European Commission about to investigate the impact of culture on creativity

In January European Commissioner Ján Figel‘ announced the launch of a study on the role of culture, and the EU’s cultural industries, in promoting and stimulating creativity, innovation and growth in the EU. “Innovation and creativity are fundamental to the process of economic growth,” Mr. Figel‘ told the representatives, “and they also boost social development. In our increasingly competitive, globalizing world, policy makers in the Member States and the EU need to develop better, ‚tailor-made‘ policies for the creative industries so that they can contribute their full potential to boosting Europe’s long-term economic growth.” The study will get underway in February to investigate the circumstances that effectively contribute to stimulating creativity in the EU. It will also focus on ways to further explore and promote the specific role of culture in fostering creativity. This study is also supposed to help identify the type of actions that should be implemented during the forthcoming “European Year of Creativity and Innovation through Education and Culture” in 2009. Additionally the Commissioner announced the creation of a group of experts from Member States and a group with civil society organisations, whose tasks will be to focus on unleashing the full potential of the cultural and creative industries, especially in small and medium sized enterprises, to help achieve the aims of the EU’s Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs.