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SIXTH
INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS CONFERENCE WORKSHOP 5: Creative cities and cultural diversity
Tuesday, November 27, 2001
16:00 - 17:30
ORGANIZERS
Bert van Meggelen, Rotterdam Cultural Capital 2001, The Netherlands
Dick de Ruyter, Project Erasmus 2001, The Netherlands, dick@bureauintendant.nl
Introduction
Rotterdam, world port and city counting over 600,000 inhabitants, houses
164 different nationalities that today form 45% of the population. In
terms of average age, Rotterdam is the youngest city of the Netherlands
as well as being its youngest city with a major ethnic population: 50%
of all newborn children have ethnic parents. Obviously, these shifts have
developed over a longer period of time but they have become most spectacularly
visible in recent decades. Also in terms of infrastructure, Rotterdam
is a city undergoing a metamorphosis. In less than fifty years, the city
has almost entirely recreated itself. The modernisation of the harbour
industry has transformed Rotterdam from a logistic to a service-oriented
economy. In other words, in terms of infrastructure, ethnic and cultural,
and economic aspects, Rotterdam is one of the fastest changing cities
in Europe.
This change process demands a tremendous management and planning effort.
But that is not enough. The fast rate of change also has a specific meaning
for the social agenda of the city. Supervising and managing this process
requires, above all, creativeness and innovations. That 'above all' is
in brief the message contained in Landry's book 'Creative City'. The exigency
of the 21st century and particularly that of the big cities is to deal
with diversity and differences in culture, social background and being
or not being economically integrated. 'Creative cities' calls for the
mobilisation of the various processes underlying urban cultural change,
combining the innovative forces in the city. Aim is to create a cultural
dynamic that will provide a different outcome than the traditional thinking
in planning and control. Possibly, the various interests share the same
concern, but perhaps the dynamics of artistic, cultural and ethnic processes
can contribute to new cohesive associations. Goal of the Workshop
Goal of this workshop is to identify the effectiveness of cultural policies
applied by cities as a strategy to reinforce the process of cultural diversity
and to deal with immigration as an urban phenomenon. Four projects
Four different, interesting projects are currently running in Rotterdam.
Each comprises a combination of several cultural processes with various
interests and aims at creating new relations in a culturally diverse society.
Each of these projects is reacting differently on the processes of diversity
and multiculturalism. In other words: each project can be regarded as
a model that seeks to establish new and durable forms of social cohesion.
The common feature of the four projects is that they, in some way or other,
employ cultural processes as a carrier for urban and social developments. These are the following projects
(for a full description, please see www.international.metropolis.net). Rotterdam 2001, Cultural Capital
of Europe
The set-up of 'Rotterdam is Many Cities', represents a dynamic cultural
concept, comprising the many, diverse urban processes and cultural and
ethnic forms which are presented as part of the Cultural Capital. The
set-up serves as a narrative frame and by means of the programme activities
therein, new initiatives and cultural ties are sought.
Information: Introduction Cultural Capital. Erasmus 2001
The Project Erasmus 2001 investigates and describes new forms of cultural
diversity in the Arts and the social sector with a view to augmenting
insight in the formation of new cultural identities and forms of integration.
In this project, some 10 sub-projects will be evolved. Wherever adequate,
these sub-projects will be woven into a comparable network of European
cities.
Information: Description Project Erasmus 2001. Phenix Foundation
The Phenix Foundation is a national foundation for culture that has been
established to promote cultural diversity in the Arts world. An extensive
approach of scouting, coaching and supervision aims to contribute to the
participation and integration of new ethnic artists in the performance
and development of Art. The policy plan will be presented in autumn 2001.
Information: Main chapters of the policy plan of the Phenix Foundation. International Construction
Exhibition (IBT) Hoogvliet
Hoogvliet is a culturally diverse district of Rotterdam. Its eccentric
location, the distribution of middle classes and underprivileged areas
in combination with a strictly post-war architectural style and urban
development plan have given the district a particularly problematic character.
Only drastic intervention in the form of demolition, restructuring and
renovation can transform the district. The International Construction
Exhibition attempts to initiate a creative urban process aiming to innovate,
shape and adjust the construction process. One of the central themes in
the IBT Hoogvliet is portraying and translating into practice multicultural
developments in urban development, architecture, the construction process
and social housing.
Information: Agenda IBT. Formulation of the question
To what extent do these four models or projects contribute to reinforcing
the cultural dynamism of the city? Are these projects sufficiently capable
of revealing and even stimulating new forms of cultural diversity and
social cohesion? How profitable and effective are such projects in terms
of their aim and execution for a city aspiring to reinforce its cultural
diversity? In brief, which strategy succeeds in entangling immigration
and cultural diversity as a dynamic source for modern urban developments?
Programme
The abridged programme is as follows:
00 - 05 min. Opening Bert van Meggelen, Intendant Rotterdam 2001, Cultural
Capital
of Europe, The Netherlands (chair)
05 -20 min. Introduction Dick de Ruijter, project leader Erasmus 2001,
The Netherlands
20 - 40 min. Commentary Charles Landry, Comedia, UK
40 - 45 min. Response Guests and other project leaders.
45 - 90 min. Discussion Response from the audience, forum and guests.
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