DIGITAL IST KULTUR CULTURE IS DIGITAL – DIGITAL IS CULTURE

WELCOME SPEECHES
BERND NEUENDORF
(State Secretary in the Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport
of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia)
industry, and even five times more people than the chemical industry. The growth figures are also striking. From the
beginning of the great economic crisis, from 2000 to 2007 that is, the Cultural and Creative Industries saw an increase
of 3.5 percent, whereas the growth of the wider European economy reached only 1 percent. During the crisis, the
Cultural and Creative Industries were particularly successful: between 2008 und 2012, the creative industries grew
by 0.7 percent, the wider economy, however, shrank by 0.7 percent. The contribution of the Cultural and Creative
Industries to fight youth unemployment in Europe is also worth mentioning. 19.1 percent of the 15- to 25-year-olds are
working in the Cultural and Creative Industries.
One of the questions we are dealing with today is: Can we contribute to the growth of the creative industries if we put
a special focus on the role of culture in the digital age? Are there any hidden treasures waiting to be exploited?
And there is a second question: Should we exploit all the treasures offered by the digital revolution? For instance, are
cultural institutions such as advertising agencies or marketing companies allowed to evaluate the data of potential
customers and visitors; and if so: to what purposes are they used?
O
n behalf of Minster Ute Schäfer, I would like to warmly welcome you to the forth edition
of the Forum d’Avignon Ruhr.
I am very pleased that so many of you have come from 19 countries and from all over Germany
to discuss the cultural “Digital Agenda” in Europe.
And I am especially pleased to see that high-ranking representatives of the European Commission
have come to honour the Forum d’Avignon Ruhr with their presence.
The presence of various European cultural and cultural-economic networks – such as the
Network for Innovations in Culture and Creativity in Europe (N.I.C.E.), the European Creative
Business Network (ECBN) and particularly the European research partnership on cultural
and creative spillover effects coordinated by the Arts Council England and ecce – are an
important signal for European collaboration.
Your great interest in the motto of the conference “Culture is Digital – Digital is Culture”
shows that the Forum d’Avignon Ruhr has once more recognised the signs of the times. I am
pleased to see that the Forum d’Avignon Ruhr is once again reaffirming its position as one of
the most important European platforms for culture, economy, media and science.
As you all know, the European Cultural and Creative Industries are a highly important economic
factor. In the run-up to this conference, our French partner, the Forum d’Avignon, has
supplied us with the latest figures.
According to these figures, the Cultural and Creative Industries are the third largest employer
in Europe. This industry employs two and a half times more people than the automotive
And the third question is: How important are the new technical possibilities of digitisation
for the arts themselves, such as in the field of participatory art, for instance? What options
are there for example in individual support for artists to help them optimally use the new
media? What kinds of new art forms will develop and what does that mean for the future
offers of cultural institutions such as museums, libraries, theatres, opera houses, for art
in the public realm, for cultural education and for the preservation of cultural heritage?
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sure that the fourth Forum d’Avignon Ruhr will provide important
impulses for European cultural policies, and I hope that the many interesting ideas
and suggestions will inspire the cultural politics of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In any event, we have decided to strongly focus on the topic “Digital and
Culture” and to put an emphasis on the promotion of culture in North Rhine-Westphalia.
I wish you all an exciting conference!
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