ABOUT CREATIVE CITIES

Creative Cities is an international project designed and managed by the British Council.  It shares experience across Europe on the ways creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation can help to improve people’s lives - making cities better places to live, work and play.

Sixty five European cities have so far taken part in one or more of the hundred forty events organised by the Creative Cities project.  These events have attracted more than fourteen thousand participants, with a further fourteen million reached online and via other media.

The British Council is managing the project in partnership with a range of cities and organisations active in developing innovative approaches to city policy.  Individuals taking part in project events will develop new skills and build new contacts across Europe. Cities which join the project network will have an opportunity to establish competitive advantage for themselves and attract creative talent, and in so doing set the foundations for future economic growth.  

The Creative Cities project will be run until the beginning of 2011 in the UK, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia.  

The three core project strands are: Future City Game, Urban Ideas Bakery and Urban Forum.

			Future City Game generates new ideas on how to improve the quality of life either in a specific area within a city, the city as a whole, or in response to the common challenges facing cities around the world.  It is a two-day event involving city inhabitants from diverse backgrounds, representing different disciplines and led by a trained games-master.
			Urban Ideas Bakery builds skills and shares experience on how cities ‘bake ideas’ – that is turn them into practical solutions. It is a problem-solving and planning process that puts people at the centre of social innovation.  It includes a two-day international event engaging social innovators and experts from across Europe and local community representatives.
			Urban Forum is a series of international conferences and workshops that bring together young professionals, community leaders, and city partners from across Europe to debate on the role that creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation play in urban development.

In addition to the three strands, the project provides platforms to enable young social innovators in Europe to keep in touch with the project and each other:

			Creative Cities interactive website
			Creative Cities facebook group
			Creative Cities e-mail newsletter

Creative Cities in Lithuania

In Lithuania we have held a number of Future City Game events:

FCG Ukmergė (June 2009)

• Vote for the best idea
• Visit the Creative Cities webpage

FCG Plungė (May 2009)

• Read the Plungiškis article
• Visit the Creative Cities webpage

FCG Klaipėda (May 2009)

• Read the 15min article
• Visit the Creative Cities webpage

FCG Kaunas-London (November 2008)

• Read the blog
• Visit the Creative Cities webpage

The Impact of Culture: Vilnius Reflection (March 2009)

The forum was organised in partnership with Vilnius–European Capital of Culture 2009 and the International Cultural Programme Centre. It focused on the impact of culture on cities, changing nature of the relationship between the arts and business, integration of culture in policies, and change of cultural institutions. Read more

Other initiatives in Lithuania

With the help of the British Council this summer Eco Laboratory introduced its Transportable Eco Lab Info Centre. The info centre was designed by a Lithuanian artist Stasys Banifacius Ieva.

Interested in what inspired his design?

The Transportable Eco Lab Info Centre is going to travel around Lithuania visiting various music and cultural festivals inviting people to try and transform the old and unwanted to new and very desirable!

The idea to create the Eco Laboratory was first inspired by the British Council project ‘Challenge Europe’ and its participants – the Climate Advocates. Eco Laboratory is an ecological art project aiming to raise people’s awareness of the issues that growing climate change creates, lower consumerism, encourage people to re-use old and unwanted things and recycle.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PARTNERSHIPS

Increase your company's profile and brand awareness by becoming a partner and/or sponsor of the Creative Cities activities in Lithuania. The project provides a perfect opportunity to consolidate existing relationships, get involved in social innovation, build a reputation of a socially responsible business and establish new contacts.

For more information, please contact Vilma Bačkiūtė, Partnerships and Projects Manager, British Council (email: Vilma.Backiute@britishcouncil.lt, tel.: +370 5 264 4890, +370 687 46600).