OPEN CALL

Walk The Talk

Preview session 03: Designers who grow food (Ph. Carmo Oliveira)

Are you passionate about shaping a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future for urban communities? If so, we invite you to take part in Walk The Talk during Gentler Futures Festival 2024. In collaboration with Pecha Kucha Lisboa, this open mic session offers you the chance to present your project or initiative to a diverse audience of like-minded individuals.

Under this year’s theme, Towards Urban Self-sufficiency, Gentler Futures Festival is celebrating the work of creatives, makers and enthusiasts whose goal is: decentralising the means of production, imagining alternative non-linear manufacturing systems, and placing the needs of local communities and the planet over profit.

What is a Pecha Kucha session?

Derived from a Japanese term meaning "chit-chat," Pecha Kucha is a unique presentation format originated in Tokyo, and now present in various cities globally. At each Pecha Kucha session, presenters share their ideas, projects, or initiatives in concise presentations consisting of 20 slides—with 20 seconds per slide—for a total duration of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. This fast-paced format encourages speakers to be concise, creative, and impactful in their delivery, for a dynamic and engaging event.

What are we looking for?

As we push towards the inclusion of new and emerging talents in design, architecture, circular economy, urban agriculture and energy transition, we are now looking for individuals, studios, associations, movements or initiatives eager to share their projects aimed at shaping collaborative, locally-productive, resilient and regenerative futures.

Applicants should present existing projects (in any development phase) aligned with the theme of the Festival and at least one of the following topics:

Circular and regenerative solutions for urban environments;
Open, collaborative, replicable and accessible practices;
Community-oriented and community-driven initiatives:
Ecosystemic design principles, acknowledging the connectedness between cultural, social and natural environments.

Submissions and criteria

To participate, submit your project until Sunday, May 26 (23:59 GMT+1).

Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Relevance: alignment with the theme of the festival, Towards Urban Self-Sufficiency;
Impact: potential for positive impact on urban communities, the environment, and quality of life inside the city;
Diversity: representation of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and disciplines.

Submit your application ↗

Selection process

Up to 8 projects will be selected to take part in Gentler Futures Festival 2024.

Selected applicants will be contacted on May 28 and asked to prepare a keynote with 20 slides to be presented in English during Walk The Talk, on Saturday, June 1st at 17:00 at Mouraria Creative Hub, Lisbon.

Keynotes will be timed (6 minutes and 40 seconds) and should be as text-free as possible (keywords can be used): a new slide will automatically show after 20 seconds. Selected applicants are invited to rehearse their presentation following this specific format.