Ad!dict #25: The World Heritage issue.

World Heritage
Or the importance of being humble.

Here is what I wrote as an editorial in the new Ad!dict Inspiration Book.


This research theme has taken me to remarkable places and thoughts. From reflections on our past, on our current identity - call it patrimony - to questioning extreme conservative feelings that would force you to stick to one place or thought just because there is some ridiculous axioma that would say so.

It made me visit the Unesco building in Paris, where – summum of cultural diversity – all nationalities are working and living together on a limited surface. Oh, these are nice people all right. Yet Kafka is never far away. World heritage, for them, is building X, commission Y and convention Z. Anything beyond that, is uncontrollable, unidentifiable.

World Heritage for them, is limited to physical spaces, because a convention said so. Yet World Heritage is far more.



I don’t think they knew what to do with this Ad!dict lab, marshalling thinkers from around the world, wanting to reflect, research, point out those parts from our patrimony they consider important. A pity, since we offered this force for them to use, no strings attached. Maybe this positive, unbiased attitude has become rare in our society.



Preservation is deciding what is valuable to maintain. Do we do that as individuals? As tribes? Or as a global community? We have divided the different projects and reflections in 5 different chapters, taking you from an individual approach, via physical spots to concepts that would change the world if one lets us.



World Heritage is the openness to consider all that. And it is my grandfather who just celebrated his 95th birthday. Defined like that, we all should be very humble towards such a richness of experience. Only the past can create a better future.


Personal Heritage
Reflections on the future usage of one’s personal past or current identity

Future Dialogue
Reflections on the future usage of one’s past relation to another individual

Cradle Bonding
Reflections on the future usage of one’s relation to a geographical location or physical space.

Social Dynamics
Reflections on the future usage of one’s past as offspring from and in a certain culture

Global Heritage
Reflections on the future usage of our collective past or current patrimony.



In this last chapter we have added two projects as ‘work in progress’. We have asked fashion designers and interior designers to think of the possibility to create one Universal Collection, one Universal House respectively. Over 40 Labmembers from 20 countries already responded. Each with their own heritage. Each with a will and open mind to create for the better. And you? Can you stay on the sideline?



jan@addictlab.com





Subscript picture:

Dedicated to my grandfather Jules, who just celebrated his 95 years. World Heritage is that too. I hope we can still learn a lot from him.