Report ECIA Workshop: Creative Industries Policies, a knowledge exchange On the 3 rd of October the Amsterdam Economic Board organized a workshop for European policymakers within the creative industries. Representatives from 11 different European cities and regions participated in this workshop. Eight representatives gave a presentation about the creative industries policies in their region, an analysis of the development of the policy during the past years, and foreseen challenges for future policy development. This report gives a short overview of the main points of this workshop. Differences in definition and organization In most regions a variety of sectors are included in the creative industries, such as audio- visual, performing arts, visual arts, books, music and digital, fashion, advertising, design and architecture. The way this is organized differs among regions and cities. Instance, in the UK and Amsterdam there are different departments for arts, which are separated from creative industries. Creative England is only focuses itself on film, TV, games and digital media and Catalonia emphasizes the more cultural sectors of creative industries, like Performing Arts and Books. These differences need to be taken into consideration and make it hard to compare numbers and figures about creative industries which were presented. On the other hand, lots of similarities can also be found when we look at the developments in policymaking in these different cities and regions. 1
Motives regarding policy- making for creative industries Several European cities and regions state that at first policy- making was dominated by cultural motives. Over the years this changed towards more economical motives. For example in Catalonia, originally the support for the creative industries was culturally motivated: to promote the language of the region. Due to the financial crisis the consumption in creative industries decreased which resulted in a change of policy focus. The main goal nowadays is to stimulate employment in the creative industries, and reach more audience. As well as in Catalonia the city of Barcelona also focused on the production of culture, with the main goal to increase the opportunity for everybody to enjoy culture. The memory of the historic city had been emphasized in policy making for different creative and cultural sectors. Since 2011, stimulating creativity and innovation is getting more important. There is a new department that focusses mainly on the promotion of creativity and innovation within emerging sectors. Moreover Barcelona is trying to involve citizens as a part of the quadruple- helix. In Nantes, Amsterdam and Milan urban motives play an important role in policy development for the creative industries. In Amsterdam working space is scarce and therefore expensive. In the 90 s a number of creatives squatted tenantless buildings due to a lack of income to provide for a working space within the city of Amsterdam. Nowadays Amsterdam subsidises the investments that are needed to make empty buildings in the city centre suitable and affordable for arts- factories. This way, the creative industries bring economic benefits to the city and vitalise the city. In Amsterdam, policy making was driven by urban motives in the beginning, changed over time to cultural motives and then became more economical. 2
In Nantes there is a similar process to be seen. The urban development around the Loire island, a former harbour area, stimulated the growth of creative industries. La Halle, a huge industrial building, was taken over by the creative industries. This was not planned, but more of an invasion of the creatives. La Halle was a place where informal and formal, economic and non- economic relationships developed. This was an incentive for the neighbourhood. In Nantes, culture is used to promote social cohesion and is seen as an important part of public space. In the Lombardy region urban motives have played a role in policy- making for the creative industries as well. The most important goals for the municipal policies of Milan are Building an ecosystem, urban development of deprived areas and buildings, facilitating social inclusion. Instance big fashion and design events take place in different neighbourhoods of the city, thus also stimulating the underdeveloped neighbourhoods. Tampere emphasizes the shift in policy- making from cluster development programs, to a focus on cross- sectoral innovation. The cluster based development was the chosen tool in the early 90 s. Firms identified themselves well in given clusters and the universities as well as research organizations were also divided in a way that supported cluster based regional development. In 2010 some changes were made. There was a focus on open innovation and service platforms, such as facilitating the sharing economy. Since 2014, a new national program was introduced in which Tampere takes part in two themes, namely Smart City and Renewing Industries in which cross- sectoral innovation is stimulated. At first, Berlins creative industries was about connecting technology, which later shifted to cluster- management activities. The current state of mind is that cross- overs between creative industries and digitalization might be the only way for creative industries to survive in the coming years. Politicians in general don t have a primary focus on creative industries. One of the ways to keep politicians interested and have them allocating budget for the creative industries is to focus on digitalization and to adopt a smart city approach. In general stimulating cross- overs, connecting technology and digitalization seems to be one of the main focuses within today s creative industries polities in the different cities and regions. Role of public and private sector 3
Most cities and regions are establishing a new balance between the public and private sector, namely when it comes to finance. From automatic support, to smart finance, is how Catalonia states it. In Catalonia repayable contributions are growing and businesses can get participative loans. In particular, new business models are being supported, instead of getting a granted support. In the city of Amsterdam the motto is Artists are becoming entrepreneurs and the local government facilitates, but does not finance. Creative England points out that a good digital infrastructure is important to move digital content without having hasty regulations that stifle creative business. Intellectual property can be an issue as well. Citizens need to be educated about copyright and the use of legal content services, and a framework for intellectual property licensing and enforcement needs to be created. Challenges for the future Challenges that are pointed out are quite the same throughout the different presentations. In many cities and regions access to finance, increase promotion and production, promote experimentation and stimulate cross- overs with different (digital) sectors are important challenges. Digitalization and ICT are important enablers for emerging sectors. A key question that is being raised is: Will politicians still have interest in the creative industries in the near future?. At the same time a lot has already been done, policy and its new instruments are successful. Creative industries improve the city s or region s atmosphere and attract new talent. Different disciplines, among others creative industries, can help to solve societal problems. 4
5