The Wild Possibilities of Youthful Innovation

Imagine bringing outrageously talented young people from around the world to a futuristic haven in the South of France under the tutelage of visionaries in transmedia, gaming, AI and design to collaborate on the world’s biggest problems and opportunities. The results can only be glorious failures, big wins or the starting of exhilarating new ventures. At the minimum, it fosters global connections and empathy that will create benefits for humanity down the line. That’s exactly what’s happening in The Hive program at thecamp in Aix-En-Provence and best embodies the innovation center’s spirit and original intent.

Overseen by transmedia guru Eric Viennot and quiet force Sylvia Andriantsimahavandy with marketing amplification by Antoine Meunier, The Hive team is mentored by the likes of French design icon Matali Crasset and the current batch of “Hiver’s” include poets, circus artists, film-makers, coders, gamers and makers from Namibia, Finland, China, UK and a dozen other countries.

I was at the session where these passionate young change agents presented the projects they will be working on together over the next six months. These include “Alola”, a program to help integrate refugee children by nurturing relationships with children of host communities; “Plastic Arcade”, a subliminal way to reduce plastic waste through gamification; and “63”, a storytelling platform to bring the neglected senior community into the mainstream.

Having followed the program from its inception and engaged with its talented participants over the course of a year I cannot help being optimistic about the future. In this picture with some of The Hive 2.0 team I am secretly hoping they radically f*ck shit up to fix our broken world and some of their electricity rubs off on me...