Lego, ducks and music were the main subjects of the Northern Future Forum which concluded today.
At a press conference at Grand Hotel, Reykjavík, prime ministers and, in some cases, their representatives, spoke of lessons they had learned during the forum which, in addition to them, was attended by specialists and officials from the participating countries.
Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson described how playing with Lego this morning had taught the leaders a lesson in innovation: All were given six pieces of Lego with which they were to build a duck. As they discovered, that could be done in many ways―915 million, to be exact.
This was proof that there are many different ways to solve a problem, Sigmundur concluded. Britain’s PM David Cameron readily admitted his duck and Sigmundur’s had looked more like a dog. Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen happily announced the highlight of the meeting had been “beating David in Lego.” Cameron did not seem offended by that remark.
Sigmundur said one of the main lessons he had learned during the meeting this morning was that grownups, including politicians, need to play more. All participants of the conference did indeed seem to have benefited greatly from the Lego game: their sense of humor was better than ever.
The leaders all admired models available to give them a glimpse into the future, whereby, for example, economic and city planning experiments can be made with simulation without causing the population of their country a major disaster. Finnish PM Juha Sipiläs seemed especially happy to know of such technology.
Photo: Geir Ólafsson/Iceland Review.
Sigmundur told the audience he had discovered this morning that garbage is a fascinating subject. Nations could reorganize their waste disposal and in the process save both money and the environment.
He spoke of how the leaders had debated whether Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones should be labeled as a disciplined person or a slacker. The Forum unanimously concluded the man deserved to be called disciplined, although he has made an effort of appearing like a slacker.
Finnish PM Sipiläs spoke on light notes. He had noticed promising musical talent within the group and suggested forming a band by the time the it meets next―a year from now in Norway. Estonian PM Taavi Rõivas seemed excited about the suggestion.
Cameron said what he would take away from the meeting was the Lego duck. He seemed to think that would please his children, but didn’t explain how that would benefit the British people.
Sigmundur listed six lessons he had learned from attending the forum. The first five were too long to jot down, but the last one was this: “Creativity is sexy.”
