2. Creative Commons
On the occasion of Design Den Haag and its project Den Haag Design
and Government (the biannual manifestation about the relationship
between design, government and society that takes place in The Hague)
Stadsridders started the project Creative Commons.
The Stadsridders Foundations goal is to utilize the creative opportunities
This project focusses on creative bottom-up projects in various cities. the city has to offer by means of multidisciplinary collaboration. We
These bottom-up (/grassroot/upstream) realized projects can be want to create quality and innovation within the urban environment.
described as projects that have been created with little government The Stadsridders’ members have different backgrounds, what ties them
influence and has been started by people themselves. We believe that together is their interest in the spatial, creative and social dynamics of
these processes are of less (direct) economical influence for a city, but the city.
are of large influence on the society and the creative climate in the city.
Top-down projects (initialized by the government) are the opposite: They
are of great economical influence, but have less influence on the living
climate in the city (such as the Caballo Fabriek and Labs55).
Creative Commons focusses on visualizing and stimulating creative
bottom-up projects in various cities. This can be done with text,
photographs, videos, infographics etc.
We are interested in finding out what kinds of projects these are and
how the relationship between organiser, government and citizen is.
By visualizing these projects and collecting them into one document /
website, Stadsridders wants to lay the foundations for stimulating new
possibilities in The Hague. Stadsridders Creative Commons website showing various
bottom-up cases in The Hague and Berlin on a map
3. Berlin Investigative Exchange
Within the Stadsridders Creative Commons project we organise an The results will act as input for the two-day workshop that is planned in
investigative exchange from The Hague to Berlin. We are interested in June 2010 in The Hague. In this workshop with creatives from The Hague
how bottom-up realized projects emerge and what the effect is on the (and possibly from Berlin) new possibilities for a specific location in The
living climate in this city. In this exchange we want to learn more about Hague (a former elementary school) will be createded.
these projects in Berlin and visualise the outcome. This can then act as
an inspiration for The Hague. The participants of the exchange are selected bij the Creative Commons
projectgroup. At this moment we aim at a group of 4 to 5 people that
A second goal of this investigative exchange is to meet creatives living can travel with one car to Berlin. We will select people with different
and working in Berlin and to exchange experiences. When possible backgrounds (design, architecture, communication, graphics, etc) but
we would like to collaborate with them in investigating the bottom- who share the same interest in the development of the city.
up projects in Berlin. This way we can work together in visualising the
projects and learn from each other. In December 2009 Stadsridders
performed a first analysis of the possibilities in Berlin (with the help of
foundation Design Den Haag). The people and organizations we met
during this first visit provide a good starting point for the investigative
exchange.
The participants will collectively decide how the outcome will be
communicated. This will probably be in the form of a booklet or poster
presentation. The results will also be published on the Stadsridders
Creative Commons website.
Page at the stadsridders website describing
and visualising a bottom-up project
4. Method
The investigation is focused on the following questions: The project can be divided into four different phases:
1. Preparation
• How did specific bottom-up projects in Berlin emerge? Form an investigation group (in The Hague and in Berlin),
• What were/are the main factors for succes? collaboratively define the research questions and collect initial
• What was/is the relationship with the government? information;
2. Investigation in Berlin
Based on this we will look for general conclusions and find a way to The investigation in Berlin will focus on specific cases in Berlin.
present this to the people in The Hague. When possible we would like to discuss these cases with local
government and creatives was well;
The project has an open character: Stadsridders will provide the 3. Exchange with Berlin
framework, but the participants (and others) can shape the contents of Learn from, comunicate and worktogether with creatives in Berlin;
the project further. This way each participant can get the results he/she 4. Finalisation
wants. Collaboratively finish the final presentation in The Hague and
present findings during the workshop in June.
Video-stills of the interviews in Berlin during the first trip.
5. Concept Programme
The preliminary programme is as follows.
Preparation
[nn] April Selection of participants and general meeting (to be
decided).
Investigation / Exchange
13 May (Thursday) Travel The Hague-Berlin
14 May (Friday) Investigation Day 1: General introduction and
exploration
15 May (Saturday) Investigation Day 2: Personal/group quests
16 May (Sunday) Investigation Day 3: Collaborative work
17 May (Monday) Travel Berlin-The Hague
Finalisation
[nn] May Collaborative work
[nn] June Deadline presentation
Presentation
13 June Presentation during the two day workshop in The
Hague
(For practical reasons it is necessary to plan the exchange during a
weekend: The participants need to work during the week and it is not
possible to take too many days off work for this project. )
6. Financial
Stadsridders is a non-profit organisation. All work will be done on a
voluntary basis, and there is no funding available to cover all costs
(materials, direct costs and hours).
Our starting point is to have a ‘zero-plus budget’. This means that we do
not spend money ourselves, and try to cover other costs. We ask a small
participation fee from the participants.
The total budget needed is limited: mainly for travel expenses and
accomodation.
We try to arrange all other needs in kind: meeting spaces, working
spaces etc.
More Information
Website Contact
Stadsridders: stadsridders.com Arn van der Pluijm
Creative Commons Project: stadsridders.com/cc arn@stadsridders.com
Berlin Exchange: stadsridders.com/cc/news/berlin-exchange +31 6 1809 2978
skype: avanderpluijm
