Can the creative industries lead us to a sustainable future?
How will the UK’s creative industries apply their expertise and experience to the big sustainability challenges facing society? Forum for the Future is working with the Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network team on one of their ‘Beacon’s for Innovation’ projects. The project, which focuses in on sustainability, will examine how British, creative businesses will help other sectors innovate on issues like energy, climate change and social equity, as well as become more sustainable themselves.
The UK’s creative industries are great inventors and harnessers of technology, with an impressive track record of interpreting innovation, as the all-encompassing conversion to the digital world proves. Sustainability presents both challenges and opportunities for creative businesses to forge partnerships with other organisations, or take the lead to employ their design skills, innovative thinking and technical knowledge to tackle some of the biggest challenges of modern life.
Working together, Forum and the CIKTN will map out a range of possible futures and work with leading experts, businesses and organisations to identify what actions, funding and activities need to be put in place to turn ideas into reality and help creative businesses ensure they play a fundamental role in delivering a sustainable future, whilst continuing to generate revenue and jobs in the global market.
This is an open process and all contributions are encouraged. We have already begun interviewing creatives from across the industries and we are launching the project via a public event on June 16th, which will also be broadcast on the web, do watch the event on line from 4pm GMT on the 16th.
We’re very excited to have Lord David Puttnam, Sebastian Conran, Jonathon Porritt, Franny Armstrong, Tim Brown and friends speaking and debating at the event.
To get involved or spark new discussions on this topic make sure you register for this Beacon Project here.
To contact one of the Forum project team email Fiona on f.bennie@forumforthefuture.org
Registered charity number 1040519
Comments
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I found this article on
I found this article on Don't Panic - Mark Liu is a designer who specialises in eco-sustainable fashion.
http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/style/spotlight-mark-liu
Creativity, consumerism, and...life
Thanks for a good introduction to your project. Perhaps it's inevitable in a project run by the creative industries, but it sounds as if creativity is being treated in a very consumerist model -- i.e. the creative industries will continue to create products that the rest of us want to buy, albeit more sustainably. From their point of view, that is certainly an easier business model to imagine.
A more challenging, but more transformative contribution of the creative industries would be to convince us to consume a lot less and to break out of the consumerist mentality a lot more. All too often, buying is an easier, but ultimately less satisfying substitute for the pleasure of actually creating and doing. If the creative industries can give us the tools and confidence to make our own music, tell our own stories, and develop our own talents, rather than simply consuming things created by others, then they will have really contributed to the sustainable future.
re: Creativity, consumerism and... life
Wonderfully put, I totally agree!
Fashion, Art, Design and Music are some of the most powerful tools available to us. It would be fantastic to explore how we can use this influence to develop a more sustainable and thoughtful society.
I found Australia (particularly Melbourne) to be miles ahead of the UK in their attitudes toward consumerism - the blossoming craft and eco friendly design industry, the support and promotion of independent brands and boutiques.... with the right support these ideas have the power to change the way we shop.