ADDRESS BY MINISTER D.MELBĀRDE AT THE CONFERENCE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE CROSSOVERS RIGA, 11 MARCH 2015, LATVIAN NATIONAL LIBRARY Dear participants of the conference, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to be here and address you at the conference dedicated to the transformative force of creativity and culture in the contemporary world. The timing of this Presidency conference was not a chance selection. Our meeting is held during the Creativity Week Create!, when various creative activities, master classes and educational events are held all over Latvia. We have been successfully organising the creativity week already for five years with an aim to deepen comprehension of the society on the different aspects and applications of creativity and culture. As I have been involved in developing the discourse of creativity and the creative industries for more than 10 years, I quiet often interrogate myself and colleagues around with a question whether the concept of creativity has not been too exhausted that it has lost its creative nature and purpose. Of course, there can be only one answer - it has not. Creativity and creative thinking is the most human and natural ability that we, as human beings, have been gifted with. Unfortunately time after time we neglect this potential while dealing with a rapid development, growth and productivity as a matter of macroeconomic statistics. However, there is a place for optimism as we live in an age, when creativity, culture and interdisciplinary thinking regain an 1
important place in the most diverse fields: political, social and economic processes as well as culture itself. Let me make here a reference to the first Report of the United Nations System Task Team on the Post 2015 UN Development Agenda. It presents a vision of inclusive, people-centred, sustainable global development: the future we want for all. It argues that continuation along previously trodden economic growth pathways will exacerbate inequalities, social tensions and pressures on the world s resources and natural environment. There is therefore an urgent need to find new development pathways that encourage creativity and innovation in the pursuit of inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth and development. The report is a call for a broad and holistic approach to development where building partnerships is a key to the transformative change. And this is where the concept of creative cross-over comes in. It starts with a creative thinking, ability to look at the world out of the boxes. It also means courage to go and act outside the usual comfort zone to open new prospects, sometimes to rely on intuition and accept that emotional intelligence should go hand in hand with measurable rationality. Furthermore, creative cross-over, to my understanding, means co-creation process, creative collaboration among different sectors and actors where mixing different competences, skills and knowledge leads to the creation of new content, innovative products and solutions containing two meanings cultural and economic. From the perspective of culture the crossover should be specifically also seen as a bridge linking heritage and the contemporary art and literature as well as binding or even blending various cultural branches, genres and styles. 2
Finally, creative and cultural cross-over contains and underlines a significant role that a creative professional or a cultural institution plays in the creation of the new values. Above all, it is the artist, who shall have an open mind to think creatively and who shall be tolerated and supported accordingly. I am truly glad that we can discuss it also here, in the context of European policy. Creative cross-over can take a form of different size and scale. It can be expressed by such a small creative product you see on my palms. In Latvian it is called mauči. It is a handmade masterpiece based on the traditional skills. Mauči have various functions. It is a stylish accessory on the one hand and a practical mean to warm a pulse to maintain health of the circulation of blood on the other hand. Moreover, mauči can carry traditional ornaments that have symbolic meanings and a special intangible ability to protect the bearer. Another example of the Creative cross-over is the Latvian Nationwide Song and Dance Celebration, a 150-year-old tradition that is recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Once in five years 40 000 people from all Latvian municipalities gather in Riga to sing their most beautiful songs in a joint choir, to co-create a Grand Dance performance of 15 000 dancers, to play music and theatre as well as to demonstrate the traditional skills and wear national costumes. The tradition of the song and dance celebration is not just a parade of our cultural heritage. I find the content of it the most essential: music, dance, and lyrics from our ancestors that teach us the wisdom of life and tells story of our origins. 3
It is also power of emotional and spiritual intensity that is present at the Celebration. At the end of the 19 th century the Song Celebration gave a framework to the formation of the Latvian national identity, when thousands of people through singing found a new self-confidence as a nation that in 1918 led to the proclamation of the independent state. A century later again communal singing tradition grew into the movement of the political self-determination aimed to regain the independence. This movement in the world history is known as the singing revolution of the Baltic countries. Furthermore, Song and Dance Celebration has been a community building event as its grassroots expressions have a strong impact on social inclusion, civic participation and sense of belonging. The Celebration also plays a crucial role to education process. Apart from creative skills it develops such social skills like work in a team, communication, self-discipline and many others. The tradition is also an effective way how to feed the young generation with traditional knowledge and history. Last but not the least, this magnificent gathering brings a benefits to local entrepreneurs, tourism operators as well as builds a cultural dialogue. Nowadays it also promotes contemporary approaches to provide accessibility and involvement into culture. These aspects of my nation s most unique tradition demonstrate the main characteristics of cultural and creative crossovers creative thinking, openness and constant urge to find new ways, as well as partnerships that are based on equality and respect to each other. On the other hand, they also teach the ability to listen, to hear and to be heard, that are crucial for an equal partnership. 4
Having said that, I am sure, we do not have to always re-invent the wheel, rather look into the past, to see the way our ancestors incorporated creativity into their everyday life. This spiritual and creative dimension has never been only a moral reward after a week spent in hard work, as it often happens with culture and creativity in contemporary life. For centuries it has been an integral part of a daily life, a need to survive, to adapt and to grow. In other words, creative crossover concept has been present at all times in our traditions. It seems to me that quite often we perceive culture and creativity as a remedy that can be injected into the veins of industries or processes, thus fostering miraculous result. However, creativity can become valuable only if a truthful exchange takes place, if the giver and the recipient are in equal positions. If it is a partnership build on trust, openness and healthful exchange, where both sides are the givers and the takers. I hope my words will motivate you to think outside the box and will set the scene for what we are going to discuss and define during these two days of the conference. To conclude, let me show you one of the most typical Latvian cross-over examples of the 21 st century. It is rooted in the very ancient times, but regains the new ways of being today. I am referring to amber - the natural jewel of Latvia, called the Nordic gold in the history. It has been a brand new inspiration for creative partnerships today. 5
The amber thread invented by Latvian scientist Inga Ļašenko further creates a fertile ground for creative cooperation of fashion designers, artists and health-care companies. We dream that the amber fabric could be our future gold. Another cross-over example is the Latvian cosmetics brand Stenders that offers the amber line of the beauty care products containing amber parts. I should also mention The Amber Vein that was one of the most successful thematic lines of the Riga, the European Capital of Culture 2014, programme introducing different thematic cross-regional exhibitions and conferences about the amber. Amber has also inspired the world famous Latvian choir Kamēr to record the Amber Songs - seventeen most beautiful Latvian folk songs arranged by the composers from seventeen countries located next to the ancient Amber Road. Hoping to hear many other good stories and examples of creative cross-over I thank you for your attention and wish to have a good, enriching time in Riga! Thank you! 6