Doyun LEE
Coordinator for UNESCO Programs of the Creative Cities Network and Arts Education, Division of Cultural Expressions and Creative Industries, Culture Sector, UNESCO
What makes the UNESCO Creative Cities Network different from other networks is that it is based on a way of perceiving cities. A city is an urban area of a size that holds meaning in the international context and within the context of the characteristics of the local regional culture, or of a size that can fully manifest the region’s potential. UNESCO built this network from a perception of cities as clusters that exhibit a diversity of creativity.
The Creative Cities Network is also an experiment in connecting with other existing networks, involving both public and private sectors to raise the general public’s appreciation for, and understanding of, creative communities. UNESCO envisions organizing sub-networks to increase our diversity. In this respect, the concept of “synergy-of-synergies”, meaning the rich diversity of cities, is very important, and is the essence of this network.
However, the Creative Cities Network is still at the experimental stage and faces many issues. More member cities would mean each would have to work to maintain awareness of participation in the network. And we would also need to preserve the balance among those cities. In the future, UNESCO expects to develop the network by continually improving the latent cultural power of local regions, while conserving diversity through cross-disciplinary cooperation.
Marcos AMADEO
Deputy General Director, General Direction of Creative Industries, General Direction of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Development, Government of the City of Buenos Aires
The Argentinean capital, Buenos Aires is famous for tango and soccer. The city has a long history of promoting design, and has made particularly serious efforts over the past 30 years. Buenos Aires was appointed to the Creative Cities Network with the goals of improving the quality of life for its citizens and further developing its presence in global society by promoting creative businesses based on design, in turn stimulating the manufacturing industry. In 2001 the government established the Metropolitan Design Center, which not only promotes university education and fosters industry, but also undertakes environmental initiatives, including the preservation of the rainforest.
The Metropolitan Design Center provides a range of support for creative industries in various fields, including anime, fashion, graphic design, music and film. In fashion, the Center works to foster young, local designers and encourages their participation in international events. Stressing the importance of including sustainability in design, educating about corporate responsibility and developing internationalism, the Center holds more than 100 events annually, including design months and design festivals. Another characteristic of the Metropolitan Design Center is that it uses design as a tool for regional development. For example, it invites design businesses to the underdeveloped southern region and also devotes energy to regional design projects. In Buenos Aires the sectors of industry, government and academia work together to form medium- and long-term plans and put them into practice.
Jöerg SUERMANN
CEO of DMY Berlin GmbH & Co. KG
In the German capital of Berlin coexist two kinds of design as a result of four decades of division between East and West. One is influenced by design in the U.S. and Western Europe. The other is influenced by Eastern Europe. Following reunification, the city has been reconstructed on the basis of creativity, using old factories and such as urban culture platforms, resulting in the establishment of a strong network of individuals active in design-related fields. In addition, partly due to Germany’s relatively low cost of living, Berlin has attracted a lot of talented people from around the world and has evolved into a hub for young people and artists where they can create freely.
Under the auspices of the city government, a variety of projects have been launched, including the Berlin Music Commission, DMY International Design Festival, Design Network CREATE BERLIN and Fashion Roundtable. Fully developed networks and platforms have also helped support the activities of individuals in the international market. The annual festival “Global Creative Platform”, involving the entire city, offers as many as 550 designers from 30 countries the opportunity to showcase their work at more than 50 sites in the city, including galleries, exhibition venues and clubs. In addition to this event, countless diverse creative projects have been undertaken around the city.
Marie-Josée LACROIX
Design Commissioner and Director of the Design Bureau, Department of Urban and Economic Planning, City of Montreal
Montreal is located in Canada’s Quebec province, and has more than 250 years of history. Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, as well as the birthplace of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil. The city is located on an island at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The range in temperature in the region, from -37 to +37 degrees Celsius, has considerably affected the city’s design vision. Furthermore, Montreal is the only French-speaking city on the American Continent. More than 50% of its citizens are bilingual, and one third of its population is made up of immigrants. These circumstances have also strongly affected design in the area.
In 1997 the Design Committee was established as part of the city government, making Montreal unique in North America. Today, the committee, which has been promoted to a bureau, plays an active role in developing Montreal as a Design City and promoting this role internationally through a variety of activities such as international competitions and specialist workshops. The city government aims to serve as a good client by launching events and projects that provide design-related sectors and individuals more opportunities for participation. The government also works to identify and nurture talent.
Takafumi INOUE
Director General of the Design City Promotion Project, Planning and Coordination Bureau, City of Kobe
Kobe’s urban sector is located between Mt. Rokko and Kobe Port. In the northern part of the city remains a fertile rural landscape. Kobe holds this natural environment in high regard as part and parcel of design. Since its port was forcibly opened to foreign trade in 1868, Kobe continued to promote international relations, leading to the construction of a cityscape that naturally reflected diverse cultures. However, on January 17th, 1995, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit the region; Kobe suffered catastrophic damage. For almost the entire decade and half that followed, the city poured all of its energy into recovery and reconstruction.
Kobe now promotes the building of “Kobe Design City” as a new creative city strategy.
Kobe expresses individuality in three areas: town, daily life, and monozukuri (making things/manufacturing). The city’s design projects pivot on these three features. Concerning “town”, Kobe’s government plans to draw up building specifications that restrict heights to the ridgelines visible from certain parts of the city, thereby preventing urban high-rises from spoiling the landscape. Concerning “daily life”, the city holds the Kobe Biennial, an integrated art festival focusing on contemporary art. This event is meant to nurture a sense of design among the citizens. The exhibits accommodate idiosyncratic design, such as “container art”, which makes full use of the characteristics of the port. As for “manufacturing”, the city provides opportunities such as Design Renaissance Kobe to help build connections among designers and small businesses. In 2012, in the former Kobe Conditioning Center, built in 1927, the city will establish a design center that will function as a design dispatch base.
