Partners in the EU ‘Creative Cities’ project have opened centres of creative industries.

On Friday 30 March 2012 at Ljubljana City Hall, partners in the EU Creative Cities project publicly showcased activities intended to stimulate the economic role of creative industries and the development of creative economies in the cities of Ljubljana, Leipzig (Germany), Gdansk (Poland), Genoa (Italy) and Pécs (Hungary).

For faster economic development of creative industries in the Ljubljana region, the Ljubljana Urban Region Regional Development Agency has opened a Regional Creative Economy Centre, operating at Ljubljana Technology Park. The Centre is already carrying out the education of creative industry creators and a pilot project to link designers and the furniture industry.

Centres adapted to local economic and cultural needs have also been opened in other partner cities. While most partner cities decided to set up centres in the form of offices or information points, Genoa opened a virtual centre of creative industries. Virtual activities are better profiled in the Hungarian city of Pécs, where the centre’s operations are supported by a website and Facebook profile. Representatives of the centre in Pécs particularly highlighted the operation of the space for co-working, which enables creative industry creators access to modern working methods. In Gdansk in Poland, the centre also performs the role of business incubator, while in Leipzig, Germany, they are above all striving to include creative industry creators in the local economy.

The Creative Cities project got underway in 2010 and concludes at the end of this year. The project has brought together 11 partners from five central European cities. Through various activities, the partners are striving to ensure greater inclusion of creative industries in the economy. Creative Cities project activities are designed so that they have long-term effects, and their good practices might also be applied on other cities and regions in EU countries.

Further information about the Creative Cities project can be found at the following links:

• Creative Cities project
• LUR RDA website 

 

Ljubljana Urban Region Regional Development Agency