20 September 2012, Groningen, The Netherlands

On 20 September 2012, the Municipality of Groningen organized the final conference of the European project entitled Creative City Challenge (CCC).

With our partners from the North Sea region – Hamburg, Bremen, Oldenburg, Kortrijk, Høje-Taastrup, Göteborg, Dundee, Newcastle and Delft – much work has been carried out in developing and exchanging knowledge and experience in the field of creative knowledge clusters, hotspots, etc.

The conference was held in the rising creative urban area of Groningen: the Ebbingekwartier (Ebbinge Quarter). There, the grounds of the former Gas Factory have been given a temporary layout and access routes. The 'Open Lab Ebbinge', which is a component of this creative zone, functions as a new breeding ground for the creative economy and forms a practical laboratory for new types of interim architecture, urban planning and new environments for creative entrepreneurship and the mingling of ideas. A living lab for open innovation.

In 2003, with the launch of gamecity: Hamburg, the Hanseatic City of Hamburg became the first German state to provide targeted support towards developing the local games industry. The initiative assists the 150 Hamburg-based companies in the games sector with a comprehensive range of services, organising and/or facilitating industry gatherings, joint trade show appearances in Germany and abroad, recruiting tours, affordable office spaces, start-up consultations, and qualification programmes.

18 - 19 June 2012, Newcastle, UK

Newcastle University would like to invite you to a Sustaining Creative Economies Conference which is part of ongoing discussions and partnership development with Beijing International Studies University (BISU) around establishing an international Forum with a focus on the creative and cultural industries.

The reason for hosting this conference is to bring together academics, practitioners in and administrators of the creative and cultural industries, government officials and private sector representatives that have an interest in these industries and social renewal.

14 June 2012, Hamburg, Germany
In  August  2009,  a  number  of vacant historical buildings located in  the  ”Gängeviertel”,  an  area  of approx. 8000m² in the city centre of  Hamburg,  were  squatted  by 200  creatives  in  order  to  avoid their  demolition.  An  initiative  was founded  which  together  with  the involved  departments  of  the  city successfully developed a concept for  the  area  which  combines spaces for housing, work and for the public.

13 June 2012, Hamburg, Germany

The design pressure cooker is a method in which for a day, a traditional entrepreneur works together with a designer on an issue regarding a product or a material design.
At  the  first  design  pressure  cooker  in  Hamburg  designers and entrepreneurs both from Groningen and Hamburg meet and present the results of their work-shops afterwards publicly.

24 May 2012, Dundee College, UK

The "Social Cities" conference will explore the potential of Social Enterprise, Social Media and Crowd Funding – three key areas for developing growth in the creative industries and communities.

Social enterprises take many and varied forms, but they share the common key characteristic of a commitment to strengthening the local community through social aims and provision of local services. Alongside this growth in social responsibility, social media offers important strategic networking and business tools that allow SMEs to compete with more established organisations on a far more equal footing and develop competitive advantages to thrive in these new environments.

Crowd funding is already a proven success in the creative industries, particular the music industry. At its simplest, it involves the funding of creative projects by a number of small donors, usually via the internet.

16 May 2012, Bremen, Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus Bremen, Germany

In the course of the European Week and the project Creative City Challenge, WFB Bremen Economic Development Corp. has invited players from the Creative Industries to Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus. On Wednesday, 16th of May, 18 h, we will welcome our guests from Groningen, Oldenburg and Bremen.

Friday, 11 May 2012

Creativity  and  innovation  are central to the social and economic development of Europe. The creative  sector,  which  encompasses the music industry, films, the  arts,  television/radio,  software and games among others, is responsible for over 1 million jobs across the EU and is vital to  the  cultural  life  of  European cities.  The  innovation  sector, another  pillar  of  the  European economy, has greatly supported the  economic  growth  of  European countries by creating new products,  developing  new  approaches or methods, which were only   dreams   yesterday   (e.g. mobile  phones,  wireless  connections  or  wind  energy)  but which are reality today.

11 May 2012, Bremen, Germany

On the European Creativity and Innovation Day 2012 Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus welcomes to the exhibition "Viva la Kommunikation", which opens on the 11th of May. Initiated and organised by the Kommunikationsverband Nordwest, the exhibitions presents multifold aspects of communication in society and economics. More than 100 agencies, film producer, photographers, illustrators and other communication experts are going to show their work in various way. The entrance on this day is for free.

11 May 2012, Groningen, The Netherlands

Hourly tours will be offered in the Open Lab Ebbinge on 11 May between 10-16 hrs (last tour starts 15.30).

The Open Lab Ebbinge is an inspiring pilot for temporary use of space, and a lighthouse project for the development of the Ebbingekwartier as a creative zone/hub, one of the ambitions in CCC.

The event in frame of the European Creatvity and Innovation Day 2012 is embedded in the European projects showday http://www.europaomdehoek.nl