20/04/2011 - Slovienian Minister of Culture gratulates our projects

Last week, partners from the CREATIVE CITIES and SECOND CHANCE projects met at Ljubljana. Highlight of both project’s programme was a joint conference titled „Creative Cities: Possibilities, Policies & Places“. The event was opened by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, Ms Dr. Majda Širca, and the Mayor of Ljubljana, Mr Zoran Janković. In her welcome address, Ms Širca highlighted the importance of both CENTRAL EUROPE projects for the development and promotion of Slovenia’s growing creative industries sector and Ljubljana’s ROG factory as future centre of culture and arts. Before and after the conference, partners from both projects met in thematic workshops and plan future joint activities. A complete documentation of the events will soon be published on the projects’ websites.

 

(Photo: Nada Žgank)

 

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20/04/2011 - EmPower – When cities tap renewable energy sources

What strategies can be used by cities aiming to be supplied from renewable energy sources? Those and other questions were addressed in a workshop that took place on 1 April 2011 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Leipzig Graduate School of Management. The workshop was titled „Added Value from Energy: Experiences from municipalities to municipalities“.

Energy suppliers, planners and craftsmen received the opportunity to exchange with invited expert speakers. The participants learned in detail how investments and added value can benefit their own municipality. The event took place in the frame of the EmPower European project. Similar workshops will follow soon. The project’s partners from Greece, Spain, Estonia and Germany aim to promote and disseminate innovative solutions in energy.

For more information, please visit www.empower-eu.com/

 

 

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30/03/2011 - SAVE THE DATE for SMART+ (sub-project kick-off meeting)

 

Of the twelve sub-project applications that followed the call for proposal of the mini-programme SMART, seven were approved to receive funding. For the institutions from the six European SMART+ partner regions that are involved in the successful sub-projects, a phase of intense preparation has begun. On the 17th of 18th of May 2011, the kick-off event for the SMART+ sub-projects will take place in Kozani (Greece). Together with the other SMART+ partners, the Aufbauwerk team will introduce the sub-project participants to international project management and promote thematic exchange on the transnational level.

 

Further information on the programme as well as the sub-projects can be found here or on the SMART+ homepage: www.smartplusinnovations.eu.

 

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25/02/2011-According to the slogan „creativity takes place in the city“ Leipzig‘s Cultural Affairs Office invited the interested public for an update concerning the EU project Creative Cities on Monday, 21/02/2011 at the Kulturfabrik Werk II.
More than 100 people,  among them were representatives of the municipality , musicians, photographers, artists and graphic designers, got an overview about the projects work progress by the head of Leipzig‘s Cultural Affairs Office, Susanne Kucharski-Huniat. Beside the focus of Leipzig, there was also an insight into the creative industries of the four European  partner cities  Pécs, Gdansk, Ljubljana and Genova given. Afterwards  the cluster contact point which has been established by the Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH was presented to the public. Bringing the fundamental project aims of cooperation and exchange to the event, workshops concerning marketing, urban development and networking provided the occassion to the audience to discuss with the municipality officers. The event ended with a panel discussion about the cooperation among four offices of the municipality where many people from the audience got involved as well.

 

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03/02/2011-SMART+ partner meeting in Zaragoza (Spain)

On the 8th of February the partners of the SMART+ project will meet in Zaragoza for an important decision. In the call for proposals for sub-projects, which was open from October 15th to December 20th 2010, 12 proposals were submitted. In six of them, partners from Saxony are involved. Within the partner meeting the decision will be made which of the sub-projects are to be funded by the min-programme. The results will be published shortly after the meeting on the homepage www.smartplusinnovations.eu. At the same time the partners will use the meeting to plan the next steps of the project in order to pave the way for the chosen subprojects to have a good start and to provide optimal support.

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18/01/2011-May we introduce – Cluster Contact Point ‚Creative Cities’

To encourage the networking between creative actors and the partners within the ‘Creative Cities’ project, a Cluster Contact Point for creative industries has been established at the beginning of 2011. The person responsible is Carolin Demus, who will act as interface for the diversity of needs between persons involved in creative work and offices of the City of Leipzig. Besides advisory and mediation offers and an active networking for local creative industries, the international cooperation with the four partner cities will be in the focus with a view to foster the creative potential of the partner cities also on transnational level.
 

