LCD Weekly Issue - 026 - Back home

🌴 Words from the jungle

Hello dear friends! We hope everyone is doing great! 

This month and a half flew by. We are back in the Pyrenees after a long but smooth journey (a 10-hour flight, then a 5-hour drive from Madrid, and then home sweet home). 

Home is a strange word for me these days. It had been four years since our last visit to Costa Rica (my home country), and I missed more than I could ever imagine.

Let me start with a few things that my heart and soul needed: 

• Family: there is nothing like it, and Costa Ricans are very family-driven. Imagine lots of hugs, laughs, intensity, and yelling…typical Latin adventure, Jaja!

• Tropical fruits: with flavour and colours (not the white pineapples or light yellow mangos from Europe).

• The green: WOW! It's rainy season here, and the green tone of this country is unmatched. 

• The sounds: parrots, hummingbird wings, tucans, macaws, frogs, insects, howler monkeys, coyotes, etc...a wild feast for your ears. By listening, you know Costa Rica has nearly 6% of the planet's biodiversity. 

• Admiring the jungle and rainforest: What a wonderful experience. It's impressive to see the thriving ecosystems and the rapid growth of nature (including our kids, who each grew about 5cm during our time here).

• The food: gallopinto, maiz tortillas, casados, chalupas, chifrijo, churchills, aguacates, did I mention tropical fruits? 

• Seeing Costa Rica from three different POVs: Watching Jeroen and our two sons experience the country was beautiful, swimming in the ocean, building sand castles, chasing fireflies, inspecting 1000 different types of insects or reptiles, and connecting to their Costa Rican family (meaning being hugged and squished by all of my aunts jaja!)

Before this trip, I was utterly exhausted, overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed—all the not-nice feelings. I needed this trip home to recharge and shift my mindset to connect with the motherland and find balance.

I just thought that maybe Jeroen could share his version of Costa Rica in next week's newsletter and tell you how loud and crazy my family is. Jajaj! I'm closing off with this picture of my view while writing this piece.

🐅 LCD in the Wild - Non-Human Persona Workshop in True North School

Last week, we had the pleasure of visiting True North. This unique and fantastic school is breaking the model of traditional education by developing the first conscious innovation lab in Costa Rica.

Naturally, they wanted to give their students a glimpse of Life-Centered Design! We gave our Non-Human Persona Workshop, adapted for teenagers with little design experience. It was great to see how the 14-and 15-year-olds picked up the workshop's purpose and connected to nature in the school's gardens. Typically, participants use their phones to do research. The scholars weren't allowed to use a phone or computer, but they could still get the essence of the workshop and create compelling stories about palm trees and the golden orb spider.

True North is an excellent example of a school that breaks paradigms and prepares students for today's future! It was a pleasure to share a bit of Life-Centered Design with them! 

🪄 Inspiration- Corcovado Costa Rica - Osa Wild

Keeping the Costarican theme, I wanted to share a video of Corcovado, one of the country's most special National Parks. What I like about the video is how the Osa Wild project combines locals and the national park to preserve this magical place.

"Corcovado National Park, located in the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica, has been proven to be the most biodiverse place on the planet. This forest alone holds about 2.5% of the world's biodiversity!"

🔥 Hot in the School - Shifting from Human to Life-Centered Design Fundamentals Course. 

Yessss! It's happening again! Our 5th Cohort of the course Shifting from Human to Life-Centered Design will run from October 11 to November 22, 2024. Our waiting list is open, and we invite you to join! 

This Cohort is really special. For the first time, we have worked with our team of 6 to improve our course and enhance your learning experience. After offering online courses for almost two years, we have the knowledge and expertise to grant you the best course possible. 

Here is a little sneak peek of a few updates of the course:

• We have extended the course to 7 weeks instead of 6, with the additional week focusing on creating value and mapping impact.

• Each week, you will receive a curated reading list covering the topics for the upcoming session.

• Our Whatsapp community is thriving! We warmly welcome you to join a wonderful space filled with like-minded professionals from around the world. We host exclusive events for members, share daily inspiration, discuss interesting topics, and facilitate connections.

Enrollment opens up soon! Join our waiting list for priority enrollment and the latest course news.

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It feels great to be back in your inbox! Until next Monday!

Marce and Jeroen