Ministerial Conference "Forum for Creative Europe"

Date: 26.3.2009 — 27.3.2009
Venue: Prague - Czech Republic
Category: Conferences and Seminars
Theme: Education, Youth and Culture

The conference aims at recognising the unique contribution of art and culture to the development and utilisation of Europe’s creative potential and at reinforcing the perception of art and culture as the primary source of inspiration for European creativity. It draws on the notion that art and culture are, just like science and research, the starting point for the search for, and formation of, efficient strategies leading to social and economic prosperity and in effect to a full-fledged life.

The objective of the ministerial conference held as part of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union is to highlight the unique potential of creativity in forming an open civil society and strengthening Europe’s global competitiveness. The conference will introduce the notion of creativity and its role in the changes of contemporary society and modes of its application in education and economy.

The conference is organised by the Ministry of Culture of the CR in cooperation with the European Commission as one of the main events of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 as well as a contribution to the discussion about the European agenda for culture in a globalising world, mainly ABOUT one of its three main objectives, namely support of culture as a catalyst of creativity.

The notion of creativity will be considered and debated in three thematic sessions: Art, Culture and Creative Environmentalism, Creativity and Society and Creativity and Education.

The topic of Art, Culture and Creative Environmentalism will focus on a debate about the economic potential of art and culture and the relation between art supported from public sources and the wider economy. The notion of the environmentalism of creativity will be introduced, which sees a balanced relation between various factors, such as the environment in which we live, the ability to develop on an ongoing basis and the ability to think critically, learn and respond to new circumstances in a flexible manner as a precondition for the establishment and prosperity of creativity.

The topic of Creativity and Society has been inspired by the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain. Contributions in this session will answer the question of how culture may contribute to tackling the main challenges in contemporary society. Most notably, creativity as a tool for building democracy, social networks and as an answer to migration, demographic changes and comprehensive planning of “creative cities” will be analysed.

The topic of Creativity and Education will focus on presenting methods that stimulate individual and community creativity and the role of art and artistic methods within and outside the scope of systems of education.

The conference will also introduce governmental strategies of selected Member States of the European Union that take creative economy into account and will introduce the “creative class” theory by Richard Florida from the US through direct Internet broadcasting.