 

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18/01/2011-Creativity finds City. Update about the ‚Creative Cities’ project 

After the first year of Creative Cities’ lifetime, the first milestone is achieved. On the basis of an assessment of the five partner cities’ strengths, weaknesses and potentials (Leipzig, Genoa, Gdansk, Ljubljana and Pécs), a Joint Action Plan is currently drafted. This marks the beginning of the project’s implementation phase. On that occassion, we will present jointly with the involved offices of the City of Leipzig on 21 February 2011 (7 p.m.) the project’s progress and the activities planned in 2011 to all interested stakeholders.

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24/11/2010 - On November 16, 2010 an Interregional Partner Forum took place in Cluj-Napoca as part of the INTERREG IV C mini programme SMART+. More than 40 people attended the event in order to be informed about the call for proposals within the mini-programme and the requirements for subproject applications, and to exchange about current developments in technology transfer and innovation support. After a warm welcome by the host Ioana Ardelean from the Cluj County Council, Jana Barth from the ZTS GmbH gave a keynote presentation to introduce the topic. Ioana Dragoş from the IRCETT institute added more valuable hints on the current conditions in the field of innovation support.   During the second half of the event, the participants had time for working intensely on individual subproject ideas and jointly elaborating a first project concept. During this process the participants were supported by regional experts. In total, more than 10 project concepts were created during this afternoon. The final highlight was an excursion to the TETAROM Industrial Park. Here the participants could visit a great example of sustainable innovation support measures. The excellent infrastructure and the professional management of the industrial park are demonstrated by the strong growth and high demand for its services. More information on the SMART+ mini programme and the opportunity to actively participate with a subproject is available on the homepage www.smartplusinnovations.eu.

 

 

15/11/2010  -Creative Cities Partner Meeting
The third partner meeting was held on 28 and 29 October in Leipzig. This time the Tapetenwerk was chosen as venue. It’s a former industrial site, which came to a new prime of live by the settlement of creative industry actors. At a tour the partners had the chance to have a first-hand experience how creative industries can revitalise decayed industrial sites.But the highlight of the first day were the presentations of the SWOT analysis of the partner cities. They represent an important milestone for the further project work, because on its basis a trans-national action plan to improve the environment of the creative economy will be elaborated. On the second day the Interregional Steering Committee held a meeting. Here topics such as reporting, budget issues, website and communication, preparation of the Joint Action Plan, upcoming tasks and appointments of the transnational meeting in 2011 were discussed. Before the project partners went back home, they could round off the successful meeting at the Designer's Open and the Grassi fair of applied art and design in a creative and inspiring atmosphere.

 

 

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8/11/2010 - From 25-27 October, the SECOND CHANCE partners met the third time to discuss the progress of their joint project in Leipzig. In a top-class Symposium organised by the partners from HALLE 14, strategies of revitalisation through arts and culture were discussed in panels on gentrification, governance structures and renewable energies to answer the question HOW TO SURVIVE?. In a lively exchange between the invited experts (among them architects, artists, curators, urbanists and cultural managers) and the audience, different ways and potentials on the revitalisation of former industrial sites and related issues were visualised. A detailed documentation on the Symposium will follow soon.

 

Additionally to the Symposium a forum on “New Impulses and enhanced standards in urban (district) development“ was organised by Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH within the framework of SECOND CHANCE during the euregia, an international trade fair for local and regional development in Europe. Jürgen Münch, Head of Division in the Economic Development of the City of Mannheim, Ph. D. Ewa Wyka, SECOND CHANCE project partner and director of the Museum of Municipal Engineering in Krakow and the architect Sebastian Stiess gave interesting insights in different revitalisation strategies of former industrial sites and brownfields.

 

With new impressions, thoughts and ideas on revitalisation processes, the SECOND CHANCE project will enter its next working phase.

 

 

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13/10/2010 - Where once wallpaper was produced

 

On 28 & 29 October 2010, the partners of the CREATIVE CITIES project meet at Leipzig to discuss the results of SWOT analysis conducted for each of the five participating cities (Leipzig, Gdansk, Genua, Ljubljana, Pécs) and to receive insights in Leipzig’s initiatives to promote creative industries. Most of the meeting will be held at the “Tapetenwerk”, a former wallpaper factory converted into a cultural centre with galleries, artist studios and a co-working space for creative entrepreneurs. Organiser of the event is the City of Leipzig with support given by Aufbauwerk. Participants will furthermore have the opportunity to attend the Designers’ Open fair and the Grassi-Messe for applied design, two important events for Leipzig’s creative industry stakeholder.

