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Pekka Himanen
Pekka
Himanen is one of the internationally best-known researchers of the information
age, whose works on the subject have been published in 20 languages.
After obtaining his PhD in Philosophy at
the age of 20 from the University of Helsinki in 1994, Himanen moved to carry
out research first in England and then in California (Stanford University
and the University of California, Berkeley). The best-known publication of
this research is the book The Hacker Ethic (Random House 2001). Himanen has
also coauthored with Prof. Manuel Castells the influential book The Information
Society and the Welfare State (Oxford University Press 2002), which has been
discussed worldwide in the leading academic and political circles. Himanen
is a popular lecturer around the world.
As a sign of his impact, Himanen's work has been recognized with several awards,
such as the World Economic Forum's respected Global Leader for Tomorrow Award
in 2003. Dr. Himanen has also had an important role in the actual making of
the information society policy. Recently, he has advised the International
Labor Organization's High Level Commission on Globalization on the building
of a socially sustainable global information society. In Finland, Dr. Himanen
has just finished the preparation of a new information society strategy for
the Finnish Parliament's Committee for the Future.
Himanen's untraditional work has always also had a broader cultural impact. This includes the media: Himanen is frequently interviewed by the media around the world, from TV programs to newspapers. He has also authored numerous articles, e.g. to Time Magazine, and hosted his own TV series called The Net Academy (the Finnish TV1). Himanen's cultural figure has even inspired a provocative theater play, Cherished Disappointments in Love, that has been performed in Finland and in London (Soho Theatre). This satirical play of Jouko Turkka is a story of an older female newspaper editor falling in love with the young philosopher "Himanen"!
Currently, Himanen divides his time between being the Director of the Berkeley Center for Information Society and working at the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology in Finland. Currently, Manuel Castells and Himanen are founding a research centre of information technology and information society.
Books
- HimEros (1996)
- ''Filosofian oikeudenk ynti (The trial of philosophy, 1998)
- The Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age (foreword by Linus Torvalds, afterword by Manuel Castells, 2001)
- Manuel Castells and Pekka Himanen. The Information Society and the Welfare State: The Finnish Model'' (2002)
Awards
- 1994 Finnish State Award for Popular Science (for the talk series Joulukalenteri (Christmas Calendar))
- 1998
Europe
an multimedia award Europrix for the CD Sokrates (Socrates)
Speech
At the Creative Capital conference, Pekka Himanen wil speak about "The Culture of Creativity".
Topics include:
- the challenge of the innovation/creativity-based economy
- what characterizes the succesful loci of creative economy in different parts of the world
- what kind of a culture entices creativity
