Participants will attend lectures by leading thinkers in fields related to architecture, design, branding, urbanism and more. They will also participate in debates and events designed to augment the impact of the theme and the experiences of the event. Wastelands will also connect to the community; throughout the assembly specially arranged events will provide public access and interaction with the most creative and exciting event of its kind and scale in the entire world, this year happening in the current focal point of design, the World Design Capital 2012 in Helsinki.
Finnish architect Tuomas Toivonen will kick off the EASA with an "open mic" performance. He is a founding member of Finnish electronic/hip–hop/dub/krautrock pioneer group Giant Robot, and plays 303 in Jori Hulkkonen's Acid Symphony Orchestra. Whether constructing analog monoliths in a club setting or giving musical lectures in art galleries, his musical work investigates the structural, suggestive and communicational potential of music, voice and text. The lyrics are compact observations and read like spoken diagrams, narrative perspectives, or musical manifestos. Tuomas performs as solo artist with a live analog electronic or electro–acoustic setups in gallery, lecture, concert and club contexts.