CREATIVE CITIES

1585

Creative Cities

 

Lead partner institution: City of Leipzig (DE)
Program and Call for Proposals: Central Europe – Call for proposals 2009
Short description
“Creative Cities” (candidate in Measure 4.3 – Capitalising cultural resources for more attractive cities and regions) starts from the consideration that the promotion of creativity and innovation is a fundamental driver for local economic and urban development.
The project is aimed at creative industries defined by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in the UK, 2001 as: “based on individual creativity, skills and talent. They are able to produce wealth through the development and exploitation of intellectual property.
Objective
The project aims to promote the economic capitalisation of the creative potential of the partner cities. The project will improve the structural conditions in which the creative industry operates in order to increase the supply of new jobs and stimulate urban development. Urban areas in need of renewal or with a high vacancy rate (including run-down areas) can be re-qualified and used by creative operators even for non-commercial purposes.  To this end, initiatives will be encouraged which will provide a stimulus for the creative industry sector.
More specifically, the project aims to:
– improve the structural conditions and to favour the start-up of the districts of creative industry;
– promote entrepreneurial skills and competitiveness within the creative industry, through the strengthening of investment opportunities and the exchange of know-how;
– increase the visibility of the creative industry through an international network that strengthens and encourages marketing and networking;
– exploit the potential of degraded urban areas, which could become an object of requalification and development thanks to the establishment of the creative industry.
Actions
The project consists of 4 main actions:
1) Analysis and comparison of creative industries in the partner cities (using for example the reports on the creative industry made by the cities). Starting from this basis, the exchange of experiences will continue for the whole duration of the project and will be supported from a scientific point of view, in order to transfer knowledge to new impulses of development and the preparation of implementation plans.
2) Promotion of initiatives. Measures of economic support to local initiatives and promotion of entrepreneurship of companies in the sector
3) Support to the most important creative industry;
4) Use of the creative industry as a driver of urban development through the preparation and implementation of investments that retrain and improve the places where creative industry operators operate.
Beneficiaries
Local authorities and professionals in the cultural field, local authorities.
Partnership 
City of Leipzig (Germany), Aufbauwerk Region of Leipzig Srl (Germany), Entrepreneurial Foundation of Gdansk (Poland), Institute for Economic Research (Slovenia), Municipality of Genoa – Culture and Innovation Area (Italy), Regional Development Agency of the Urban Region of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Municipality of Gdansk (Poland), Job Center Srl of Genoa (Italy), City of Pecs (Hungary), Association of the Competence Centre for Cultural Innovation (Hungary) and German Association for Housing and Urban and Spatial Development (Germany).
Duration
The project had a duration of 36 months (October 2009 – September 2012)
Website
http://www.creativecitiesproject.eu
Total Budget
The project has a total cost of 2.701.000 Euro
Contribution
2.175.000 Euro (ERDF contribution)