Inclusion through innovation – ten projects shortlisted for the NICE Award, the European innovation prize for the creative industries.
This is the third year that the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the cities of Bochum, Dortmund, Essen and Gelsenkirchen have sponsored the NICE Award, which brings leading European innovators to NRW each year. An international jury of experts has assessed 110 submissions from 23 countries and has drawn up a shortlist of ten creative projects. The innovation award, which comes with prize money of 20,000 euros, will be presented on 6 September in Essen.
In a globalised world, the economy needs a constant supply of ideas that are not only new, but above all sustainable and inclusive – ideas that benefit people individually and as a society. Without inclusion, a global economy and open society cannot be successful. The European creative industries are a vital driving force for innovations. This is demonstrated by the ten outstanding innovators from seven countries (Armenia, Germany, France, Greece, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Spain) who were shortlisted on 30 June by a jury of experts led by Anne Stenros, Chief Design Officer of the City of Helsinki. All ten of the shortlisted projects build bridges between worlds. For instance, Makeright, the rehabilitation programme from Central Saint Martins, part of University of the Arts London, brings design thinking to prisons. OuiShare Fest brings together innovative entrepreneurs from all over the world from 5 to 7 July to discuss social issues, including data commoning, the sharing economy and urban planning (as an open platform). The Ruhr region is also represented with four projects. One of them is URBANATIX, which has been bringing its mix of international art and urban cultural forms like street art and parkour to Bochum for the past seven years. A list of all the projects is available here.
The NICE Award 2017 will be presented on 6 September in Essen – the countdown is on!
Which of the shortlisted projects will win the NICE Award 2017? On Wednesday 6 September, the jury will meet again in the Ruhr region. Following personal interviews with the shortlisted innovators, they will have a final vote. The NICE Award will be presented that same evening at Philharmonie Essen.
About the NICE Award
The NICE Award is funded by the Ministry for Economic Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia and by the cities of Bochum, Dortmund, Essen and Gelsenkirchen. It is awarded jointly by the european centre for creative economy (ecce) and the Network for Innovations in Culture and Creativity in Europe (NICE). The NICE Network was launched in 2013 by a consortium of 15 European cities, universities, agencies and individuals under the leadership of ecce, and is supported by the Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The European creative industries employ around 12 million people and generate around 509 billion euros of gross value added – according to the European Parliament in December 2016.
Lisateave: www.e-c-c-e.de/en.html