“Moonshot” to “Earthshot”
60 years ago, John. F. Kennedy, the president of the United States declared “Moonshot” to take mankind to the moon in his speech for the Project Apollo. The challenge to “Moonshot” later led to the invention of the Apple II personal computer, the World Wide Web and the Internet.
Further, the “Whole Earth Catalog” became the bible of “Moonshots” movement in Silicon Valley. The message, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” from the last issue of “Whole Earth Catalog,” which was published before the birth of the Internet, led to the founding of Apple by Steve Jobs. It was also carried on to the next generation in his legendary commencement speech at Stanford University.
In 1994, when the World Wide Web was connected to Vice President Al Gore’s vision of the information superhighway, Digital Garage launched Japan’s first personal website “Tomigaya,” and has invariably positioned itself at the forefront of the Internet to this day. Since then, DG has continued to expand and evolve into one of Japan’s leading Internet companies, consisting of 4 segments: FT (FinTech), MT (Marketing), IT (Global Investment), and LTI (Kakaku.com Group).
This year, Digital Garage declares “Earthshot” with Stewart Brand, a founder of the “Whole Earth Catalog.” In the era of ESG, humanity’s pendulum is now switching from centrifugal force toward the moon to centripetal force toward the irreplaceable earth to cause a “great reset.” The earth as seen from space has no borders, and we are all part of an ecosystem.
New Context Designer DG
Digital Garage will continue to design “new contexts” for a sustainable society with technology.
“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” to be engraved in the mind.
Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO, Digital Garage, Inc.
Kaoru Hayashi
theme
“Earthshot” Whole Earth 2021 @Tokyo
~Half Century Since Whole Earth Catalog: Shaping the Future with Technology~
“THE NEW CONTEXT CONFERENCE” is a conference to discuss “new context” for a sustainable society, and has been attended by many industry celebrities, startup founders, and researchers. This time, it will be a hybrid event with talks by speakers that are livestreamed to an online audience.
The theme of this year, which is the 21st time since the first conference in 2005, is “Earthshot” Whole Earth 2021 @Tokyo ~ Half Century Since Whole Earth Catalog: Shaping the Future with Technology ~.
Our goal is to bring together individuals, who are at the forefront of social and environmental issues, to discuss topics such as the balance of energy and technology, environment and economy, digital government, and impact investment. We are honored to have Stewart Brand as a keynote speaker, who is the founder of the legendary book the Whole Earth Catalog, which is the philosophical foundation of the Internet revolution.
Theme
Earthshot: 50 years from the Whole Earth Catalog
Date
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
9:30am-6:00pm
*The conference will be livestreamed.
Participation
¥5,000 (Tax included)
Organizer
Digital Garage, Inc.
Co-organizer
DG Lab
Host
Kaoru Hayashi, Joichi Ito
New Context Conference Digest Video
New Context Conference History Video
hosts
speakers
Zenryu Hidaka
Abbot of Kyoogokoku-ji Temple (To-ji Temple), the grand head temple of Shingon sect
agenda
Speakers will be participating virtually from their respective countries
Videos played will be pre-recorded videos especially taken for the event
09:30 |
Opening Remarks |
09:35 |
Keynote Session |
|
Session 1 Whole Earth Catalog and Art, CultureIn this session, we will consider the roots of the Silicon Valley counterculture and the current ESG in the context of art and creativity. |
|
10:05 |
Fireside Chats |
|
Session 2 Aims of Digital Society and Open GovernmentWith the pandemic of the COVID-19 and the rapid progress of DX in the world, Japan's efforts to realize a digital society are about to take off. In this session, we will discuss the initiatives for a digital society and open government, and what we are aiming for. |
|
10:30 |
Talk |
10:40 |
Talk |
10:50 |
Panel DiscussionKono Taro, Hirai Takuya, Jun Murai, Jennifer Pahlka, Joichi Ito (Moderator) |
11:30 |
Break |
11:35 |
Talk: Challenges & Opportunities in Applied Government Digital Transformation |
11:45 |
Talk: Digital Social Innovation |
11:55 |
Panel DiscussionKate McCall-Kiley, Audrey Tang, Jun Murai, Joichi Ito (Moderator) |
12:20 |
Lunch |
|
Live Painting |
|
13:10 |
Live Painting (video) |
13:30 |
Artist TalkMiwa Komatsu, Zenryu Hidaka, Kaoru Hayashi, Joichi Ito |
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Session 3 Climate Change and Intended ConsequencesGreen recovery is the process of rebuilding the economy and society while reducing climate change and protecting complex ecosystems. In this session, we will focus on decarbonization efforts, and discuss our mission in the complex ecosystem of our irreplaceable planet. |
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13:40 |
Talk: Earth & Space: Lessons for Climate Change Resilience |
13:50 |
Fireside Chats |
14:10 |
Panel DiscussionKoizumi Shinjiro, Shiro Kambe, Takashi Ikeuchi, Mayumi Tsuryu, Joichi Ito (Moderator) |
15:00 |
Startup Pitch |
15:30 |
Break |
|
Session 4 Impact Investment and the Realization of the Sustainable SocietyStartups can be a leader in solving various social problems. In this session, we will discuss the current status and future goals of impact investing, which is attracting attention globally, as well as the role of government, and consider the realization of a sustainable society. |
|
15:50 |
Fireside Chats |
16:05 |
Talk: Problem-Solving Innovation in Asia |
16:20 |
Talk: Center of Complex Interventions: The Chelsea Project |
16:30 |
Panel DiscussionTeruhide Sato, Ken Hasebe, Kathy Matsui, Joichi Ito (Moderator) |
17:15 |
Wrap upHalf Century Since Whole Earth Catalog: Shaping the Future with Technology |
17:45 |
End |
* Please note that the agenda is subject to change.
tickets
Due to concerns over the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), this event may be postponed or cancelled.
Online Event
- Venue:
- eventos (virtual event platform)
- Date:
- August 11, 2021 (9:30am-6:00pm)
- Price:
- ¥5,000（Tax included）
*Simultaneous interpretation in Japanese and English is available.
*Please purchase your ticket at Peatix.
*The URL to view the video will be sent to the email address you registered when you purchased your ticket. Please prepare a device (PC, tablet, smartphone) that can view the video beforehand.
Whole Earth Catalog
Stewart Brand
(Founder/Editor of the Whole Earth Catalog / President of The Long Now Foundation)
The Whole Earth Catalog is a legendary publication that impacted the hippie culture and the hacker culture that followed. On the theme of “Access to Tools,” it was published in 1968 to showcase useful products and information as wisdom for living on the earth. It played the role of a search engine, a social networking service, or an online community in the world before the advent of the Internet. The theme of the Whole Earth Catalog has been passed on to the ideology of Silicon Valley, leading to today's Internet (IT) revolution. It is well known that Steve Jobs referred to a phrase from the back cover of the last issue of Whole Earth Catalog, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” in his commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005. This year, Stewart Brand's documentary was screened at SXSW and is attracting renewed attention from around the world.
