THE RISKY CITY: INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS

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2 THE RISKY CITY: INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS

3 INDEX THE CHALLENGE CONTEXT CITIES CREATIVITY DEVELOPING THE RISKY CITY PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 CONCLUSION

4 THE CHALLENGE The potential of the creative economy and the ability of creative crossovers to foster innovation was the topic of the 6th Culture Ministers Meeting of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Rotterdam in October These industries are demonstrating the ability to employ culture and creativity to provide insights into and solutions for the pressing social and economic challenges of our times. When properly nurtured, the creative industries can enable job growth and wealth creation, and support social The creative industries are among the most rapidly growing parts of the world economy. inclusion, cultural diversity and environmental sustainability. Talent can be employed and used not just within the creative industries, but across sectors to share knowledge and develop breakthrough innovations. So what would a city need to be the most creative, inclusive and innovative city in the world? This city - creative, inclusive and innovative - is one with the right conditions where individuals, companies, education and government, can take risks and try new ideas: the Risky City. 4 THE RISKY CITY: INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS

5 CONTEXT Nine experts from across Europe and Asia came together to tackle this question in a workshop programmed and organised by Leo van Loon in cooperation with the European Creative Business Network (ECBN) and Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam. These experts brought together the perspectives and experience of some of the leading cultural centres within the ASEM member states, including Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Estonia, Slovakia, Hong Kong, France, Netherlands and the UK. After a day of exchanging ideas, experiences and examples of best practice, the experts agreed that in order for a city to be creative and inclusive, there needs to be an end to isolated thinking toward the creative industries and for creative professionals to be better integrated across other sectors. Members offered each other new perspectives and together tackled the big issues involved, from economic policy to community, education, and market demand. Their vision was then presented at the ASEM Ministerial Meeting. This workshop, Cities: Entrepreneurship and Creative Crossovers, was one of three held during the 6th ASEM Culture Ministers Meeting on 20th October 2014, under the theme Creative Industries for Society: Talent, Technology and Trade. OKTOBER

6 CITIES CREATIVITY Over half of the world s population lives in cities. Culture and creativity are now seen as crucial for cities in developing creative clusters and new businesses, and so creating new jobs and becoming happy and thriving communities. Creativity is now widely viewed as a crucial component of successful economies and societies. With the rise of the creative and cultural industries, the difference they can make to the way people live and work is increasingly being recognised. This shift of emphasis includes The workshop aimed to understand and assess the concept of (re) developing creative cities, using examples of best practice from ASEM member-states and bringing together strategies from both Asia and Europe. By taking an integrative approach based on cross-disciplinary thinking, the group considered the factors that make them a success, the barriers they face and the role of governments and the rest of society in making change happen. In other words, how can we create and sustain the Risky City? a renewed focus on creative crossovers: the way in which the creative industries can help catalyse innovation in other sectors, whether through the products and services they provide, or as a means of originating and spreading new ideas, knowledge and ways of working. For example, design and other creative services such as ad vertising are firmly integrated into the operations of almost all businesses from the development of new products through to how they are marketed and sold. Cities are also at the forefront of this rise, as they are crucial in the development of creative clusters, that make cities punch above their weight and which are uniquely connected internationally. 6 THE RISKY CITY: INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS

7 Innovation is the outcome. Creativity is the process - Tay Tong (Director at Arts Network Asia and Managing Director of TheatreWorks, Singapore) Creativity is now a global issue, as both Asian and European governments try to stimulate their creative industries and develop the creativity of their citizens. OKTOBER

8 In our city, from a very early age, children are challenged and taught to take risks. They learn to risk failure in all aspects of life. To us, this is called entrepreneurship. Leo van Loon (Managing Director of Buzinezzclub and European Creative Business Network) 8 THE RISKY CITY: INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS

9 DEVELOPING THE RISKY CITY A city that is creative, inclusive and innovative is a Risky City. The discussion was structured around the building blocks of the Risky City: the principles and beliefs that underpin its development, and the three phases of support it would need to be successful. The first phase of support the seed phase - identifies and nurtures potential; the second phase of support grows that potential; and the third phase of support harnesses and capitalises on this creativity. OKTOBER

10 Principles and beliefs: building the Risky City PHASE 1. These principles and beliefs are the foundation of the Risky City. They are the ground rules, developed by our experts to guide how a city can function effectively, inclusively and sustainably. They include: Identify and nurture potential With the foundations of the city built, the group outlined the activities needed for the first phase of growth, the seed phase, in order to identify and nurture potential. They include: Everyone has the right to happiness: from an inclusive, accepting society that allows individuals to make the most of their talent and ambition. Promote interdisciplinary learning: more attention needs to be paid to what and how we learn. In particular, risk and failure need to be both encouraged and supported, especially A commitment to environmental sustainability: must be central to the development of the city, to ensure its long-term success. at a young age in order for children to be more independent, experimental and confident with their ideas. Friction can breed creativity: the Risky City acknowledges that tension and stress can be harnessed to transform and innovate. Encourage and support diversity: recognising that diversity - people from all backgrounds breeds creativity. Everyone has access to creative opportunities: inclusivity is at the heart of the city to encourage participation and exchange of knowledge and skills. Work to unlock creativity: with schemes and events to find creative talent and provide cross-border mentorship opportunities for them between existing powers and start-ups. The government respects creativity s impact: The government must acknowledge the cultural and creative impact of its citizens and industries and show they are valued. Create market demand for new talent: through schemes to buy local design and creative services. 10 THE RISKY CITY: INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS

