Tokyo, October 31, 2022 -- Mori Art Museum and Academyhills operated by Mori Building Co., Ltd., and the Mori Memorial Foundation's Institute for Urban Strategies announced today the schedule for Innovative City Forum (ICF) 2022. This international forum held annually brings together leaders in various fields to consider possibilities for future urban designs and lifestyles based on the fundamental question "What will our lives be like 20 years from now?" The ICF 2022 pre- and main sessions both will take place at Roppongi Academyhills (49th floor, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower), with the pre-session on November 7 open to the public and the main session on November 24 by invitation only. Both sessions will be viewable online in Japanese and English at a later date.
Since 2013, ICF has brought together leading scientists, researchers, engineers, artists, designers, corporate managers and journalists from diverse fields, both from Japan and abroad, to discuss the transformation of people's lifestyle due to the advances in science and technology and changes in values as well as visions of the future of cities. To date, 411 speakers including 138 from 31 countries as well as nearly 19,000 people have attended the annual ICF.
In this 10th edition of ICF, the speakers will consider the theme "Beyond Transition - The Emerging Future." Major transitions, such as new values and new lifestyles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid changes in world affairs due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the evolving role of virtual spaces due to Web3, the metaverse, etc. will be discussed along with the prospects for future cities and lifestyles to expand beyond these transitions.
The ICF 2022 pre-session on November 7 will welcome world-renowned historical demographer Emmanuel Todd, who will take an in-depth look at the factors behind the current global crisis and its impact on human life from an anthropological perspective as well as offer suggestions for the future.
The main session on November 24 will feature a discussion among the ICF 2022 program committee members Heizo Takenaka, Hiroo Ichikawa, Fumio Nanjo and Joi Ito, who will collectively review the culmination of ICF's first decade of exploration as well as discuss the future in light of current and future transitions.
Mori Building collaborates with leading research institutes, universities and enterprises to jointly study urban concepts, often by using Roppongi Hills and other Hills-brand urban complexes as test platforms. Mori Building is committed to exploring possibilities for ideal cities and lifestyles and pursuing urban development that leads to new innovation, ultimately to contribute to Tokyo's magnetic power as a major global city.