Notícia enviada pelo João Margalha

Mais um exemplo de agregação de vontades em prol da criatividade a ver com atenção. Desta vez é em Birmingham, na região de West Midlands (UK): http://www.creativerepublic.org.uk/   

Who are we?

Well, we’re a group of people who are involved in the creative and cultural industries in the West Midlands, UK.

We are setting up a lobbying and representative group for all of us who work in similar areas. That includes advertising, architecture, arts and antiques, crafts, design, digital media, designer fashion, film and video, music, performing arts, publishing, theatre, radio, tv and software, and applied arts for those involved in other ways that aren’t listed here.

Collectively we do a lot for the region.

The sector’s worth £1 billion to the region’s economy. And recent research has suggested that the region could see 250,000 new jobs in the creative and cultural sector over the next seven years. We also think that we make the place vibrant, interesting and an exciting place to live and work, too. But it sometimes feels as if issues that affect us as an industry are overlooked by people and organisations that have the power to help and support us to grow, as well as those responsible for many areas of what the West Midlands is all about. To date there’s nobody speaking for us collectively to make our opinions heard. We’d like to see that change so we’ve set up Creative Republic to be that voice.

Join us: sign the Charter and give us your support

We are a group of people who make our living in the sector. We passionately believe that a representative body is needed to reflect the views and aspirations the creative and cultural industries in the West Midlands, which is why we’ve set up Creative Republic.
Research* indicates that the total GVA (Gross Value Added) of the creative sector in the West Midlands was over £2.5bn back in 2001– and we’re still growing! It has also been suggested that the region could see 250,000 new jobs in the creative and cultural sector over the next seven years. So there’s work to be done to put the case for the creative and cultural industries to local and national government funding bodies and influence investment and decision making at the highest level.
*Report prepared by Fred Brookes Cultural Research and Strategy September 2004 for Culture West Midlands: http://www.culturewm.org.uk/docs/files/Creative%20Ind%20final.doc

We believe the creative and cultural industries:

• Add to the quality of life of a city, making it vibrant and dynamic
• Contribute to the positive image of a city
• Generate wealth both directly and indirectly

We believe that the West Midlands needs an independent representative organisation to:

• Create an effective forum for debate and discussion
• Influence decision-making about the city
• Represent the needs of our industries to those who can make change
• Connect creative people with each other and those in other industries

In this way Creative Republic will:

Gain more credibility and recognition for the sectors’ collective contribution and ensure that the sector’s voice is heard by decision makers.

We’ll gain strength in numbers:

To achieve this, we Creative Republic, are seeking your participation at this stage by signing up to the Charter to put your name on our database.
The more people we can say that we represent, the stronger, louder and more effective our voice will be. We want you to sign up so we can look our partners and funders in the eye and say “This is what we, as an industry, as a region, think”.

When you sign up we will:

• Invite you to events (often in advance of general mailings);
• Send you updates on what we are doing;
• Research what you want from an industry body so we can give it to you if we can;
• Ask your opinion on questions of policy; and
• Invite you to participate as much (or as little) as you want to in the life of our sector.

You will also get:

• Discounted rates for advertising on Created in Birmingham;
• Additional access to a range of specially developed events on key issues with high profile speakers, enabling you to select the level of engagement and connection that is appropriate for you;