FULL REPORT ON OUR HUBS METUP!
DAY 1
Launching BauTopia4 | Metamorphosis, at @STPLN!
The kick off moment had a full and warm room and it was filled with the welcome words of Carina Nilsson, the President of Malmö City Council, Sanna Lilie, one of our hosts and the new manager of STPLN, Esra Gönen, the new Board member at ECHN! Then the new ECHN members were welcomed in the group by Rita and Vassilis.
The welcome moment was completed with the inspiring music frm the Malmo Choir, one of the residents of STPLN!
After the warm welcome words and all the energy from the choir, we had the time to engage in some networking games, facilitated by our amazing community members África from Espacio Arroelo, Nacho from Rural Hackers and Nana from Nova Iskra.
Not only we had a Bingo designed specailly for us, but we also had stime for some speed datings with the Mingler Game.
It was an amazing way to meet new faces, discover fun facts and set the friendly tone for the days to come!
A big shout out to our amazing 'networkers' - we had a blast!
DAY 2
Learning at BauTopia4 | Metamorphosis
The full day of our event started with an intense learning morning. Before we got started, the team at STPLN took the participants to tour the venue and tell them about the story of this Hub that counts with 10 years of activity already. Then we all gathered in the main room, to get inspired with the the keynote of Jenny Kornmacher on Cross Innovation – Cultural and creative industries as drivers for the green, digital and social transition.
After a short break, everyone had to join a different room for the Breakout sessions - and the hardest part was to pick only one.
Breakout 1 - Reshaping the creative industries: A power shift back to the artists. How new technological trends can usher in a RenAIssance age 3.0? - was held by Sara and Samer Awayez from WYZ Law Group
Breakout 2- Night School Project: sustainability and night culture, a presentation and open talk held by Tiago Prata and Anna Hilber from Night School
Breakout 3- Workshop on the Social Impact Canvas - a research-based intuitive tool for creative change makers, presented by Pille Pruulmann Vengerfeldt
Breakout 4- Communitive: Play the Rethink card game - a workshop to explore the card game that explores the concept of “Communitives”, a project developed by Sára Bányai and Alanna Piquet from Wou Creative
In the afternoon of day 2, our members were invited to explore the city from a slightly different perspective.
The team at FERAL launched the challenge:
- What can nonhuman species and elements tell us about the development and future of Malmö?
- How can we take stories of ecology to help us realize better futures of coexistence in cities?
The feral walk brought the participants through three showcase districts of Malmö to look at how different influences and ecologies there have shaped the past, present, and future of city living. Participants were invited to draw comparisons between Malmö urban ecological connections in their own city and how creativity can bring social-ecological relationships more broadly.
Feral Malmö is a design studio and research platform. For the past two and a half years, they have organized creative workshops focused on social-ecological relationships in urban Malmö. Working with nonhuman species as guides, they use design communication, participatory learning, and creative activities, to better understand the roots of ecological crisis and to promote alternative ways of coexisting in the urban environment.
For the last moment of the day, the participants were invited to join for some drinks at the City Council, where we were all very kindly welcomed (in a really beautiful venue) by Janne Grönholm, the Mayor of Culture of the City of Malmö.
The conversations were held while the performers of Nya Rörelsen did their artistic performance, presenting one of their latest works.
‘Statues or To-Stand?’ is a work that enters the Culture of Memory to renegotiate the ways in which a monument can represent human life. The work is performed as an open installation that can be viewed from any position in the space, and the audience is invited to come and go at their own pace.
Performers: Majula Drammeh, Khamlane Halsackda, Nidia Martinéz Barbieri, Daniel Jeremiah Persson
DAY 3
Our last morning together started with an incredible Plenary Session on "New Kinds of Space Making". The opening moment had a chilling performance from Loud Numbers Sonification Studio (Duncan Geere), with audios and statistics from the recent wildfires.
Then, the conversation followed with four interesting projects that contributed with their thought-provoking ideas:
CCI4Change (With: Bertil Björk, STPLN & Duncan Geere, Loud Numbers Sonification Studio)
- How can creators play a greater role in the green transition? Based on a pilot project in Sweden, Finland and Latvia, we discuss models and methods for artists and performers to work with sustainability issues without losing their soul. What tools do we need to not make copywriters out of poets in the process?
Noise zones/Cultural Sound Zones (With: Nicklas Johansson from the City of Malmö)
- Gentrification and commercialization threaten cultural centers and creative centers across Europe. When the grassroots culture has done its job and an area becomes attractive, people are thrown out when prices and rents skyrocket and “finer” businesses move in. How can a city ensure that grassroots culture can survive in the city centres? In Malmö, the city has marked an area as a “noise zone”. Anyone who moves their business there must accept loud noises from rehearsal rooms, music clubs, outdoor activities and nighttime events.
Future DiverCities (With: Elisabeth Bechara, Friche La Belle de Mai)
- Future DiverCities is a project that focuses on culture-led regeneration of urban empty spaces in an ecological way. In this 4-year experimentation, 8 city pilots are test grounds for new kinds of cultural, civic engagement and creative actions that will enhance the ecological aspect of the sites. 2 years after the launch of the project, we want to share methods, tools and knowledge on urban regeneration of empty/unused sites, challenges encountered and ways of overcoming them through cooperation.
RTL- Rebuilding to Last (With: Tiffany Fukuma from Trans Europe Halles)
- Rebuilding to Last is a project that strives to inspire independent cultural centres to revisit their relationship with nature, with their communities and spaces within their walls, in their courtyards and beyond. The ambition behind the initiative is rooted in the belief that our cities should be profoundly reinvented, they should become welcoming spaces for all living beings, humans and non-humans. Together we are trying to imagine how we can make our spaces not only more long-lasting but also more aligned with our own values of living in balance with nature, by finding synergies and solutions that oppose profit-driven urban planning and design.
The last moment was dedicated to presenting the latest news from our programs and then we had the pitching session for the next ECHN Workshop! Seve brave Hub Managers took the stage and tried to impress the audience with their Workshop proposal. What a great way to finish this meeting!
Until the next one.
Pictures by Futuro Berg
