Creativity World Forum 2009

Creativity World Forum 2009: International meeting place for creative people from the world of politics, commerce and the media

Minister for Economic Affairs Ernst Pfister: “A must for everybody who wants to take part in shaping the future.”

Ludwigsburg on the 1st and 2nd of December 2009 will be the Mecca for everyone and anyone working in the creative industries. Representatives from various disciplines are to meet at the Creativity World Forum and be inspired by ideas and concepts as well as jointly develop new approaches and business models.

The Minister for Economic Affairs Ernst Pfister states: “The special feature of the Creativity World Forum 2009, which is taking place in Germany for the first time this year, is its interdisciplinary and international character. We intentionally want to transcend borders here, see the bigger picture and encourage people to think laterally. We are promoting location development and the creative industries in Baden-Württemberg as well as international cooperations with other excellent creative regions in the world - the Districts of Creativity, by cross-linking various players. Therefore this Forum is a must for all creative heads who wish to exchange ideas and work together on an international stage.”

On the two main congress days the organisers of the Forum, the Ministry of Economics and the MFG Baden-Württemberg – Public Innovation Agency for ICT and Media, are bringing together prominent representatives from industry, science, politics, film, architecture, music and design. They will all be reporting on future developments and ways of thinking – how they come to innovations and new ideas, highlights include speeches from MP3 inventor Professor Karlheinz Brandenburg, Chairman of the Board at Robert-Bosch, Franz Fehrenbach, Nokia Vice President and former Prime Minister of Finland Esko Aho, film-maker Professor Doris Dörrie, star architect Professor Tobias Wallisser and top designer Professor Hartmut Esslinger.

Creative industry as a location factor for creative regions

In the Districts of Creativity (DC) expert forums will present and discuss international initiatives and promotion strategies in the creative industry. Questions to be discussed include: What makes regions creative? Which aspects of a location make creative regions attractive to talented and creative people and the ”Creative Class”? What is the importance of architecture, sustainable urban development and creative urbanity? What role does the creative industry play in driving innovation? Representatives from 13 regions in the global network “Districts of Creativity” as well as other international experts will be talking about their experiences, showing examples of best practices and drawing up political approaches and strategies.

Innovation policy as a company strategy

The expert forum by the Steinbeis-Europe-Zentrum will present current regional and international approaches to entrepreneurial innovation policies. The central element of the debate will be the various visions and strategies of companies for the future and the consequences of these on the competitiveness of Europe. The talks further touch upon the role of internationalisation of companies, design as an entrepreneurial strategy, technology transfer and strategic planning.

How digital sales channels change existing business models

How can Digital Natives, those born after the introduction of the internet and mobile phones etc, be reached with the aid of viral marketing in social networks and what opportunities are offered by new WebTV formats. These issues will be discussed by Burkhart von Scheven, Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, and Director and agency boss Dominik Kuhn, amongst others. Matthias Ulmer, Managing Director of Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Professor Tim Renner, Managing Director of Motor Entertainment, and worldwide representatives from the areas of film, music and print will talk about how digital sales channels have changed their business models and how money can still be earned in the digital age with creative labour.

Basic conditions for open innovation systems

The creative industry and classical industries can strongly profit from each other, e.g. in the area of product design architecture. Examples of interdisciplinary cooperation will be introduced in the expert forum “Engineering Creativity – Creative Engineering”. Professor Hartmut Esslinger, founder of frog design, and the architect Professor Jörg Schlaich will gives lectures on how qualifications, structures and basic conditions for open innovation systems can be created.

New technologies in the entertainment industry

Digitalisation makes it possible for online games and films to merge. This in turn enables the emergence of new perspectives for entertainment, and other channels (e.g. in education). Speakers include Professor Jean-Baptiste Joly, Director of the Akademie Schloss Solitude and Klaas Kersting, the Managing Director of the game producer Gameforge, will talk about the current situation.

In “Learning Creativity – Kreativität lernen” the institutions which equip students with the necessary skills for the creative industry will introduce themselves: the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM), the Popakademie in Mannheim, the Stuttgart Academy of Art and Design, the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Ludwigsburg as well as the Stuttgart Media University (HdM).

Cooperations Forum brings together new projects and business ideas

Parallel to the expert forums, participants will have the opportunity to exchange their creative ideas and experiences. The Cooperation Exchange, hosted by Handwerk International, will establish contact between potential cooperation partners from companies, the world of science, politics and business development.

Information on the creative industry and the Creativity World Forum

The creative industry includes the branches of publishing/music, film and television production, broadcasting, the performing and visual arts, music and literature, journalism and news agencies, museum shops, art exhibitions, retail with cultural assets such as book-, music and art shops, architectural firms, the design industry, advertising and software such as software games.

The Creativity World Forum is an international annual conference on creativity. It is the main event of the international network “Districts of Creativity”, which was founded in 2004 by the creative and innovative regions Flanders (Belgium), Baden-Württemberg (Germany), Rhone-Alpes and North Pas de Calais (France), Lombardy (Italy), Catalonia (Spain), Scotland (Great-Britain), Tampere (Finland), Oklahoma (USA), Quebec (Canada), Karnataka (India) and Shanghai and Qingdao (China).

The Creativity World Forum 2009 will be planned and carried out

as a joint Event by the State Government under the lead management of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Baden-Württemberg and the MFG Baden-Württemberg in cooperation with the Districts of Creativity, the Enterprise Europe Network, Baden-Württemberg International, Handwerk International and the Steinbeis-Europe-Zentrum as well as the towns of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg and also further programme partners such as regions and institutions in the creative industry in Baden-Württemberg. In 2009 the Forum will take place in Germany for the first time. The European Union is financially supporting the Creativity World Forum 2009 as part of the CIP programme to support competition and innovation. www.cwf2009.de