Speech Michael SOENDERMANN at the 2014 Berlin CCI, 23 October 2014 at Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) Greetings Dear State Secretary, Dear Ms WALKER, Deputy President of the International Association of Cultural and Creative Industries (IACCI), Dear Mr XIANG, President of the International Association of Cultural & Creative Industries (IACCI), Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues I cordially welcome you to the first Berlin Research Symposium on Culture and Creative Industries, also on behalf of our co-organisers and cooperation partners: The International Association of Cultural & Creative Industries (IACCI) The u-institute Bremen The Federal Government s Centre of Excellence for the Cultural and Creative Industries The Initiative Culture and Creative Industries of the Federal Government. I am Michael Soendermann of the Office for Culture Industries Research in Cologne, and I am the scientific organiser of this symposium. State Secretary, I would like to thank you very much for opening this Symposium and also for inviting us into your house, enabling us to hold our meeting in such pleasant surroundings. Yesterday I had great pleasure in learning that Mr CHEN Ping, counsellor at the cultural department of the Embassy of China, was able to take part in our symposium on very short notice. I am honoured to welcome Mr CHEN Ping. I am glad that you all had a safe journey coming here and I am especially happy that all our experts and guests from abroad and overseas arrived safely. I would now like to go into content-related questions and provide some information on The reason for this research symposium Office for Culture Industries Research, Cologne/Berlin. email: <soendermann@kulturwirtschaft.de> http://www.kulturwirtschaft.de 1
The different thematic blocks and international experts and The vision that goes beyond this first research symposium. First of all, the reason for this research symposium Culture and creative industries are under intensive discussion in the scientific community of experts all over the world. I will just mention a few of the international organisations involved here: UNESCO in Paris and its Creative Economy Report 2013 WIPO, which has been leading in discussions world wide for many years The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), which has laid the foundation for global data on the cultural sector The International Association of Cultural & Creative Industries (IACCI), my cooperation partner in preparing this symposium (the concept of this symposium was developed in close cooperation with the two presidents of the association, Ms WALKER and Mr XIANG). So, the idea of such symposium is of great relevance. The topics we selected show that we want to discuss a comprehensive range of ideas: 1. Creativity in the 21st century what does it mean? 2. Do we need more research on the cultural and creative sector? 3. Innovation as a key term in the culture and creative industries more than a Chimera? These were the topics we used to lure the most important institutions and researchers to Berlin, and I may say we succeeded in gaining some of the leading experts for our symposium. Let me introduce to you the topics and experts of today s meeting. Topic 1: Creativity in the 21st Century Francoise BENHAMOU is an internationally renowned researcher in cultural economics. As a French researcher she has the double talent of jointly looking at culture industries and not-for-profit culture. Let me quote an example that shows the French perspective of Ms Benhamou: Creativity is the raw material of many activities. Many of these activities involve the creation of cultural and culture industries jobs. However, the labour market of the Office for Culture Industries Research, Cologne/Berlin. email: <soendermann@kulturwirtschaft.de> http://www.kulturwirtschaft.de 2
culture and creative sector is not just seen positively. Benhamou therefore looks at the culture and creative sector within a greater eco system. Dimiter GANTCHEV is the face of WIPO, the world organisation for intellectual property. As the director of the cultural and creative sector he deals with all continents and strives for the cause of the culture industries. His warning: If economic growth and jobs are overemphasised in the culture industries debate, this will lead to neglecting the infrastructure within which culture and creative industries can thrive. Anthony KRAUSE comes directly from the heart of UNESCO in Paris, from the very department that has authored the creative Economy Report 2013. According to UNESCO, creativity is no longer a negligible resource mainly connected to wellbeing, but is supporting and fostering economic growth and job creation. In UNESCO, the post 2015 UN agenda for sustainable development will become a centre of discussion. This agenda will greatly determine the