Ars Electronica Futurelab Creative Question Challenge (CQC)

The Creative Question Challenge (CQC) is a new brainstorming format in which speakers explore and present creative questions in a 30-minute dialogue. In the year 2020, the world is facing many challenges due to the invisible virus called SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19, along with the distortions brought on by it. In the new, uncertain future of our everyday lives, there is a need for a space to discuss the essential questions for the future, rather than the easy solutions to problems.

The CQC brings together two speakers from different disciplines and backgrounds and a facilitator – called Catalyst – to create questions for the world to ponder within a 30-minute time limit. The CQC’s online platform not only provides a live experience of CQC’s taking place around the world, but also provides access to previous CQC’s that have taken place. In addition, reactions to those CQCs, or actions on the questions generated, are also visualized and encourage new participation.

The CQC is based on the Future Innovators Summit (FIS), which has been held at the Ars Electronica Festival since 2014. And both FIS and CQC were incubated in collaboration with the Japanese communication and design company Hakuhodo. Ars Electronica and Hakuhodo are working together to promote Art Thinking through experiments such as FIS and CQC.