Edited by John Wilson A series of four seminars held in the spring and summer of 2000
Published 2002 (ISBN 1 902488 27 X) Price £29.85
The Impact of New Technology in the Music Industry A seminar held on 5 April 2000. The seminar marked the launch of a report commissioned by the DCMS on “The Impact of New Technologies on the Music Industry”, which emerged out of the work of the Music Industry Forum. The main speaker was Rt. Hon. Chris Smith MP, who reviewed the challenges facing the British Music Industry, including those relating to intellectual property rights. He was joined on the panel by Martin Mills, who chaired the group producing the report, and Dominic McGonigal, its principal author. The Executive Summary and Recommendations from the report are reproduced as an Appendix to this seminar.
Learning and Skills Development A seminar held on 24 May 2000. Tom Bentley summarised some of the work on creativity that DEMOS had undertaken in association with the Design Council. He described some of the characteristics of creative learning organisations and outlined a strategy for change. His talk was followed by brief contributions from two collaborators with DEMOS, Svend Nedergaard, who co-ordinates the Next Generation Forum in Denmark, an initiative supported by Lego, and Jonathan Briggs from The Other Media, co-founder of HyperIsland, a new media school in Karlskrona in Sweden. Michael Stevenson then gave a BBC perspective on children’s learning and on the opportunities opened up by the new digital technology.
Investment and Employment A seminar held on 28 June 2000. Peter Ramsden and Keith Hackett described a project called “Banking on Culture”, co-financed by the European Commission and the North West Arts Board. They explored the potential for using a variety of new financial instruments within the cultural sector in the light of the experience of a number of local projects in six European countries. Stewart Davies then talked about the incubation programmes and the other work going on at Adastral Park, BT’s Research and Development site in Ipswich, within the context of the Cambridge-Ipswich High Technology Corridor, and discussed the national lessons that could be drawn for innovation and creativity.
Valuing Creativity A seminar held on 19 July 2000. Lord David Puttnam, Chair of NESTA, spoke about creativity in both its educational and economic context. He addressed some of the policy challenges arising in this area and stressed the need for a whole-hearted commitment to the creative industries on the part of Government. Jane Root, Controller of BBC2, focused more specifically on television, identifying a group of people whom she termed the New Creatives who combined creative and entrepreneurial talents and discussing ways in which these individuals might be helped.