cultivate Ideas: Participants describe their
ideas, and model it using material in hand, in
a 3D model followed by a coherent story
4. Blossom & Thrive: Participants come up with
a tentative schedule that will guide their
model in real-life situations and also discuss
on possible business models that will
support it

7. Tools

8. Tools (1/4)
• Interviews
– External experts/guests are interviewed
– Relaxed manner, no formalities, questions
related to real needs take place

9. Tools (2/4)
• Inspiring talks: one or more inspiring talks
from invited speakers that get a maximum of
ten minutes to present their work/interests
related to the respective phase of the event

10. Tools (3/4)
• Brainstorming Techniques
– Record all ideas: Constant access to writing material
– Quantity: The greater the number of ideas generated,
the better
– Withhold criticism: Suspend judgment, to feel free to
generate unusual ideas
– Welcome unusual ideas: They can be generated by
looking from new perspectives and suspending
assumptions
– Combine and improve ideas: When it comes to ideas, 1+1
equals 3!

11. Tools (4/4)
• Team Building Activities
– Facilitate mixing of people with different
backgrounds
– Engage participants in funny activities so that they
open up to the team

12. Roles

13. Roles (1/3)
• Format Expert: This person is in charge of
planning the whole event in terms of the
creative part
• Event Manager: This person is in charge of the
whole event in terms of logistics

14. Roles (2/3)
• Facilitator is an expert in facilitating the work
carried out within the groups with specific
skills related to brainstorming techniques and
team-building exercises
• Speaker: A speaker in Green Ideas has to have
an interesting story to say and to be really
extrovert and eloquent in expressing his/her
opinion

15. Roles (3/3)
• Interviewee: Similarly to any speaker, the
interviewee has to have good communication
skills and a good knowledge of English
• Local Organizer: As in every event, Green
Ideas is also in need of a local organizer with a
good knowledge of the local community and
region

16. Outcomes & Conclusions

17. 2011 Outcomes
Goal: “How might we create collaboration opportunities for
communities to share green knowledge?”
Slidea
Description: Slide + Idea = Slidea. To create a coffe shop where
people discuss agricultural problems and they try to find solutions
for the most urgent and important issues.
Green Dream Team project
Description: To create a green network of organic food starting
from the farmers and ending with the final consumer.

19. 2012 Outcomes
Goal: “How might we use e-learning resources in an innovative way to educate
children in making more environmentally friendly choices?”
Cookid!
Description: Cookid connects children with local communities, helps them to make
decisions on healthy food choices and exposes them to food production experiences.
GEMS - it! Grow it, Eat it, Make it, Share it!
Description: The 5C's.
•Canteen - a meeting point centered around the love of food,
•Community - a common meeting point for all ages, professions and interests,
•Collaborate - a cooperative approach to learning through actions,
•Communication - a methodology for solving today's food challenges,
•Connection - a way of connecting elderly and children to a sustainable food
culture

21. Conclusions
• Green Ideas serves as a means to identifying
innovative ideas that address environmental
issues both locally and on a global scale.
• Results from the events organized so far, are
far from encouraging
– One of them have evolved into a full-fledged
initiative, namely the Green Learning Network

22. Considerations
• Careful selection of the participants, the
speakers and the interviewees ensures the
success of the event
• Identification of the real needs of the
environment and the communities involved helps
in identifying the goals of each event so that they
are relevant, inspiring and at the same time
tangible for the participants to tackle.

23. For more info:
Web: http://greenideasproject.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GIProject
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GIProject
Flickr: http://goo.gl/3iD23
Thank you for your attention!