Some personal ramblings with some great minds at a gathering @ Rubin in Reykjavik, November 2010.

1. SESSION WITH SOME GREAT MINDS AT RUBIN IN REYKJAVIK 2010
GUDJON MAR GUDJONSSON
WWW.MINISTRYOFIDEAS.IS

2. TIME
~20 MIN
PHILOSOPHY
PRACTICAL
IDEOLOGY
POWER OF THE GRASSROOTS
THE WISDOM OF CROWDS
TIME TRAVEL
ICELAND AS A LAB
THE BIG PICTURE
LAUNCH: VISIONING PLATFORM
THIS PRESENTATION

3. iceland
IndustriaPowering Digital Living®
RGB 5,79,142
1989 1998 2000 2003 2004 2007 2008 2009
PROFILE
GUDJON MAR GUDJONSSON
STARTED A FEW COMPANIES
FOUNDED GR SOFTWARE AT AGE 14
CHANGED THE NAME TO GR INTERNATIONAL 6 MONTHS LATER…

4. AS WE ALL
WHY NOT THINK
BIG
THINK

5. SHAPING THE
DOESNT NEED
TO COST
ANYTHING
FUTURE

7. STARTED WITH A SPARK
OPEN MEETUPS
NON-POLITICAL
100% TRANSPARENT
PROCESS

8. GRASSROOTS
ECONOMY
YOU CREATE
PRODUCTS, SERVICES, EXPERIENCES

9. VISION
WEEKLY
OPEN
MEETUP
22
23
24
20
21
18
19
16
17
25
15
NEW WORLD MODEL
OPEN VISIONING PLATFORM

10. The Icelandic opportunity: Inspiration for a new world model
31st March, 2009
To the Leaders at the G20 London Summit,
A people's movement in Iceland, the Ministry of Ideas hereby outlines to the G20 leaders an
opportunity for prototyping a sustainable world.
What level of growth is sustainable in the long term? The answer is not clear, but it is
imperative that we find out. Our behavior is and has been unsustainable. The key to
understanding is to earnestly admit that we all share but one ultimate resource, our fragile
planet.
The crash of the Icelandic financial system was a clear early indicator of an unsustainable
economy and democracy. It demonstrated the vulnerability of modern political systems and
the need for clear values.
Solving the current challenges by adding new policies to an already fractured framework,
as well as injecting economic stimulants, should merely be a short-term fix, to keep the
wheels turning while getting to the root of the problem. We now know that long-term
problems are not solved with short-term solutions. The very foundations of liberty and
democracy must be revisited.
At this significant moment in time we do not just stand as nations, alliances or empires but
as citizens of a global village. We all share a dream to create and sustain prosperity for
generations to come. United by our common resources, we need a shared vision.
Iceland has a longstanding democratic and entrepreneurial heritage, with a parliament
dating back to 930. It has no military and a highly educated population of just 300
thousand. After its recent rise and fall, Iceland offers a unique opportunity in history as the
laboratory for prototyping the development of a sustainable model society in all areas,
including democracy, economy, currency and energy.
The time for action is now, while Iceland's infrastructure and financial system are being
rebooted. We invite you to take part in this exciting venture.
On behalf of the Ministry of Ideas in Iceland
The people's movement
www.ministryofideas.is
secretariat@ministryofideas.is
DEAR BARACK OBAMA,
G20
WE HAVE A PROPOSAL

11. “MR. FOREIGN MINISTER
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A VISIT
THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON THERE”

12. WORLD WIDE WEB
ELECTRICITY
WATER UTILITIES
OUR UNIVERSITIES
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
OUR GRANDPARENTS’ VISION

13. “I THINK
THERE IS A
WORLD
MARKET FOR
MAYBE FIVE
COMPUTERS.”
THOMAS WATSON
CHAIRMAN, IBM, 1943

14. “WE DON'T LIKE THEIR SOUND, AND
GUITAR MUSIC IS ON THE WAY OUT.”
DECCA RECORDING
REJECTING THE BEATLES, 1962

15. “COMPUTERS IN THE
FUTURE MAY WEIGH NO
MORE THAN 1.5 TONS.”
POPULAR MECHANICS, MARCH 1949

16. RECEIVED
C IN MUSIC
IN SCHOOL
IN EIGHTH GRADE

17. “AS A
COMPOSER,
BEETHOVEN'S MUSIC TEACHER:
HE IS HOPELESS.”

18. LEARNED TO READ 7 YEARS OLD
ALBERT
EINSTEIN
FAILED
HIS
UNIVERSITY
ENTRANCE
EXAM

19. WALT DISNEY WAS FIRED FROM HIS EARLY JOB FOR
YOUNG WALT DISNEY'S FIRST BUSINESS
LACK OF IDEAS AND HAVING NO IMAGINATION
BEFORE HE AND HIS BROTHER FOUNDED THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
THEN WENT BANKRUPT

20. ICELANDERS
ARE RISK TAKERS
AT HEART

21. WORLD
ICELAND
... ON A DIFFERENT FREQUENCY

22. TODAY
EACH
OF
US
LIVES
SEVERAL
HUNDRED
YEARS
IN
A
DECADE

23. NIGHT
OUR GLOBAL VILLAGE AT

24. GAP!
CHANGE IN SOCIETY
ABILITY OF EDUCATION TO ADAPT
TIME

25. IT STARTS WITH AN IDEA.
AN INSPIRATION.
A NEED TO CHANGE.
A NEED TO INNOVATE.

26. THOMAS EDISON
TOO
STUPID
TO
LEARN
ANYTHING
SAID
HIS
TEACHER
ONLY HAD 3 MONTHS OF FORMAL SCHOOLING

27. GENERAL ELECTRIC 327.000
ICELAND 319.756
GENERAL ELECTRIC HAS A VISION
ICELAND’S VISION ?

28. VISION OF A NATION

29. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WISDOM OF CROWDS

30. 9AREAS x 9GROUPS x 9MEMBERS x 2

31. VISION PLANNING SESSION
1.500 PEOPLE

32. CAPTURING THE HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION'S CREATIVITY

33. WE ALL HAVE
OUR PLANS FOR
THE FUTURE

34. ICELAND
HAS
WORLD
NEEDS
OPPORTUNITY
THE ICELANDIC OPPORTUNITY

35. INSPIRATION
FOR A NEW
WORLD MODEL
THE ICELANDIC OPPORTUNITY

36. ICELAND HAS
ENERGY

37. 300
THOUSANDS
TINY IN POPULATION

38. INFRASTRUCTUR
E
THE
BASIC
PHYSICAL
AND
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURES
NEEDED
FOR
THE
OPERATION
OF
A
SOCIETY
OR
ENTERPRISE,
OR
THE
SERVICES
AND
FACILITIES
NECESSARY
FOR
AN
ECONOMY
TO

39. ALL YOU NEED
FOR A GOOD
LAB
PROTOTYPE A ON ELECTRIC CARS
PROTOTYPE B ON DATA CENTERS
PROTOTYPE C ON BATTERY CHARGING
PROTOTYPE D TRANSPORTAION BUSINESS MODEL
PROTOTYPE E ACTIVE DEMOCRATIC
PROTOTYPE F ON REALTIME CURRENCY

47. CALL FOR ACTION!
HELP US
VISIONING A NEW WORLD MODEL
MINISTRYOFIDEAS.IS