Toespraak van eurocommissaris Androulla Vassiliou (Cultuur) over creativiteit, cultuur en innovatie (en)

Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to thank Minister Laanan and the Belgian Presidency of the European Union for organizing this conference, which, I am pleased to say, is co-funded by the EU Culture programme.

It is also a real pleasure to be here in Flagey. The transformation of this building into the wonderful cultural centre it is today is a great inspiration for our discussions on the links between creativity, culture and innovation.

The fact that we are centring our discussions around these links says a great deal about the new perception of culture, cultural and creative industries, and their role in socio-economic development. I see a new état d'esprit among cultural stakeholders, and also among decision makers. Not so long ago, it was taboo to line up culture and the economy. This was seen as a negative pairing: received with scepticism by some, with protests of commercialisation by others.

So let me say at the outset that culture can never be just a means to an economic end. Not that I see any danger of this: culture is no weakling, to be wrestled to the ground by economic forces. It is too significant in our lives.

And it is simply too resilient. Just as culture has the power to transform and shape our experience of the world, it also has the power to transform itself, taking on new shapes. Culture is always at the forefront of change.

And it is this capacity of culture to innovate that brings us here today.

We now understand, much better than before, the place of culture in the knowledge economy. We have woken up to its potential to drive growth. This is the vision the European Commission evoked in our Green Paper on "Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries" in April.

Today I would like to take the opportunity to set this seminar and the Green Paper consultation in the wider context of Europe's strategy for recovery and growth, our Europe 2020 strategy.

Two years ago this week, the black clouds of the economic crisis began to gather on the horizon. They blotted out much of the progress we had made in Europe in the previous decade.

But they also brought some truths into sharp focus. First, that we needed to act together in Europe to surmount the crisis. And second, that recovery and future growth must be built on our greatest strength - our knowledge, our creativity, and our ability to innovate. Europe has always been a continent of ideas. We have to return to that source.

The Europe 2020 Strategy is the joint response from European Member States and the Commission. This strategy charts Europe's path back to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The cultural and creative industries are a key part of this response. This is one of Europe's most dynamic sectors, capable of growing faster than the rest of the economy. And it also has a strong knock-on effect, triggering onward waves of innovation in the wider economy. In other words, 'Innovation for culture'; and 'culture for innovation', as the seminar puts it.

In recent years, the rapid roll-out of information and communication technologies has transformed our lives: how we communicate; but also what and how we create, bring to market, consume and share. The cultural and creative industries have been at the cutting edge of a progressive make-over of our economies. Today, the most valuable raw materials are intangible: the ability to imagine and the desire to experiment.

However, as we can all appreciate, it can be hard to find the right balance, when you are poised on the cutting edge… As the Green paper underlined, we still need to work at giving these industries the right kind of environment to develop and prosper.

The Digital Agenda, one of Europe 2020's flagship initiatives, will set out to enable the creative sector to use the opportunities offered by the digital shift.

There are many small, independent creators across Europe who are vital carriers of much of our cultural diversity. We need to ensure they can evolve, acquire the right skills, develop new means of production and distribution, and adapt their business models.

European films, for example, powerfully convey our cultural diversity. But digital conversion places many small cinemas at risk. Later this month, I will issue a policy paper outlining our proposals for supporting these cinemas to make the digital shift, including through our MEDIA funding programme.

Copyright and intellectual property rights are another facet to the Digital Agenda. This dimension was raised by many respondents to the Green Paper consultation.

They stressed that many cultural and creative industries depend on intellectual property rights and on a fair rewarding of creation. There was a widespread feeling that the digital environment can lead to more cultural and linguistic diversity - but only if we maintain and develop the diversity of individual creation in Europe.

I share the belief that we need to ensure a level playing field when it comes to intellectual property rights. And I will certainly be following through these concerns, as we progress with the Digital Agenda.

In recent years, too, our view of innovation has become much broader. We now understand that it has many facets, mixing high tech and non-technological innovation, R&D with other drivers such as creativity, including culture-based creativity.

I am strongly and personally committed to ensure that the Commission's forthcoming Communication on our flagship initiative, an Innovation Union, will recognise the potential of the cultural and creative industries to unleash the creative skills of our citizens and the innovative capacities of our countries.

The Innovation Union initiative will ensure that Europe continues to be identified worldwide as a leading creative hub. It will encourage experimentation, innovation and entrepreneurship, and foster new and creative partnerships.

Such partnerships - between cultural and creative institutions, businesses, universities and research institutions - can help the sector fully embrace the digital shift, push forward its boundaries, and play their role of innovation conduits for the whole economy and society.

These partnerships can also be a stepping-stone to introducing new skills of creativity and entrepreneurship in education, a vital first step to building our capacity to innovate and create.

Later in this seminar, we will present our new study on the entrepreneurial dimension of cultural and creative industries. By looking at some key issues - the regulatory environment; access to finance; research and development - it will help us understand the specific needs of the creative sector, especially SMEs, when it comes to innovation.

We also know that culture's ability to boost creativity and innovation finds its natural outlet in regions and local communities. Creativity and innovation are global in their reach, but they are also locally rooted.

We will shortly publish a report to back this up. This will show how culture-based programmes and projects supported by the European Union's Structural Funds have boosted economic and social development in the regions. The report will also be a tool that the regions can use for getting better use for the creative and cultural sector from the Structural Funds.

I am also pleased that the Commission will soon adopt a document on regional policy's contribution to Europe 2020. This will underline how creative and cultural activities can help Member States and regions stimulate innovation and develop their competitive edge. This is all part of our ongoing reflection on how to focus EU support to boost the role of culture in regional development.

We are also beginning our reflection on the priorities for the next Culture programme, after 2014. Next week, we launch a public consultation, and I would urge you all to respond. We want your ideas. And this brings me to my final point, a few words on the Green Paper consultation.

I must say that we reaped a huge response - and I want to say a warm thank you to everyone here who replied. We heard from more than 350 public authorities, public and private organisations, and individuals - from more than 25 countries, and representing the cultural and creative industries in all their diversity.

We will publish a detailed analysis in the autumn, and will follow this up by proposing strategic initiatives in the first half of 2011.

The consultation gives us very valuable input on how to reach our Europe 2020 goals: how to build a Europe based on people's knowledge and skills, on their creativity and innovation, and confident in the Digital Age.

As I said earlier, ladies and gentlemen, Europe has always been a continent of ideas. Our cultural diversity and our creativity are the guardians of this legacy. And they will guide Europe on our new journey of discovery.

Thank you.