[Participants Wanted] Bio Gets Twice as Interesting?! Workshop to Make Bio More Accessible Through "Punovation"

Dentsu Inc.'s creative think tank, DENTSU SOKEN INC. B Team, will host a talk session titled "Bio Gets Twice as Interesting?! Workshop on Making Bio More Accessible Through 'Punovation' on June 29th. This event is co-hosted with the business magazine Forbes Japan and Academy Hills Library.

The venue is the Academy Hills Roppongi Library in Tokyo. This time, 20 non-library members will be invited on a first-come, first-served basis (registration closes once capacity is reached). Applications are accepted via the Academy Hills website.

 

This talk session is the fifth installment of a special edition of the popular Forbes Japan series "DENTSU SOKEN INC. Research Institute Team B's NEW CONCEPT Collection." The guest speaker is Kazutoshi Tsuda, a researcher at Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] responsible for bio-research projects and also a pun enthusiast.

"Punovation" is one of the concepts proposed by DENTSU SOKEN INC. B Team, reimagining puns as tools for idea generation. The talk session will feature guest Kazutoshi Tsuda alongside moderators Masaharu Fujiyoshi, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Forbes JAPAN; Tomoyuki Torisu, Copywriter at DENTSU SOKEN INC. B Team; and Hidetoshi Kurashige, Creative Director at the same team. They will discuss practical examples of puns being used across various fields like new product planning and regional revitalization, their effects and benefits, and how to create them. Following this, participants will experience "Punovation" through a workshop.

The workshop theme is "Kitchen Bio," a project Tsuda is developing to make biotechnology feel more accessible. Participants will brainstorm ideas together on how to use puns to make biotech feel more relatable. If great ideas emerge, they might even be implemented at YCAM?! What will emerge from combining cutting-edge biotech with traditional puns? Come experience it for yourself at the venue.

Overview:
【Date & Time 】Thursday, June 29, 7:15 PM - 8:45 PM (Doors open: 6:45 PM)
Venue: Sky Studio, 49th Floor, Roppongi Academy Hills
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6615
(Map) http://www.academyhills.com/aboutus/access/index.html
【Registration】First 20 applicants invited. Apply via the Academy Hills application form.
(Registration closes once capacity is reached. Library members and Forbes Japan readers may also attend)

【Speakers】
Kazutoshi Tsuda / Researcher, Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]

Born in 1981 in Shinsho Village, Okayama Prefecture. Ph.D. (Engineering). Joined the Fab Lab network in 2010 and co-founded Fab Lab Kitakagaya (Osaka City) in 2013. Served as Assistant Professor at Osaka University until 2015, developing educational programs in engineering design and appropriate technology, and conducting research on resource circulation and sustainable design. Since 2016, Researcher at Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] (in charge of Bio Research projects).

Masaharu Fujiyoshi / Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Senior Writer, Forbes Japan

Born in Saga Prefecture in 1968. Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Senior Writer at Forbes JAPAN, launched in 2014. His book The Fukui Model: The Future Starts in the Regions (Bungeishunju) was a finalist for the 2015 Shincho Documentary Award. Its Korean edition was released in 2016 and ranked #1 in OhmyNews Korea's "Book of the Year 2016" selected by its book review committee. In 2017, it was chosen as one of 20 books recommended for university students by the Korea Publishing Culture Promotion Agency.

Tomoyuki Torisu / Copywriter, Team B, DENTSU SOKEN INC.

After working at Dentsu Inc. Creative Bureau, he joined DENTSU SOKEN INC. B Team. He is involved in new product development with food manufacturers and telecommunications companies. His hometown is Nagasaki. Being a third-generation atomic bomb survivor, his research theme at B Team is "Peace." He engages in unique peace activities, such as creating the "Nagasaki Archive" to connect survivors' memories to the future. His ancestors were hidden Christians, and he is a co-founder of "Sangosan," which converts an old folk house in Goto—where his roots lie—into a library.

Hidetoshi Kuranari / Dentsu Inc. & DENTSU SOKEN INC. Creative Director

Joined Dentsu Inc. in 2000, worked in the Creative Bureau, and is currently Creative Director at DENTSU SOKEN INC. He expands and applies advertising creative skills to produce projects across diverse genres. He has served as the overall producer for events such as Japan APEC 2010, the Tokyo Motor Show 2011, and the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings 2012 held in Japan, and as an advisor for the 400th anniversary project of Arita ware in Saga Prefecture. He was certified as the first Japanese ex-designer by product designer Martí Guixet of Barcelona, Spain.