BASF has announced its Creator Space tour, a year-long, global event series aiming to address the challenges of smart energy, food and urban living. The first stop, in Mumbai, India, will take place January 16-23 with a focus on water sustainability.

The tour is part of BASF’s global co-creation program, Creator Space. Led by local, interdisciplinary, internal and external teams from areas such as architecture, art, design, science, government, technology, and sustainability, each city stop in the Creator Space tour will explore a locally relevant topic. Following the first stop in Mumbai, the tour will move to Shanghai, New York, São Paulo, Barcelona and Ludwigshafen. Topics will range from sustainable consumption, to housing of the future, to intelligent solutions along the energy value chain. The Creator Space tour stop in Mumbai will take place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), formerly the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India.

“The 150-year history of BASF shows that chemistry is an enabler for new ideas and solutions. In our anniversary year more than ever, we are connecting people and ideas to make meaningful contributions to society in accordance with our corporate purpose: ‘We create chemistry for a sustainable future,’” said Sanjeev Gandhi, member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE.

First tour stop in Mumbai focuses on water
Access to clean water is one of the most pressing issues in the rapidly growing metropolis of Mumbai. Almost a fifth of the world’s population lives in India, but the country has access to only 4% of the world’s fresh water resources. Ideas about how to improve water accessibility, water quality, and policy and behavior will be developed in customer workshops, jamming sessions with employees and the public. At the Creator Space tour in Mumbai, more than 250 water experts, business professionals, NGOs, academia and interested citizens with different perspectives and expertise will discuss solutions to this question and other important challenges.

Sessions at Creator Space Mumbai will include a variety of activities, with diverse groups of participants being invited, ranging from business and academia to government, NGOs and society in general.

Advance registration is required for all sessions:

• Unveiling of a unique Water Installation by renowned Indian artist Brinda Miller
• Creator Space Summit, a top-tier expert summit bringing together specialists in water technology, water policy, water quality and water consumption behavior for intensive collaboration on solutions for Mumbai’s water challenge
• Collaborative project with  Save the Children, a global non-governmental organization, using the innovative Empathic Design methodology to tackle issues in the space of water
• Awards ceremony for the “Wat(er) is the matter?” short film competition and an inter-school drawing competition
• Public jamming session on better ways to manage organic waste and save water through composting
• Employee jamming session on responsible water consumption
• Innovation workshop on industrial waste water management with customers and additional stakeholders from industry and public administration
• Research and development event fostering dialogue between young scientific talent and experienced researchers from academia and industry