What does a city need in order to keep its valuable ‘’knowledge and creative sector’’ workers from leaving for better climes? This was one of the questions posed at a conference entitled Creativity and Talent in an Urban Environment which was hosted by the Barcelona city Council recently.
Zayd Minty, co-ordinator of Creative Cape Town, attended the conference, the second of a consortium of “second cities” which are attempting to benchmark each other in respect of their efforts to attract and retain knowledge and creative sector workers in their cities. Their key aim is to ensure the cities are globally competitive while simultaneously responding to the needs of citizens.
Here is his report:
“The consortium recognizes the importance of cities in the global economy and of their knowledge sector. The cities in this consortium include Seattle (who started the initiative), Fukuoka, Helsinki, Stockholm, Vancouver, Daejon, Dublin, Munich and Melbourne. The conference included “observer” cities, among which was Cape Town.
“A range of discussions took place among mayors, heads of economic development, leaders in R&D departments in businesses, universities working in knowledge transfer as well as various researchers and experts. “There were a number of great inputs, but two of them stand out. The first was a commissioned report that responded to the desire of cities to retain knowledge workers in order to boost their competitiveness strategies. Looking at various EU countries it considered why people in the creative and knowledge sector remain in or move to certain cities. The research contradicts the popularly accepted research by Richard Florida which suggests that livable and diverse cities are able to attract a “creative class’’ and so impact on the economic potential of cities. This research suggests that while an EU city with diversity and openness is helpful in retaining talent, the two most important issues are the existence of personal networks (including how well a person can be integrated into a city) and the opportunities for good employment.
“The availability of strong educational institutions and research bodies which provide opportunities for cutting edge and applied research are also critical for knowledge workers, the conference learnt.
“The second useful input was from Nick Leon from Design London who shared the success stories of his organization. This is a partnership between the Royal College of Arts, as well as the Imperial Engineering and Business College faculties and focuses on how to make cities centres for innovation using design. “There are four pillars to its work: Teaching, Research (especially on the role of design methods), as a Stimulator and an Incubator. A dynamic and inspiring speaker, Nick concluded by saying cities which do not innovate decline.
“He said an integrated approach is essential if a city is to become globally competitive. A city must have a) an inclusive social and cultural programme to connect its talent, b) align this with its economic development strategy, c) focus on developing a sophisticated interdisciplinary innovation system, d) ensure integrated infrastructure, and e) underpin this with strategic urban design.”
“The conference was a great networking opportunity. In addition to meeting the speakers and other participants from the various cities, I met key people from Barcelona Design Centre, the drivers of the Media Cluster of 22@Barcelona, Barcelona Activa and the drivers of the Culture 21 programme. I was fortunate to have a private bicycle tour of 22@Barcelona by Jordi Sacristan who visited the partnership earlier this year. While I was there the City of Cape Town formally signed an agreement for co-operation with Barcelona to bring our cities closer together.’’
Zayd also attended the conference Cities as Creative Spaces for Cultural Tourism hosted by the Bogazichi University in Istanbul.
“I spent a lot more time exploring Istanbul than Barcelona since it was my first visit to this incredible city – the only one that straddles two continents. Istanbul is around 9 000 years old and has hosted two major empires – the Byzantines and the Ottomans.
“With Ataturk, the country attempted to raise itself from its ruins by modernizing (read “Westernising” and making what was seen as Eastern, backwards, and so, illegal) and focusing on its national identity (in the process persecuting and in some cases driving out many of its minorities and the cultural diversity that was so essential to the character of Istanbul in particular).
“Now that things have settled down a bit on that side and the country has embraced its collective spirit, Istanbul, no longer the country’s capital, has continued to grow exponentially and to reclaim its position as a globally significant city with an immense heritage. With its young population (with almost 50% under the age of 25) and its whopping 8% growth, the country has a youthful dynamic energy and nowhere is that felt more than in Istanbul with its more than 25 million people (growing by 300 000 rural migrants annually).
“ Istanbul attracts more than 6 million tourists annually – most of whom come to see ancient sites such as The Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque; do a Bosphurus tour; and spend money on things like Turkish Delight, jewelry and kelims. But of course Istanbul is much more than a massive tourist site. It is the centre of a large and very interesting creative and knowledge sector. While the city is planning on growing its tourism base it is cognizant of the impact of this tourism on its city’s footprint (it may lose its UNESCO heritage status for certain sites because of their ongoing decay).
“It is also aware of the commodifying nature of this tourism (and rising prices) as well as the growing needs of its poverty stricken inhabitants (who benefit less and less from tourism impacts). Next year the city is EU Capital of Culture and many of these issues are coming to the fore.
“For this reason the conference Cities as Creative Spaces for Cultural Tourism hosted by the Bogazichi University was a pertinent one and addressed many of these issues in academic works that drew on empirical research (such as creative industries mapping in Istanbul), conceptual papers, as well as case studies (such as Barcelona Creativa) in an attempt to understand the role of Tourism and its connection with the cultural and creative industries.
“Well known academics like Graeme Evans (who has a book on cultural planning), Brian Wheller (who is critical of tourism as an economic strategy), Robert Maitland (whose research shows that tourists are increasingly interested in the normal everyday life of host countries) and Gregg Richards (whose work on “Creative Tourism” as a new concept inspired the conference).
“A strong emphasis was placed on how to establish a tourism focus that first and foremost involves and supports locals. There is a need to develop products that address the issues of “co-creation” in the tourism experience – recognizing that new cultural tourists want authentic experiences where they can engage in learning and growth through connecting with cultures that are different to theirs and which they cannot get elsewhere.
For these sorts of new products the involvement of the creative industries is critical, as are new forms of marketing. Importantly the city itself must use its destination assets creatively to provide excellent experiences for visitors.’’