Xiaoming WANG
President of Shenzhen Creative Culture Center
Shenzhen is a comparatively young city located in China’s Guangdong province, directly north of Hong Kong and designated as a special economic zone. Although it is a city of immigrants, Shenzhen prides itself on a high level of education, and holds the following four pillars responsible for supporting its competitive strength: information technology, finance, distribution and culture. Shenzhen’s modern design history is short, but the city is considered a mecca of Chinese modern design, thanks to remarkable economic progress and strategic utilization of design.
For the past several years, Shenzhen has made continuous efforts to enable and maintain the coexistence of economic growth and sustainability by developing projects that follow the theme, “From the old to the innovative”. Exemplified by the OCT Loft and Tianmian Creative Industrial Estate, the city has been refurbishing large-scale buildings like old factories as design platforms. What used to be the site of a traditional printing industry is now the site of sophisticated art. Schenzhen has also assiduously courted design businesses like Shenzhen National Cartoon & Animation Industry Base and the Nanshan Cyber Cultural Industry Base (anime, videogames and film). In 2010, Shenzhen will host the Creative City International Conference, under the theme, “new technology, new media and creative city synergy”.
Yasuyuki ITO
Associate Professor, School of Design & Architecture, Nagoya City University
Nagoya Castle and the City of Nagoya were both established 400 years ago. The fact that the castle required the assembly of a great many technical experts from across the country led to the growth of advanced design techniques and products, such as wind-up dolls. The upshot of this traditional monozukuri has a direct connection to today’s design industry. In addition, Nagoya boasts more than 50 art-oriented universities and colleges and more than 15 design bodies, comprising a considerably high-density design network.
In 1989 Nagoya proclaimed itself a Design City and hosted three major international design conferences organized under the auspices of Icsid, IFI and Icograda. Nagoya also hosted the World Design Exposition. International Design Center NAGOYA, (IdcN) established in 1992, has supported those events and activities. The Center building opened in 1996. IdcN functions as a nucleus, launching global-scale, broad-ranging design projects including the annual International New Designers Workshop and the biennial international design competition, “Nagoya Design DO!” Following its establishment as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Nagoya identified three main themes underlying its activities: Polishing Rough Stones, Preserving the Natural Environment and Diversifying the Network.
2010 brings a variety of events, including the festival commemorating the 400th anniversary of Nagoya, the international exhibition of contemporary art, Aichi Triennial and the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10).
Some say that networking could lead to homogeneity or damage local individuality. I would like to hear from the representatives of each city what you think comes of networking and what the next stage might be.
I think that what’s important about the network is the content, which inspires our activities. Right now, we’re just beginning to plan our future projects. We’d like to deepen discussions, and it might be meaningful to hold competitions as well. I understand that it is important to carry out specific activities combining the private and public sectors through this kind of network, and it is also necessary to understand the importance of the content of those activities. Sustainable development follows, I believe.
For me, networking is something in which all of our cities unite, and enjoy doing. If I were to add something about contents, I would say that they must be practical, and should work as tools to allow us to share knowledge. It’s important that we each come up with design solutions, aiming to create markets, provide opportunities and promote the employment of designers, resulting in conditions in which they can make a living. Through this network we can share ideas about marketing and support selected projects for the international market, facilitating a wider range of exchange and activity.
The biggest problem is how we’ll be able to capitalize on the young talent in our cities. The network provides two advantages to help solve this problem. One is that we can study together to develop strategies. Based on these strategies, we will be able to create a market and utilize designers’ talents for a sustainable future. The other is that we’ll be able to cooperate with each other while nurturing cross-border friendships and create markets founded on trust. Both the workshop and the forum this year demonstrated great possibilities in this respect.
The City of Shenzhen holds creativity and design in high regard, and so are looking forward to participating actively in this network. A city cannot survive if it focuses only on the manufacturing industry. But if we have creativity, we can improve our lives through design and create a future. This is why we hope that as many cities as possible participate in the design community and the UNESCO network.
I believe the network is valuable in two ways. First, it allows us to share common goals and mutually improve. Whether we have a relatively practical goal, or whether we raise the level of that goal --I’m sure there are various opinions—but what’s important is that we strive for the goal together, I believe. Second, although each member city faces its own challenges, we can reach out to one another, gather suggestions, study the circumstances of other member cities, or take advantage of the wisdom and expertise. In Kobe, we’re going to found a design center that draws on the experiences and know-how of other member cities.
The relationship between people and the web of personal connections is a network. Thanks to this face-to-face meeting, when we get ideas in the future, we’ll be able to consult with one another and turn them into reality. On the other hand, it might be difficult for all six cities to implement projects in a coordinated manner, but I do think we can collaborate on promotion. In order to develop the network, I think it’s important to create those kinds of opportunities.
When we launched this network project, we wondered if the disparity among member cities might be an impediment. But in reality, it’s turned out to be a great asset. We need to maintain these differences and diversity. These are what will allow us to make use of the network. The projects of the member cities are varied and unique. I appreciate the attitude with which you each have joined the network, which will in turn encourage you to contribute to its maintenance. All the member cities are very creative, but what’s important here are not only the contents, but also how you will cooperate with one another.
We have come together under the keyword “network”, and the differences in the processes by which each city will move towards its goals have been clarified, leading to the discovery of new keywords within. It is a network by which design professionals, citizens and young people gather with their respective senses of purpose. And now, I think we can hope for a framework shared at the individual level as well.
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