EYCI Second Flagship Conference of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation - Creativity, Innovation, People - The Regional Dimension of Creativity and Innovation

The main objective of EYCI flagship conferences is to stress the importance of creativity and innovation for Europe, in particular in a context of crisis, and the added value of EU policies to bring them to fruition. Common to all conferences are the showcasing of good practices and the contribution of a wide range of actors from education, research, business, culture, and the arts, including both the public and the private sectors.

The main characteristic of this second conference is its regional/local approach. In other terms, the conference should explore creativity and innovation from a people's point of view, demonstrating how they relate to everyday life and to societal priorities and concerns.

The three themes chosen to this end are employment, wellbeing and education. There are clear linkages between all three, and the conference should highlight this mutual dependence, and the need for holistic approaches.

To this end, each theme will be presented by an expert in the subject, and it will be illustrated by means of a selected number of cases of good practice. It will be a specialised conference, addressing policy makers, practitioners, academia and business. The parallel workshops will be structured as panels, to stimulate and facilitate a debate and produce policy conclusions

For employment, the key message is how creativity and innovation contribute to the creation of new jobs. Good practices will be chosen in areas with high growth potential such as soft energies, health services, waste management, communication services or the creative industries. A second important message is the fact that these new jobs are often quality jobs.

For wellbeing, the key message is how creativity and innovation contribute to a better quality of life for all. Good practices will be chosen in areas of high societal impact and relevance such as health, clean cities, leisure activities or advanced social services.

For education, the key message is how education and learning are the source of creativity and innovation and how important is to build them in as core values of education and training systems in Europe. A second key message is the need of "new skills for new jobs". Good practices would be linked to essential sectors for creativity and innovation such as science, ICT, entrepreneurship and the arts.

All three areas are closely interrelated, as selected good practices will demonstrate. This interrelationship will also drive the conference's organization, by a holistic approach to the description and analysis of projects as well as by providing opportunities for cross-disciplinary debate.