#UNLEASHLAB2017 begins in earnest

All 1000 participants in UNLEASH were brought to the Lokomotivværkstedet (train workshop) in Copenhagen. This venue is yet another example of Copenhagen's industrial history. Today, the place is now used as a conference hall (like for UNLEASH). 

The first thing I learned when I got there was that the organisers of UNLEASH want to make sure that we all eat healthy food. Note that I am neither vegetarian nor vegan. I am as omnivorous as the next omnivore; however, I kept ending up in the queue for the vegans and the vegetarians

It was good because the other food choices probably had milk in them. That would've wrecked havoc on my tummy... and we're not near the hostel so I'd rather have a calm stomach filled with veggies than a grumbly one. The salad that I got was so delicious!

Anyway, as the program was about to start, I settled right in front of the stage. Guess what, the host of the ceremonies, Gaurav Gupta, worked the crowd and talked with us before the he had to go up onstage.

So far, I was surrounded by South Asians and Africans. I wonder where all the Filipinos were at. Notice that we were wearing lanyards with different colours? These indicated the themes that we would be working on for the next week. I was in the food theme. Nitika was in the water theme. Other participants were in health, energy, education, sustainable consumption...

As the UNLEASH Opening Ceremony started, I couldn't help but notice how hip and cool the emcees, Gaurav and Megan, were. This event was no regular conference, mind. It was a gathering of disruptors, out-of-the-box thinkers, and changemakers. I felt like I had the impostor's syndrome because many of the people here run start-ups, have a wide network of connections for social work... and I'm essentially a lab rat, albeit a talkative one. But the insights I sent made the cut so I probably was supposed to be in this sea of problem-solvers. 

And just how avantgarde was this opening program? We were sitting on the floor, on mattresses, or on wooden crates. 

Onstage were speakers who were our role models as we question assumptions taken as truths, as we challenge the line between possible and impossible, and as we find solutions that could lead to the achievement of the SDGs.

My favourite presentations were by Danish architects Bjarke Ingels (BIG) and Anders Lendager. They showed how design could be both aesthetic and functional. There was an example of a beautiful design for flood control intended for New York City. Of course, the first thing that I did was wish that something like this design could be made and implemented for Manila and other coastal cities in the Philippines.

As the opening program ended, we were queued up at the buffet tables again... yes, all 1000 participants! I am amazed at how the caterers managed to provide food for all the people in that hall! Again, I ended up (unknowingly) at the vegan section. The food was delicious, as usual, but by this time, I was starting to miss rice and meat (or fish).

I didn't hang around anymore after dinner because I wanted to get to know Copenhagen by walking in it. But I did hear that those who stayed partied til the evening. Must have been fun... but this was my first time in Copenhagen; I want to see as much of it as I could.