11 2. Grow the potential The second phase of activities helps to identify and nurture creative potential, to help it grow. For this to happen, the Risky City should: Create new links to enable crossovers: with the links identified, focus on the barriers to growth that exist for small businesses and start-ups. These include: improving access to Strengthen creative hubs and incubators: bring together talent and stimulate their growth potential through programmes and physical spaces, provided by hubs and incubators. The impact of these locations could be increased by creating a strong network for the exchange of skills and knowledge. finance, refreshing intellectual property rights (IP), promoting export markets and building skill and knowledge exchange across industries. If crossovers could be enabled, for example with funded support, other industries could harness the potential of creative problem solving and so foster growth. Fight to remove red tape: removing red tape would allow a strong start-up culture with little bureaucracy and fewer barriers to innovation. Identify the missing links in creative growth: that are stopping businesses from accessing finance, developing cross-sector relationships and supply chains. This will help to create an inclusive, creative ecosystem. OKTOBER

12 3. Harness and capitalise The third phase explored how to harness and capitalise on this creative potential in order to support sustainable social and economic growth. For this, the Risky City needs: Use universities and incubators as magnets: use their networks to attract talent, investment and create start-up and employment opportunities. Universities should think more about what happens to students outside of their Show political leadership: agree a focus a specialisation that brings skills and expertise to a city, supports economic development while degrees they should invest in a student s career and entrepreneurship competencies, not just their education. enabling social change. Develop internationalisation strategies: including export opportunities and trade missions, and building platforms that can help young creatives to learn from international successes and in international markets. Funding the Risky City New and innovative ways to fund culture and creativity should be creative themselves, such as allowing citizens to make voluntary tax payments for programmes they want to support. Such creative strategies would empower individuals and encourage people to have a stake in their city. 12 THE RISKY CITY: INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS

13 CONCLUSION The building blocks of the Risky City. These actions provide the foundations and materials for a creative, inclusive and innovative city. But these are just the first steps. Every expert emphasised the need for new ways to end the isolation of the creative industries, and so make the full economy creative. The conversation was ignited by the phrase crossovers, but the discussion preferred the term cross-fertilisation used to exemplify how industries across the creative, political and economic spectrum and communities can work together to create an entrepreneurial and creative city, for the benefit of everyone. OKTOBER

14 APPENDIX Appendix 1: About the experts: Leo van Loon (programmer & organiser) PopVox, Buzinezzclub and ECBN, Netherlands Rachel Chan Innofoco, Hong Kong Michal Hladky Kosice 2013, Slovakia Boris Meggiorin - Quartier de la Création / Art & business cluster of Nantes, France Mehjabeen Price Creative England, UK Rafa de Ramon Utopicus and ZINC, Spain Ragnar Siil Creativity Lab, Estonia Tay Tong - Arts Network Asia and TheatreWorks, Singapore Martin Venzky-Stalling Creative Chiang Mai, Thailand Appendix 2: About the Asia-Europe Culture Ministers Meeting (ASEM) The Netherlands hosted the 6th Asia-Europe Culture Ministers Meeting (ASEM) from October 2014 in Rotterdam. The topic was Creative Industries for Society: Talent, Technology and Trade. The ASEM Culture Ministers used this 6th meeting to exchange experiences and discuss the benefits and challenges of the creative industries. The meeting was attended by delegates from 43 ASEM Partners and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). Find out more about the 6th ASEM event at Find out more about ASEF at 14 THE RISKY CITY: INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS

15 Appendix 3: About ECBN ECBN is a network of cultural and creative industries development agencies. ECBN represents our 19 board members and over 220 creative centres in 23 EU-countries. Its main aim is to help creative entrepreneurs to internationalise to do business and collaborate internationally. ECBN were founded in 2011 and are a non-profit Foundation, based in the Netherlands. Appendix 4: About Het Nieuwe Instituut Het Nieuwe Instituut organises exhibitions, lectures and fellowships, carries out research and development projects, and publishes reports on the outcomes of its projects. Het Nieuwe Instituut arose on 1 January 2013 out of a merger of the Netherlands Architecture Institute; Premsela, the Netherlands Institute for Design and Fashion; and Virtueel Platform, the e-culture knowledge institute. Find out more about Het Nieuwe Instituut at OKTOBER

16 THE RISKY CITY INNOVATION IS THE OUTCOME. CREATIVITY IS THE PROCESS - REPORT OKTOBER 2014