Riga - European Capital of Culture 2014 candidate

Creativity is the ability topaint a painting, creativityis the ability to see apainting and wallpaper,and understand thatthe painting’s motif canbe transformed intowallpaper and propose itin a creative mannerI think that life itself is a kindof creative project becauseat every instant we come intouch with new situations.Each moment is unique, youhave to resolve it and youneed new ways of thinking.Creativity isfreedom andself-assurance.Mutual respect.Respect towardscultural heritage,environmentalvalues. Culturaleducation of anew generation.Tolerance,understanding,culture ofmutual relations.Knowledge ofthe creatorsand pioneers ofLatvian culture,environment,heritage. Theacquisition ofcreative skillsand abilities froman early ageUsing a creativeapproach, we needto promote new waysof communicationthat broaden existingborders in people’sconsciousnesses, theso-called Riga cultureextends beyond the cityborders – not just ona Latvian, Baltic Searegion or Europeanlevel, but also ona global levelCreative industries – in Latvia so little known, inthe EU considered strategically important fields ofeconomic activity. At the same time they mark bordertransgression and the creation of aspects of newcommunication points – business and culture, variouscultural fields, international cooperation, etc.Everyone has somekind of creativeenergy, ideas. It doesnot matter whether heis or is not an artist.What matters is thathe does not focusesit solely on the choiceof goods, on dailypreoccupations andmaterial things, buteither creates a workof art or expresseshimself in the creationCreativity: anyone can be creative. Childrenare creative, janitors and trolley-bus driversare creative. Unfortunately it is not called theright name. The intellectuals have privatisedcreativity as inherent in their circles only.of something new,even if only on thelevel of amateur art.There are very manydifferent opportunitiesto be creative, themain thing is thatit should not beconcentrated only andexclusively on somesort of consumerculture.creativityThe creativity of every Riga inhabitant is a value that can be madeuse of and which needs to be stimulated, ensuring the possibilityfor all to take part in cultural processes. Riga is a cultural territorythat is open to new ideas, orientated towards a wide participationof society and the stimulation of new work, with an aim to promotea greater cultural diversity and dialogue.• With the expansion of the concept of creativity, applying itto any sphere of life, not just traditional fields of culture, developinga symbiosis of various sectors, thus creating new ideas, newcommunication forms and actions. A new perception of cultureand the broadening of the concept of creation will stimulate thecreative economy, promote the transposition of art and creativityalso onto economic and business benefits and stimulate publicand private partnership.• Creativity is the most important driving force for Riga’s development,thanks to which solutions are possible both from the aspectof new communication forms and from the border expansionaspect. A change in the perception of creativity would mean acreative approach in any profession or walk of life, which, if takenadvantage of, can achieve sustainable development for the city.• Creativity anticipates the promotion of dialogue and creationof joint responsibility for the city as a common living space,about environmental quality in the broadest sense of the word.Creativity is what promotes the participation of various groupsand individuals in the city, which makes the creation look for formsof expression.• With a growth in the well-being of society and the quality ofcity life, it is increasingly important for inhabitants to be involvedin some kind of creative activity. Personal growth is becomingincreasingly significant, therefore, taking into account Riga’s developmentscenario, where the accent is placed on the person,the possible uses of this potential have to be anticipated.• The merging of the cultural and creative sectors has stimulatedgrowth in recent years in Europe and created a need to developcreative industries and promote broader interdisciplinarycooperation forms – greater social, humanitarian, scientific andart cooperation. This is possible by changing the understandingof the concept of creativity. Creative industries are one of Riga’smost significant resources, which will have a major impact in thecontext of long-term development.• One of the main instruments of creativity, for achieving achange in the perception of culture and idea of border expansion,is the use of positive provocation in relation to the everyday levelof consciousness of culture and society, and the desire for experimentation,supplementing the traditional process of the perceptionof culture with provocative methods, creating new processeswith an experimental approach.• Creativity as the main driving force of cultural developmentcan be employed in the use of technologies and for a change inthe perception of the fact that technologies are an element of culture,an instrument of creativity, a tool for people’s creativity. Therapid development of technologies can be used as an instrumentthat permits the synthesis of various sectors, developing cooperationbetween individuals and various societies. Technologies anda creative use of them present the opportunity for cooperationin an inter-regional and global context, which, over the comingyears, will be a significant factor of cultural development of anycity. In a situation where technologies are rapidly developing andpeople ‘can’t keep up’, it is precisely creativity that becomes themost significant resource of competitiveness.* Focus group comments20 21