Internet Access Is A Human Right

"Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress, ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all states." Such the spirit of the report on "the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression" to the United Nations by Frank La Rue, considering Internet access a Human Right.

We can't help but thinking about the numerous occasions in which the Internet is and has been an important medium of expression. Be it information, solidarity, protest or of the latest j'accuse.

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The Olympic Torch, Prototype Unveiled

The Torch is probably one of the most recognizable and significant symbols of the Olympic Games. This morning designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, who won the tender for its design, unveiled a first prototype in London.

The design itself connects the Torch Relay with its bearers using 8,000 circular holes in the golden aluminium alloy. It is of course the very number of inspirational figures, athletes and amateurs, who will bring the Torch to destination. 800 mm high and weighing around 800 grams, such remarkable symbology will be carried all the way to the opening ceremony.

Whether you are nominating Torchbearers or planning to assist to the sport competitions, you will probably be as thrilled as we by this first glimpse of Torch.
Yes, the Olympic Games are coming and we are proud to host the 2012 Edition in London.

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Open To A Panda Way Of Life

Browsing the internet brings up many cute little gadgets. If Google Panda (last April's major algorithm change) is still keeping you awake at night, you might just as well take it with some irony. We can't stop thinking of a similar speaker on Larry Page's desk...

Come In, It's Raining (Inside the House)

The sun is shining today in London, yesterday the weather was quite miserable. Yet in both cases we were in our cosy offices with big windows. The Glue Society, a quite irreverent Australian creative collective, made a great job by swapping things round.

Their contribution to the on-going Sculpture By the Sea  festival (2 June - 3 July, Aarhus, Denmark), is a big house where it actually rains inside. You visit it with pretty yellow rain jackets. The title of the work is I Wish You Hadn't Asked and it actually rains 200 litres of water per minute. There is a gloomy part to it all of course, because during the month of exposition the house will be slowly "transformed into a uncomfortable, hostile environment" by the rain itself.

Smile when you are indoors and it's raining then, or if you get curious of how things would be if it were the other way round, buy a ticket to Denmark. Totally worth it.

Image: Nicolai Lorenzen. Have a look at more.

Raising profile in UK and Middle East

Leading manufacturer of electronically switchable glass, SmartGlass™ International, was recommended to The Think Tank when it needed to its raise profile and make further inroads into some specific markets.

SmartGlass™ International is a key supplier to the healthcare, hospitality, and commercial sectors and is unique in that it only manufactures SmartGlass and is completely dedicated to this sector.  With a track record in supplying blue chip and bespoke clients worldwide, it asked The Think Tank to undertake a PR project to raise its profile in the UK and Middle East.

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Sit Up On Thin Air (Or On A Balloon Bench)

When you need something to lift up your spirit, or you simply want do daydream, you could not possibly find a better location that this Balloon Bench.

As passionate cinephiles, you will remember the French movie "Le Ballon Rouge" (1953) and the feeling of floating that the main character felt. Well, with great poetry the Japanese studio h220430 created this bench. In reality, it is suspended from the ceiling by 4 anchors concealed by the balloon shapes, which can actually work as lamps. This creates the illusion of being suspended, relying only on helium and romance.

Check out some more images and contact Gallery Somewhere in Tokyo if you want it for your flat, or office.

Promoting Safety in the Oil and Gas Sector

A new technical development, a corrosion monitoring system, developed by Permasense Ltd, provided The Think Tank with an opportunity to create press coverage in the international oil and gas trade press and raise the profile of this new company.

Permasense wanted to create a dialogue with the major International and National Oil Companies (IOCs and NOCs).  Its corrosion monitoring system, developed in partnership with Imperial College London and BP, heralds a new age of frequent, repeatable wall thickness monitoring giving previously unavailable insights into the condition and capability of critical oil and gas assets.

The Think Tank helped draft a press material and pitched the story ....

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Luce: A No Wires Required Laptop-pc

There are two ways of looking at this. First, drawing from Japan, we cannot ignore the reference in Andrea Ponti's work to the recent energy-related disaster in Fukushima. It is a stimulus to turn our attention to a concrete sustainable development in every day life.

Luce, "light" in Italian, is a solar panel powered laptop with a transparent finishing, which enables it to recharge continuously, during stand-by and use mode. The concept is that of creating wireless devices, self-powered and totally cable free. It is not by chance that Andrea was shortlisted in the the Fujitsu Design Competition 2011.

Second, we cannot help but thinking how incredibly handy it would be not to worry about clumsy cables anymore!

Images : Andrea Ponti