project

what• heritage• storytelling• creative• future

+ folk labA community-based laboratory that will work to research, document, promote and sustain traditional Lao culture and lifestyle through creative practice and sustainable thinking.

The lab will be formed by local youth, themselves guided by visiting tutors.

Tasks

• Exploring opportunities & challenges (feasibility)

• Analysing problem and local needs

• Learning via creative experiments

+ folk festivalAn event gathering local communities and international participants around collaborative workshops, creative presentations, cultural displays and performances.

The festival will be used as an experimental ground to capture unique stories from Lao villages and share them with a diverse crowd.

Tasks

• Generating new ideas• Facilitate creative output• Testing with local audience

and tourists• Identify funding

opportunities

+ folk museumA new kind of place to collect and display stories, objects, and visual representations of traditional Lao culture in a creative manner.

This place will go beyond the conventional museum model by combining cultural education with social entrepreneurship and creative industries.

Tasks

• Business development• Grow management skills• Monitor delivery and

implementation• Future projections and

scaling for social impact

1 2 3

why• preservation• education• opportunities• transition

+ documentLao traditional culture is of intangible nature and has not been well recorded. Most comnonly, traditional culture is not presented in an appealing manner for young people.

The new generation is not well aware of the country’s most valuable assets and should learn how to document and record inspiring local stories for the future.

Areas

• Cultural preservation• Crafts• Intangible folk heritage• Arts (e.g. music, dance)• Food

+ sustainLao village life has connected communities with their natural environment and resources for centuries.

Now rapid development is altering livelihoods based on such eco-systems.

Traditional green lifestyles could be reconsidered as alternative models for the future.

Areas

• Agriculture / Farming• Village lifestyle• Biodiversity• Housing / Architecture• Infrastructure

+ createNew creation and interpretations of cultural traditions is the way forward as Lao culture is increasingly suffering from the impacts of mass trade.

Investment in cultural capital can generate stronger competitiveness and a more sustainable kind of growth for local communities and society at large.

Areas

• Responsible tourism• Goods & services• Cultural events• Education• International exchange

1 2 3

who• team• collaborators• audience

+ local youthEngage local youth and communities in the making process to give them the skills, confidence,andindependenceto build their own initiative.

+ communitiesCollaborate with rural communities across generation tofindrelevantknowledgeabout local wisdom and traditions.

+ expertsIdentify professionals and volunteers who can bring solutions and/or experience in thefieldofcultureandsocialinnovation.

+ creativesInvolve individuals with the capacity to generate content based on traditional culture, by working in collaboration with local communities and particularly young people.

+ fundersIndividuals, organisations or companies who would like to invest in culture and social change. Funding model to be determined.

+ publicThe general public will include locals as well as visitors from nearby cities and overseas countries. Their interest is crucial for sustaining operations.

how• informal• local• experimental• community-based

+ social innovationBased on a model of ‘social innovation laboratory’, this project will follow a strategic structure based on new experimentations and collaborations with local communities.

This framework means result-based methodologies that follow ‘theories of change’ from short to mid and long-term goals.

+ creative storytellingThe concrete outputs of this project will be developed through creative activities based on ‘storytelling’ and shared human experiences.

Individual interpretations by local youth will be used to connect with the general public.

+ social enterpriseAll activities will be conceived to provide growth opportunities for present Lao youth and the following generations.

+ context mattersLocal people and their environments will be placed at the heart of the project and a strong emphasis put on the promotion of local knowledge and culture.

+ international networksAll phases of the project will seek to connect people from various countries and offer them networking opportunities.

s.s. / 06.2014