Olivier Cotinat, our co-founder, shares his vision of tomorrow’s world and the means implemented by MoHo to achieve it. (french version)
“What if we were to prove wrong all those who are prone close — mindedness? What if we were to show the disciples of individualism that it is possible to invent a new way of living and working together? What if we were to be proactive in the change towards a better world?
We are currently at a key moment in our history. There are critical environmental issues, migratory crises, technological challenges, a huge gap between city centres and peripheral zones, political impotence, etc. The challenges facing us in these early decades of the 21st century are enormous and concern us all. Each of us has a role to play in finding solutions. Bringing our contribution to the necessary collective reaction to our modern world: this is the ambition that has given rise to MoHo.
MoHo is first and foremost a unique place devoted to inventing the world of tomorrow, which will welcome researchers, students, entrepreneurs, and a dedicated team for start-ups and large corpos. It is a place where different but complementary individuals from all over the world will be able to work together in a lasting manner to come up with daring solutions to change the world. And because the most innovative projects come about through the collision of ideas, the objective is to make MoHo the first ‘collider’ in Europe, a real accelerator of grey matter! Better still, MoHo will be open to the surrounding area, with communal spaces in which the general public can freely visit and take a step towards their future.
A collective reaction
This approach reflects my character: I firmly believe in the benefits of cooperation and in this form of positive confrontation which aims to jointly build permanent solutions. This approach also reflects my expertise: for years now I have been explaining to my teams and my students at ESSEC, Centrale Paris, Berkeley and Stanford how mixing diverse profiles boosts innovation. Finally, this approach reflects my experience: in my professional activities, whether for the European Commission or in Schoolab, I have shown that combining the efforts of different populations or organizations can give rise to exceptional collaborative projects.
MoHo will be established in Caen, in a building of 7500 square metres constructed according to sustainable development principles. What better symbol could we have chosen than the region of Normandy which, in June 1944, saw over 156,000 young men from different countries landing on its beaches to rescue a subjugated Europe from Nazism? These soldiers from all social backgrounds, origins, and religions found the strength to overcome their differences to build the world as we know it today. They will be a source of inspiration for everyone at MoHo in terms of how we invent the world of tomorrow together.
In June 2019, 75 years after the D-Day Landing, the ‘MoHo D-Day Summit’ will be organised in Caen. MoHo will also be an annual event. For a few days, around June 6, actors from around the world will come together to give added impetus to their existing projects or participate in developing new ones. The objective is to make MoHo an international platform to boost pluridisciplinary, high-impact initiatives on themes which will emerge naturally.
An international plateform
Finally, MoHo is a nation of changemakers. To encourage as many projects as possible to bloom on a global scale, MoHo will create ties with ambassadors worldwide. This ‘MoHo Nation’ will be tolerant, open, creative, and mutually supportive, and will federate a network of proactive people who are determined to confront their ideas, overcome their differences, and put their collective intelligence at the service of the common good. To do so, this international community will rise above administrative boundaries and cultural barriers. It will also liberate itself from preconceived ideas: contrary to the general belief, the digital revolution is not just about technology and the tools created to implement it; above all it will depend on changing the way we think, work together, and see ourselves in the future.”
And MoHo embodies this effervescence.
By Oliver Cotinat.
