Service jammers aim to show they have the Vision to change the world
Published On Tue 24 Feb 2015 by Grant Hill
Designers from Dundee will this weekend work with people from all walks of life to try and solve serious issues affecting the world when the city once again takes part in the Global Service Jam.
The Dundee Jam, led by staff and students at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), takes place at the Vision Building, Greenmarket, from 5pm on Friday, 27th February and once again challenges participants to change the world in 48 hours.
The Global Service Jam movement began in 2011 and has grown ever since, with over 120 locations and nearly 3,000 people taking part around the world in 2014. Dundee participated for the first time two years ago and hosted the 9th largest jam in the world, with more attendees than either Los Angeles or New York, and was the biggest jam in Scotland, second to London in the UK.
Live video link and social media will enable the Tayside participants to connect with their fellow Jammers worldwide and show them why Dundee was recently named as the UK’s first UNESCO City of Design. The event chimes with one of the University of Dundee’s core aims to shape the future through innovative design.
Ross Crawford, one of the event organisers, said, “We’ve now hosted four design jams in Dundee, and our success in attracting participants and collaborating in real time with people all over the world is one factor in us securing UNESCO City of Design status.”
The Dundee Service Jam is being organised by a group of design professionals and students in the city. They have already secured generous sponsorship to help ensure that the event is a success.
Student designer Claire Wright said, “This Jam will show how the creative process is not just an exclusive club for people who have studied design. We have a range of people who get involved, from hospital workers to small businesses so it doesn’t matter what industry you’re from. What is important is the passion you bring to problem solving.
“We will have organised opportunities to connect with fellow GS.Jammers around the world through use of live video links. In previous events this was an entertaining chance to share our ideas. It’s all about connecting with people on a global scale as well as locally in order to think creatively about the challenges we face.”
Like other locations all over the world - from Cairo to California, Amsterdam to Athens, Stockholm to Shanghai - the Dundee Jam will provide an inventive, engaging, and fun environment for designers, students, professionals and the community to address serious global issues. New design methods will be used in a collaborative way to develop new service ideas. These could be health services, commercial services, community services and new business ideas.
Like a music jam, a design jam is also about improvisation and working fast and risk free to try out new ideas and new ways of working, all while generating a buzz of excitement through connecting with other ‘jammers’ all around the globe using various social networks.
Dundee Service Jam opens at 5pm on Friday, 27th February and closes at 6pm on Sunday, 1st March. For tickets and further information please visit www.dundeejams.co.uk.
The event is sponsored by Design in Action, Open Change Ltd, Dundee Makerspace and Walkers Shortbread Ltd.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
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