Culture develops

The culture and creative industry is a growing sector in Europe. The sectors' growth in 1999-2003 was 12.3 % higher than the growth of the general economy in the EU-30. In 2004, 5.8 million people worked in the sector equivalent to 33.1% of the total employed population in EU-25, more than the total amount of employed in Ireland and Greece put together.

(Source:" The Economy of Culture in Europe", EU Commission)

Dear UBC Friends,

Any city with ambitions to grow and develop has to create new functional platforms for cultural activities. Meeting points such as theatres, operas, public libraries and other institutions within the cultural field have a significant historical value, but are not the only tools for a creative and innovative society. Within the terms of democracy, broad cultural engagement will always be the most important engine for a sustainable change in society.

The heart of cultural activities must be always established among the citizens. Smaller cells with specific interests create networks and communities for larger institutional work. To maintain a high level of quality in the cultural field the society needs input and support from smaller groups and constellations. Since the word "culture" has a very broad definition, it is necessary to build a cultural framework that is relevant for the citizens. Otherwise, big cultural investments can never be truly successful in the long run.

The strategy of a city should therefore be to strengthen not only the core arts field, but to develop the city within sports and leisure, infrastructure, communications, city development and the quality of life.

According to the World Commission on Culture and Development, economic development is a part of the people's culture. Development stands not only for access to goods and services, it is also the possibility of wanting to live a satisfying and valuable life together with other people. Development of a city is dependent on strengthened creativity, increased attractiveness of the city, and a strong identity.

Creativity

Creativity is the basis for social and economic innovation. Creativity is the ability to develop new ideas and new ways of regarding the surroundings. Creativity is encouraged in an environment where you can meet people with different sets of minds, different backgrounds and different languages. Measures within this area, e. g. new places to meet, variety of art-venues, development of trust, mobility, encouraging new networks, diversity of life-styles, etc., contribute to the development of new ways of thinking and entrepreneurship. The culture sector is the engine of creativity. It encourages new ways of thinking, understanding and expressing ourselves.

Attractivity

A city must be attractive to its citizens and also involve creative people to build an attractive and prosperous environment for living. A rich cultural life contributes to a higher quality of life, develops our creativity, thereby helping us define our identities. A rich cultural life and a lively cultural environment contribute to attract business and people to a city/ region. Investing money in the cultural sector has been and still is a safe way to develop a municipality.

Identity

Today is the way people regard their regional and local environment more important than it used to be. All citizens have input from the entire world every day. Relevant questions should be: What is my identity? Which culture do I belong to? We know which language we speak, we know which religion and which ethnical group we belong to, but do we know our cultural historical heritage?

We live in a global world, but every human being has a need of finding his/her identity. We have a desire of feeling "at home" somewhere, searching for a cultural connection. The city has to attract people and to give its citizens their identity. Being aware of their heritage, people can find their identity.

Today people have other sets of values and life patterns that are different from those, say 50 years ago. People generally have higher level of education and international experiences and these facts have changed our demands on life quality. The high level of education has also led to a situation where people are thinking critically and questioning society. At the same time education, work and well-being are taken for granted by most. This is why people have greater needs of personal realization and a sense of identity.

Act

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is an important tool to develop the communicative function of culture and its accessibility. In the independent study, commissioned by the European Commission, published on 13 November 2006, there is a recommendation to realise the Lisbon potential. It suggests we should agree that the EU budget should focus as much on creativity as on innovation. We must focus on the digital shift to make the most of opportunities field by technological innovation. The use of ICT is a very helpful tool for sharing ideas and various results, especially for cities situated in the periphery.

In this field, it is important to see the creative structure. Art, performances and cultural artefacts can be very helpful in order to develop new and innovative technical solutions. At the same time, digital research will be very useful for cultural implementations.

As a reminder, the word art and technique is in its purest forms synonyms. Art and the Latin word Ars are translations from the Greek word Techne. The shoemaker used one specific technique and the sculptor another.

It is a great challenge we are facing, but it is very stimulating to have the opportunity to work with the development of the city. The UBC is a great network where we can meet new people who will give us new innovative ideas that will develop Europe!

Marie-Louise Rönnmark
Mayor, City of Umee Sweden