WKU News

The Backstory

Last June, the WKU Innovation Campus HQ was home to a “Future of Bowling Green and Warren County” civic imagination workshop, hosted by Warren County Judge-Executive Doug Gorman and organized by the Suspenders of Disbelief team. Warren County is projected to grow extensively in the next 25 years as the fastest-growing MSA in Kentucky, and the county held the convening as a discussion of what leaders across various pillars of the community want to see for the future of the area.

In follow-up, the county government has launched a BG2050 initiative, bringing advisory teams together in eight key pillar areas: quality of life; economic development; talent development; tourism; public health; housing; infrastructure; and storytelling to contribute to long-term vision and planning for the area. The initiative is being organized by Suspenders of Disbelief and Innovation Engine.

For more information on the methodology behind the work, see the Civic Imagination Project at the University of Southern California. Find more background on the project on pp.49-51 of the Winter 2024 WKU Spirit magazine, and via AccelerateKY/University of Southern California’s Civic Imagination & Worldbuilding Conference at WKU Innovation Campus HQ last September. 

“Before change comes imagination” 

(Henry Jenkins’ interview, Salzburg Global Seminar, 2016).

The Event Series

Inspired by this work, several members of the WKU Innovation Campus have organized a series of their own events to contribute to this BG2050 conversation.

Event #1: IMAGINE_BGKY 2050 HACKATHON

“Use your skills in coding, design, or visionary thinking”

The Hackathon is a social coding and creation competition where programmers, designers, business people, and community developers collaborate non-stop to solve a community problem. Anyone with a passion for creativity and innovation is welcome. While experience with coding and programming is a huge plus, teams will also benefit from people with design backgrounds, strong presentation skills, and creative thinking skills. The event is being hosted in partnership with the Regional Technology Council, with support from the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce; the WKU Innovation Campus; the Central Region Ecosystem for Arts, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (CREATE); and AccelerateKY.

- Saturday, May 11th - Event is closed but feel free to reach out to us at: innovation@wku.edu - More about the Hackathon: https://cocreate-ic.com/imaginebgky-hackathon/ 

- In the press: https://bit.ly/4bv3jHx

Event #2: 2050 CIVIC IMAGINATION LIVING LAB

An open creative thinking workshop to those who want to co-create, co-design, learn from others, tell stories (write, draw, story-board, play, …), in order to continue the work accomplished in previous sessions. We aim at co-designing a transmedia campaign for BG2050 using design thinking, communication strategy, narrative design, and leadership, with facilitation by experts. It involves an international community of dreamers and doers. The event is organized by Karine Halpern, who–inspired by the work happening in Bowling Green, including BG2050–has received funding from the Region of Paris in France to travel here to organize this Civic Imagination Living Lab on the vision for BG2050, through her work with the DICEN Research Lab (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France).

Dates : Friday June 14th & Saturday June 15th 9:00 am - 7:00 pm  

• Group introduction Friday at 9:30 am
• Dropping by at any point during the workshop is possible, please meet the facilitators upon arrival. 
• No registrations needed. You will be asked to sign a release form on site with the facilitators. 

Announcements & Press

•  Feedback from events, announcements, and Q&A, from and with co-organizers takes place after the June event. Date to be confirmed.
• A “Transmedia Meetup” with special guests will be announced as well, stay connected for confirmed date & time (same location). Information: karine@transmediaready.com    

Event #3: Convergence of the previous events

Planned for the fall of 2024, name to be confirmed, the event will merge and augment the results of the previous events, extending their perspectives to continue the work in progress.

All events are free of charge and taking place at the same location:

WKU Innovation Campus - 2413 Nashville Rd, Bowling Green, KY 42101

Email: innovation@wku.edu

Current Partners & Sponsors with This Series 

• Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce 

• Central Region Ecosystem of Arts, Technology, and Entrepreneurship

• Innovation Engine

• Regional Technology Council

• Region of Paris, DICEN Research Lab (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France) 

• Suspenders of Disbelief    

• University of Southern California Civic Imagination Project

• Warren County Government

• WKU Innovation Campus