Creative Growth

Sep 29, 2019 | Tourism & Culture

Cultural and Creative Industries are an important priority for the STRING-corridor. New technologies and increased globalization sees societies moving rapidly from traditional manufacturing towards services and innovation. STRING wants to jump aboard that train!

Unlocking the potential of Cultural and Creative Industries in the STRING-corridor

Arts, creative experiences and imaginative new ways of interacting define a high standard of society and an attractive quality of life. This attractive quality of life defines the three countries in the STRING-corridor, and according to Head of Culture at Region Skåne, Gitte Wille, they will become increasingly important resources in the future.

– Cultural and Creative Industries, often called CCI, are evolving very rapidly, due to increased advances in digital technologies, she explains.

– The European Commission has realized this potential contribution to the economy and are dedicated to supporting these industries – for example trough the Creative Europe Programme.

The EU do need support creative businesses, the head of Culture at Region Skånes explains:

– CCIs are very often small-scale start-ups and are most likely driven by enthusiasts. Now we need to kickstart the supporting structures at a regional – and cross-regional level, she says.

In fact, Region Skåne has set up facilities for helping CCIs apply for calls from the Creative Europe Programme with an upcoming deadline in October this year.

Cultural participation and creative skills are both traits that are important in societies that wish to heighten their capacity for innovation, so the need for support and knowledge exchange has to be taken seriously, something Region Skåne has acted on.

Networking benefits

Gitte Wille explains that Region Skåne is determined on supporting the 15.000 small enterprises working with CCI and ‘creative products’ in Skåne, for example film-, animation- and video production along with gaming businesses.

This is due to the acknowledgement that the rapid evolvement of new technologies and increased globalization means a shift away from traditional manufacturing industries and a movement towards services and innovation – knowledge, imagination and experiences will put butter on our bread in Northern Europe.

In a bid to kick-start Skånes creative businesses, Skåne took the lead for the STRING Cluture Network and looked across both the Öresund and Fehmarnbelt to Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg to find similar patterns of Cultural and Creative Industries. An initiative in line with the priorities of Region Skåne while holding the chairmanship of STRING during 2016.

The network has worked on identifying common areas of cooperation within the area of culture to bring together cultural operators across the national borders. Ms. Wille gives an example of an already functioning – and very successful – network joining CCIs from Malmø and Hamburg called 040×040. The name 040 is derived from the – coincidental – fact that both Malmö and Hamburg have 040 as their telephobne code. The network holds community-driven gatherings for creatives and innovators from Hamburg and Malmö. www.040×040.com

Check out a video by 040×040

 

Culture Network at the Fehmarnbelt Days

The Network will host several activities during the Fehmarnbelt Days in Hamburg with a focus on cross-border collaboration and EU-project initiatives within the Fehmarnbelt region in order to prepare for the coming infrastructure that will allow us to travel between Skåne and Hamburg within 2½ hours – connecting the whole corridor closer together.

Speaker’s at the Network’s Roundtable discussion are: Dr. Carsten Brosda, State Secretary for Culture, Media and Digital Technologies, Hamburg, Ms. Anke Spoorendonk, Minister for Justice, Culture and European Affairs, Schleswig-Holstein and Ms. Maria Ward, Chairman of the Cultural Committee, Region Skåne.

The Network will also host a Cultural Conference on Creative Industries. Here, the key note speaker is Mr. Rasmus Tscherning, Head of European Creative Alliance Policy Learning Platform, and Director of Creative Business Cup, speaking of the value creation of CCIs.

Key note speaker in the general program is Mr. Dieter Gorny, managing director of European Centre for creative Economy and Special Advisor for Creative and Digital Economy of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Berlin.

 

FACTS: STRING Cultural Network

The formation of the STRING Cultural Network was initiated and supported by the Chairmanship of Region Skåne, who has culture as a prioritised area. The Cultural Network aims to increase cross-border cultural co-operation within the arts and technology, creative industries, film and video. It has met several times during the year to agree upon a common ambition and plan for future activities and cooperation.

The Network is focusing on:

  • Arts and Technology
  • Creative Industries
  • Film and Video

 

Members of the Cultural Network are civil servants from the regional members of String (and they involve actors on a concrete activity level).

 

Read more on the European Commission’s Policy on Cultural and Creative Industries HERE

 

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