global development of culture and creative industries. Justin O CONNOR (Australia) thinks that it is wrong to reduce culture to a factor of economic growth and labour market. He criticises that creativity is misued to reduce culture to its economic dimension only. O Connor is one of the fiercest critics of the concept of creative economy. However, his critique targets exactly what we call the double meaning of culture: culture as an economic commodity and culture as an asset. Let s turn to topic no. 2: Do we need more empirical research on the cultural and creative sector? Hasan BAKHSHI (UK) will present today a totally new tool to measure the creative industries. In doing so, he makes a strong plea for creativity. Without creativity culture would not be noticed at all when economic questions are discussed. Therefore it would be highly dangerous not to give high priority to creativity. José PESSOA (UNESCO Institute for Statistics) is the most important cultural statistician worldwide. He works at the UIS Institute for Statistics and develops a Office for Culture Industries Research, Cologne/Berlin. email: <soendermann@kulturwirtschaft.de> http://www.kulturwirtschaft.de 3
worldwide survey on Cultural Employment Statistics. What he tells us today will be of global impact. Dorota WEZIAK-BIALOWOLSKA (JRC) works on a new cultural index at the Joint Research Centre of the EU Commission. We can t wait to hear about her results. Among the open topics Charles KNEVITT, a journalist from the UK, will present a contribution that we may look forward to. ZHANG Jian-Gang is a renowned researcher from China, professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the highest academic research organization in the fields of philosophy and social sciences in China. Then we will hear FAN Ying, a young researcher from Beijing. Hristina MIKIC will report on the culture and creative industries in south-east Europe, of which some believe that it will develop enormously in the years to come. And this takes me to the topic: Innovation Innovation has become the key term par excellence. However, it is difficult to say something really tangible in the context of culture and creative industries. I have therefore invited Eusebi NOMEN, the leading expert who has dealt extensively with the OSLO Manual and the FRASCATI Manual. His research may very well bring fundamental changes into the innovation discussion. My esteemed colleague Hardy Yong XIANG is head of the Institute of Culture Industries at the Peking University. It is the first of its kind and was founded already in 1999 in China. I am very happy to welcome Mr Tim RENNER, Berlin State Secretary for Culture. As many of you may know, due to his personal biography, he knows culture industries like nobody else in German cultural policy. We are very much looking forward to his presentation. May this suffice to introduce the topics and presenters of today. Their contributions will be commented by experts from the national level. Office for Culture Industries Research, Cologne/Berlin. email: <soendermann@kulturwirtschaft.de> http://www.kulturwirtschaft.de 4
Gesa BIRNKRAUT, professor for strategic management in non-profit organisation at the University of Osnabrueck, is our moderator and will guide us expertly through today s research symposium. I think you will agree when I say that the combined skills of the world wide community of researchers and experts are assembled here today. Therefore I hope that many participants will, besides listening to the presentations, be able to make new direct contacts. And I have the vision that we shall be able to go on with the 2015 second Berlin Symposium on Culture and Creative Industries next year and continue with the exchange that we start today. Let me close with a quote from a letter by Dimiter GANTCHEV which gave me courage to proceed with today s symposium: I think the idea of having a brainstorming symposium on some of the issues related to the cultural and creative industries sector is super pertinent. I have attended many attempts for such a comprehensive debate, but there are always very important elements and people missing. It looks like you are trying to collect the most important institutional players and I fully welcome this idea. The more open the debate the better. So, I am very interested to participate and honoured by your invitation. (Dimiter Gantchev, WIPO) Thank you very much, Mr Gantchev! I now request my esteemed colleague Patricia WALKER to take the microphone. She is the deputy president of the International Association of Cultural and Creative Industries, our cooperation partner for this research symposium. Thereafter, Gesa BIRNKRAUT will guide us professionally through the day. Thank you very much. Office for Culture Industries Research, Cologne/Berlin. email: <soendermann@kulturwirtschaft.de> http://www.kulturwirtschaft.de 5