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Programme

March 17 -|- March 18

The conference aims to design a new public agenda that connects culture, innovation and the public domain in the knowledge economy. To this goal, innovation experts, economists, social innovators, cultural entrepreneurs, urbanists and public policy makers are being brought together. Internationally renowned key note speakers like Charles Leadbeater, Charles Landry, Stephen Graham, Pekka Himanen, Joichi Ito and Geoff Mulgan will give their views on how to build crossovers between culture and economy. In afternoon sessions these crossovers will be further explored and translated into a public agenda. Therein, the following themes will be addressed:

Creative Crossovers
The time of industrial innovation models is over. No longer does innovation only take place within knowledge institutions or company laboratories. Innovation has become an open process of constantly making new combinations. New players like intermediary institutions, small companies and creative individuals enter the field. Separate domains become networked. Innovation is open, crossovers are crucial. What are the success criteria for such creative crossovers to take place? What are new models for innovation? What role does culture play in this process? And the public domain?

Creative Clusters
Design, film, entertainment, music, games: these creative industries are considered drivers of economic growth with great potential, both by adding economic value to products and services as through creating new jobs. Yet, to define the creative industries and their role in the economic process still seems to be difficult. How does the process of creative production differ from industrial production? Can we speak of creative industries or are creative clusters a better term? In what kind of environments will these creative clusters grow and flourish? These are all key questions for designing a public agenda.

Creative Cities
In the knowledge economy, cities are competing on the international level to provide the best climate for innovation and creativity. This becomes clear in the debate on the creative city, a concept that is vividly being discussed. What are successful strategies and what are necessary conditions? Because making a city creative is much more than having a vibrant cultural scene. The key question is: how to organise a local environment that harbours and breeds creativity?

Creative Commons
In virtual environments creativity also becomes an issue of growing importance. Digital technologies make unlimited sharing, editing and copying of creative work possible. That offers new opportunities, but control is also a much heard request. Without control no incentive to create. However, control could lead to regulation that kills creativity and innovation. Moreover, public goods like free information, public content and social software could be endangered by too strict protection laws. So, how do we organise a creative public domain in the digital era but protect the people who create? And what does this means for producers and consumers of creative work? And what role do schools, museums and public media have? Representatives from the Creative Commons movement in Europe will discuss these questions with each other and the conference participants.

The Creative Capital conference will be opened by Job Cohen (mayor of Amsterdam) and Judith van Kranendonk (Director General Culture & Media of Ministry of Education, Culture and Science).

Thursday MARCH 17

09:00 Registration
10:00 Opening by Job Cohen (mayor of Amsterdam)
10:15 Judith van Kranendonk (Director-General Culture and Media, Ministry of Education, Science and Culture)
10:30 "Swarms and Innovation" by: Charles Leadbeater (independent adviser on innovation, senior research associate Demos thinktank, London, UK)
11:00 "The Creative City and beyond" by: Charles Landry (authority on city futures and the use of culture in city revitalization, London, UK)
11:30 Q & A: Leadbeater & Landry. Moderator: Michiel Schwarz
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Breakout sessions (parallel):

Session 1 (Zuilenzaal): Open Innovation: the concept and how to realise it; with Gerjan van de Walle (Philips Research) and Charles Leadbeater. Moderator: Frans Nauta (Knowledgeland thinktank)

Session 2 (Teekenzaal): The role of artists and creative producers in the economy; with Bronac Ferran (Arts Council England), Paul Rutten (TNO/IN HOLLAND/EUR), Lucie Huiskens (Premsela). Moderator: Michiel Schwarz

Session 3 (Koepelzaal): Development of cultural areas vs. Cultural development of areas; with Liesbeth Jansen (Westergasfabriek Amsterdam), Andrew McIlroy (FutureCity) & Renée Hoogendoorn (ING Real Estate). Moderator: Marleen Stikker

Session 4 (Kremlin 13:00 - 16:30): Creative Commons (closed session). Moderator: Paul Keller (Waag Society)