LCD Weekly Issue - 051 - Blackout in Nature
⛰️ Words from the mountains:
This past week has been something. On Monday, April 28th, there was a Massive power blackout in Spain, Portugal, and parts of France. Everything just went off: lights, mobile reception, Wi-Fi—all gone in a second. Although our experience in the Pyrenees doesn't compare to the big cities, it gave us a wake-up call.
Being disconnected from the electrical and digital world and not knowing the cause of the blackout was frightening. I felt vulnerable without mobile reception and unable to search for information about what was happening. On the other hand, Jeroen remained calm and accepted the situation, suggesting we have an outdoor picnic by the river (which we did).
As my anxiety rose during our picnic, I took a moment to look around. Nothing seemed amiss. Birds were singing in the background, a warm spring breeze was blowing, the sun was shining, and the river was flowing.
Nature continued to thrive, even as we were pushed out of our comfort zones.
That day, my phone had only 3% battery left, and hours earlier, I had worried about being unable to make payments with it (so ironic, haha!).
The overall atmosphere in our village was relaxed. Children were playing outside, our older neighbours updated us with information (since they had a radio at home), and we helped charge other neighbours' cell phones with our power banks. Some even offered cash if needed; you could feel and see the power of the community rising.
Nature, community, and self-sufficiency are my takeaways from this experience.
🔥 Hot in the School
Free Webinar / Evento Gratuito : Life-Centered Design: Proyectos y casos reales
Hablaremos de cómo la mirada del Life-Centered Design transforma no solo los resultados, sino también las relaciones, la toma de decisiones y el rol del liderazgo. Exploraremos dos proyectos muy distintos pero diseñados bajo la misma lente:
El primero para “The Soil Association” en donde se le ha dado voz a la tierra dentro de la organización.
El segundo proyecto es la co-creación del Máster de Transiciones Sostebiles para la Universidad de InHolland y University of Applied Sciences (HVA). Aportando el pensamiento sistémico y Personas No Humanas desde una perspectiva de liderazgo.
Durante esta sesión...
Descubrirás ejemplos reales de aplicación del Life-Centered Design.
Reflexionaremos sobre su impacto en la forma de liderar equipos y proyectos.
Te presentaremos una experiencia formativa para quienes quieren liderar desde otra perspectiva.
Tendrás la oportunidad de hacer preguntas y compartir tus inquietudes.
Una primera inmersión, abierta y cercana de lo que veremos durante el Taller Life-Centered Design Leadership, que forma parte de La Insólita, la escuela de verano de La Nave Nodriza y se desarrolla en colaboración con Life-Centered Design School.
💚 Apuntaté aquí 💚
🐅 LCD in the Wild
This Week's Inspo:
Book: Viral Justice - Ruha Benjamin shows how small acts of care and resistance can spark meaningful social change. She challenges readers to rethink justice as something we grow through everyday relationships, not just major reforms. Blending personal stories with deep analysis, the book offers a hopeful vision for building a more just and connected world.
Blog: Creating a Voice for Soil - Describes a collaboration between the Soil Association and the Life-Centered Design School to personify soil and give it a voice in decision-making. Using Life-Centered Design methods, the project helped staff empathize with soil as a living stakeholder. This led to creating a "Voice for Soil Playbook" to guide more sustainable and inclusive practices.
Art: Spring Stop Motion—It has become refreshing to see art that is not generated by AI. Italian designer Gianluca Bagnasco created this beautiful stop-motion video.
Have an LCD-inspired find? Reply to this email & share it with us!
📢 Community Voices
Reader Question: "What are your thoughts about Humanity Centered Design introduced by Don Norman". Cindy K.
Our Take: Don Norman’s concept of Humanity-Centered Design (HCD) builds upon and expands traditional Human-Centered Design (also popularized by him), shifting the focus from individual user needs to broader societal, environmental, and ethical considerations. Instead of merely asking, “Is this useful or usable for the user?” HCD asks, “Is this good for humanity, now and in the long term?".
Life-Centered Design asks, “Is this good for all life, now and in the future?”
🔎 Do you have any Life-Centered Desgin related questions? Reply to this email, and we might feature your question next week!
🛠️ LCD Toolbox
LCD Survey: We're excited to explore how organizations can integrate Life-Centered Design into their work and would love to hear your thoughts.
If you could spare a few minutes, we have some questions to better understand your interests and needs. Thank you very much for your time and support—we truly appreciate it!
👩🏻💻 Take the survey here.
❓ LCD Provocation
What if communities were the foundation of help in case of emergencies?
Reply with your wildest ideas, and we will showcase them next week!
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Until next time,
Jeroen and Marce
