Toespraak minister Bussemaker bij de European Creative Industries Alliance

Toespraak | 27-11-2014

Thank you very much Mr. Tscherning for this report. I shall respond briefly to its contents. But before that I would like to share with you my vision on the creative industries and the role they have in the Netherlands.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The saying goes that great minds think alike. Well, creative ones don’t. In diversity lies the power of creativity. Creativity differs from person to person simply because everyone’s brain is wired differently. It’s not a coincidence that those people we regard as 'rebellious', 'different' or 'outsiders' we often also recognize as creative. It's the people who continue to ask questions when most of us would stop. It’s those that tip our view of reality by offering a different approach.
It’s their view of the world that gives us new insights.

So these competent rebels, as I like to call them, deserve our attention and encouragement. Imagination, experiments and creativity are humanity’s driving forces.

One of the goals of this government is to encourage crossovers between different sectors. This is of course about changing people’s perspectives. What we’d like is for people to break out of the traditional moulds of their professions and seek collaborations they would not ordinarily seek. We need skilled workers. We need specialists. And we need craftsmen and women. But we also need those that dare to divert, go against the grain and oppose consensus.

In the Netherlands the creative industry is one of our nine so-called top-sectors. We’re investing in these 9 so that they may become global industries. We want these sectors to make a world of difference and thereby make a difference in the world. To this end the Dutch government is cooperating with businesses, universities and research institutes to realize optimal conditions for the sectors regarding innovation, export, development of knowledge, finance and human capital.
Nine top teams advise the Cabinet on policy. This triad of government, business and institutes of education and research is fundamental to our approach. We often refer to it as the Golden Triad.

The Top Sector Creative Industry is one of the most dynamic of the nine. It encompasses design, media, entertainment, fashion, gaming, and architecture. These are quite often the boosters of innovations in the other sectors. The Dutch creative industry is a global top ten player.

And just in case you’re wondering who or what is doing so well abroad, think of TV-program producer Endemol, architect office OMA-AMO, denim fashion label G-Star, Guerilla Games and design collective Droog Design and design company Moooi by Marcel Wanders. Of course these are big names and internationally recognized as some of the best in their business. But I’m also happy to report that a new generation is on its way to the top. Daan Roosegaarde in the field of high-tech design and innovations. You may have seen his poetic bike path as an ode to Vincent van Gogh on CNN. Maarten Blankesteijn and Alexander Klöpping are turning heads in the media-landscape and at the same time are turning that landscape on its head with their pay-per-article start-up Blendle. And fashion technologist Marina Toeters is also well on her to being globally recognized.

What these entrepreneurs have in common is their love for innovation, progression and creativity. For this young generation sustainability is the only way to create, produce and do business. Anything else they consider to be anti-social and bad for business. Their idealism is pragmatic.  What comes naturally to them is to consider all possibilities, so quite naturally they crossover into each other’s fields and that of other sectors. That’s how Daan started cooperating with one of our countries biggest road construction companies and created the light absorbing and emitting asphalt surface. It’s how Maarten and Alexander built the 'iTunes for paper media'. And it’s how Marina got together with the people at the Philips medical lab to develop clothing that relieves pain. I think Daan and Marina are great examples of socially engaged, problem-solvers. They are two designers within an industry, which is proving to be a force of great importance in solving societal challenges. What makes the creative industry such a driving force within our society is the fact that it is per definition a sector that mixes disciplines and fields of expertise. One such very recent innovation is the ‘Temstem’ app, which won the Rotterdam Design Award in 2013 and uses new technologies in combination with psychology. The idea behind this app is to help people who suffer psychoses silence or at least quieten the voices in their minds by distracting the language centre in the brain with language games. The language centre of the brain becomes so pre-occupied with solving language riddles that it essentially drowns out the voices.

A great innovation in a thriving sector. But unfortunately a sector that is still vulnerable. What characterizes the sector is that most of the companies are SME’s. It is why it is crucial to connect these businesses with one another and institutes of learning. Safety in numbers. Taking our gaming industry for instance. This sector has great potential with an annual turnover of almost a billion euro’s. But it is also a vulnerable sector. More than half of the companies operating within it were founded in the past 9 years. Our goal is to solidify the international position of the Dutch gaming industry. Amongst other things, we have realized a platform for innovation, matchmaking and sharing of know-how and expertise.

The reason we invest in these platforms and initiatives is because we strongly believe we shall find the answers to some of our societal challenges. The top-sector of agriculture and food being is developing sustainable food-production.
The top-sector ‘high-tech’ is looking how to improve our healthcare system. And the sector 'life science and health' has made proposals to eradicate poverty-related illnesses. Not for innovation’s sake, but to truly find answers to the challenges we face. Of course, this method can also work in the rest of Europe.

The economic crises of the past years, Europe’s ageing population and our reliance on fossil fuels are all challenges we need to tackle. Internationalization needs to be a primary condition if we are to solve these things. The European Union must connect European creative industries with other industries and create global networks. Our continent has enormous cultural riches and an invaluable cultural heritage. But we can be more than the museum of the world. We must unite our industries and encourage crossovers if Europe is to remain relevant and strong. Just imagine the words ‘Made in Europe’ on products of the highest quality. Those three words can become a trademark for excellence. Europe’s diversity is its strength. It can be done, but we must innovate. And we must encourage innovations, crossovers and cross-pollination.

So, it will come as no surprise that I fully support the ECIA’s recommendations:

1. Stimulate innovation and growth by enabling cross-sector collaboration.
2. Build better business support and access to finance in effective regional ecosystems.
3. Measure and raise awareness of the true value of the creative industries as a key driver of innovation and growth.

My department funds the creative industry for exactly this reason. hin the sector 11.4 million euros per year. And via the Creative Industries Scientific Programme, better known as CRISP, we are making another 10 million euros available over a period of 4 years. In other words: the department of education, culture and science is putting its money where its mouth is.

Now, I’m not sure who of you picked it up at the start of my talk, but the first lines did echo that famous quote from the 1997 commercial for Apple, another great innovator, although sadly not European. Just to refresh our memories, here’s how it reads:

'Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. '

A wonderful quote and most fitting on this occasion, I think.
It also makes for a nice executive summary of the ECIA report.

I thank you.