Creative september

Design Days 2015

Design isn’t just about making things look good. It’s about solving human problems. Good designers are good strategists: they find ways to make things quicker, simpler, and more efficient. 
EU Design Days 2015 is a two-day event focused on the future of design. It will examine the future trends in design and innovation and the role the public sector can play in supporting these trends. The future of design will be examined under three main sub-themes: eco-design, social innovation, and strategic design. This event is organised by ERRIN, a Brussels-based platform of  Research and Innovation Organisations.

“Design Centre in Gdynia” is participating this year in a session “Designing sustainable innovation through behaviour change”
Their workshop will introduce the ideas of design for behaviour change and its applications in different areas. This will be followed by interactive group work discussion about the application of design for behaviour change in relation to a number of different challenges.
The outcomes of the workshop are expected to give some new ideas for challenges and application of design for behaviour change, and how these can be further investigated and pursued through new collaborations in the future.
The workshop will introduce a novel area of design thinking and research into the programme of the Design Days. And it will provide opportunities for participants to generate new ideas in design.

Creative and Cultural Indestries

“What we need to do is preserve and promote our culture so that it impacts beyond European borders”
Martin Schulz,President of the European Parliament
At the dawn of the 21stcentury creative and cultural industries (CCIs) have shown exceptional resilience to the economic crisis and are well placed to grow further in the future due to their role as forerunners in digital innovation:

However, CCIs need support to enable them to properly represent their interests and raise their concerns, as well as to create cross-border networks and platforms to help structure and strengthen the sector.
The European Union’s role is, therefore, to assist and complement the actions of the Member States in preserving and promoting Europe’s cultural heritage. The Commission has developed a number of relevant policies and programmes, and also supports and promotes policy collaboration between Member States and heritage stakeholders.
Cultural heritage is eligible for significant EU funding from 2014-2020 – including for conservation, digitization, infrastructure, research and skills – from several EU programmes– including the European Structural & Investment Funds, Horizon 2020, Creative Europe, Erasmus+,andEurope for Citizens 

 European Capitals of Culture

 European Capitals of Culture are one of the most recognised EU projects. They started in 1985 on the initiative of the then Greek Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri.  Through culture and art, European Capitals of Culture improve the quality of life in these cities and strengthen their sense of community. Citizens can take part in the year-long activities and play a bigger role their city’s development and cultural expression. Until  30th anniversary  52 cities across EU have already become European Capitals of Culture: from Athens in 1985  to Mons (Belgium) & Pilsen (Czech Republic)  in 2015.
European Capital of Culture – Mons 2015 (Belgium) attracted more than 100,000 people to its opening weekend on 24 and 25 January. Mons 2015 is part of a wider development strategy started 10 years ago to transform part of the Hainaut region into a digital valley. 3000 jobs in the city and surrounding area are now estimated to be related to the creative and digital economy. During its year as European Capital of Culture, Mons will inaugurate 5 new Museums, 2 new concert halls and 1 conference centre.