Next 50 Seattle Center 2012

50th Anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair

 

Project Information

 

In 1962, Seattle put itself on the map by hosting the Space Age-driven World’s Fair and creating a dynamic physical legacy: Seattle Center. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Fair, there is cause for celebration and contemplation, as our generation faces an entirely new set of priorities, challenges and opportunities.

 

The Next Fifty is a six-month event which will, once again, place the Pacific Northwest in the global limelight, serving as an interactive platform to illuminate the world’s challenges as we explore and define our possibilities. From April 21 to October 21, 2012, millions of visitors will descend upon Seattle, with Seattle Center playing host to luminaries, exhibitions, speaker series and entertainment— to debate and define the future.

 

The Next Fifty will focus on our region’s expertise and innovation in addressing eight focus areas:

• Arts Culture and Design [April 21 to October 21, 2012]  Throughout the next fifty, dynamic arts, culture and design programming will help people boldly imagine the future, connect ideas and people, and provide global insights.

 

• Sustainable Futures [April 21 to May 2012]  The celebration will spotlight creative conservation, new energy sources and big, bold ideas that will help us meet the critical challenges facing our environment.

 

• Science and Technology [June 2012]  The Pacific Northwest’s global leadership in science and technology is well-known, and the innovations that will propel the future will be on display for all to experience.

 

• Global Health [July 2012]  There have been more discoveries in the last five years than in all of history, setting a phenomenal pace of progress we will share, inspiring all who attend.

 

• Learning [August 2012]  America has reached a pivotal point where we need to expand perspectives around learning, education, culture and environment so that people of all ages and from all backgrounds can realize their intrinsic motivation to learn and grow.

 

• Commerce and the Innovation Economy [September 2012]  Seattle has embraced the knowledge-based economy to complement entrepreneurship and iconic leaders in coffee, software and airplanes, all building the new economy.

 

• Civic Action [October 1-21, 2012]  As social networking transforms communications, as grassroots initiatives are increasingly able to make change, what does social responsibility look like?

 

• History [April 21 to October 21, 2012]  The 1962 World’s Fair was about the future, and so too will be its 50th anniversary celebration. What lessons can we learn from our past? How is the future remembered?

 

ABOUT P3
What can we learn from the people of Washington State about how we as individuals learn, how we pursue our greatest passions, how we support learning in our community and therefore how we can move civilization forward into the next 50 years?

 

People • Passion • Purpose (P3): A Learning Odyssey will follow 25 people, of all ages and from all walks of life, as they identify their deepest passion and work to intentionally pursue it over 9 months time. Participants (Voyagers) will each be paired a mentor (Guide) to support them as they challenge their assumptions, imagine new possibilities, encounter obstacles, and have the courage to expand beyond who they are to learn and grow.

 

Voyagers and Guides will document their experiences, efforts, struggles, achievements and realizations. Selected material will be shared publically, including in a documentary, making the findings accessible to approved observers and researchers. The findings and participants will be featured in August 2012 during The Next Fifty (a 6-month celebration of the 1962 World’s Fair at Seattle Center).

 

Seattle Center is celebrating its 50th year in 2012 and Centerpoint is celebrating its 20th.

Together we are sending 25 Voyagers on a Passion Search Odyssey!

Beginning October 2011, 25 Voyagers will embark on a nine-month journey to find and pursue their deepest passion and purpose, including participating in a specially-designed Centerpoint Passion Search program.

Each Voyager will be paired with a Guide and mentor (many are Centerpoint alumni/ae) to support them as they challenge their assumptions, imagine new possibilities, encounter obstacles, and expand beyond who they are in order to learn and grow. 

In order for the rest of the world to learn, too, all of their experiences, efforts, struggles, achievements and realizations will be featured in a documentary film to be released in August 2012 during The Next Fifty, a celebration of the 1962 World’s Fair at Seattle Center.

Centerpoint is SO very excited to be selected by and partnering with the Seattle Center for this important and ground-breaking work!

TheNextFifty.org