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12/10/2010 - Aufbauwerk as organiser during the euregia 2010

 

Every two years, the international trade fair on Local and Regional development in Europe (euregia) takes place in Leipzig. Already 2006, Aufbauwerk was organiser of a congress and diverse workshops during the euregia. Also this year, the Aufbauwerk team will use the European flair of the trade fair to host the expert’s forum “New Impulses and enhanced standards in urban (district) development”. The forum is organised in the scope of the EU project SECOND CHANCE which deals with the revitalisation of former brownfield sites through art and culture in Venice, Krakow, Ljubljana, Nuremberg and Leipzig. Therefore, positive examples of the conversion of former industrial sites and success factors of interlocking urban development with economic, social and cultural activities are jointly dis-cussed with experts from Mannheim, Leipzig and Krakow. Prof. Dr. Silke Weidner from BTU Cottbus, expert in the field of urban development will moderate the forum. Ewelina Wawrzykiewicz of the Muzeum Inżynierii Miejskiej and partner in the project SECOND CHANCE gives an insight in first revitalisation measures at the former tram depot in the St. Lawrence district. Furthermore, Jürgen Münch, Head of Division in the Economic Develop-ment of the City of Mannheim and Sebastian Stiess, architect and cofounder of urbikon.com complete the forum as speakers.

 

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SECOND CHANCE … makes creative

On 15 July project partners, interested and invited speakers met during the Opening Conference of the Central Europe Project SECOND CHANCE at “Auf AEG” in Nur-emberg (DE). With focus on culture and creativity the project aims on the reawakening of former industrial sites in Nuremberg, Venice, Ljubljana, Krakow and Leipzig. What are the contributions of culture to spur the development of former industrial sites? How can public-private partnerships (PPP) be used to increase the investments on such ar-eas? And what is the value of transnational cooperation’s to revitalise brownfield sites? In different presentations and a panel discussion these and further questions were discussed with experts from the different thematic fields. Hence, SECOND CHANCE aims on the challenge to jointly develop sustainable development poten-tials on former industrial sites in a projects running time of 3,5 years. That the successful re-use of borwnfield sites in cultural work- and living spaces is possible, was presented by representatives from the “Ufa Fabrik” cultural centre in Berlin (DE), the ’Het Paleis’ in Groningen (NL) and the Kaapelitehdas cultural centre in Helsinki (FIN). Motivation, persuasiveness and staying power have shown at all three presented sites that ‘they’ deserve a “second chance”.

 

  

 

 

21/06/2010 On June the 21st and 22nd the public kick-off conference of project SMART+ was held in Bourgas (Bulgaria). The Conference was used to introduce the start of the project work. The participants discussed current obstacles and challenges with regard to practical transfer of technology and promotion of innovation. Experts of Spain, Poland, Romania, Germany and Bulgaria referred about success and current barriers to strengthen particularly the innovation capacities of SMEs. All actors of this area are connected by the European frame, especially because European funding programs have an important relevance in this field of intervention. It was discussed, which instruments are regional available in order to forward the benefits of cooperation and institutional competition. In this context, Mrs. Dr. Tcholakova – Honorary German Consul in Plovdiv and representative of the German-Bulgarian chamber of commerce and industry – highlighted the importance of cooperation as an essential aspect of competiveness. The importance of human resources as an substantial factor in a complex process of knowledge transfer was highlighted as driving force in spite of different national and regional circumstances. The broad interest in the business location Saxony as well as in projects of the Free State can be seen as a positive signal for successful labor in the region.

 

 

 

 

19/05/2010 - The creative and knowledge economy in European Cities

 

 

 

19/01/2010 - Abroad Internships offered to Young Persons! 

Starting in April, young persons will go east. The TRANSGREDIO project facilitates unemployed young adults (aged 27 years or less) to take part in a medium-term internship abroad. The possible destinations are Prague (Czech Republic) and Swiebodzice (Poland). Interesting tasks and an inspiring working environment are offered by Polish and Czech businesses. For the participants, the internship will not only be a valuable personal experience but also a real help to find durable employment at home. A series of preparatory workshops will be organised ahead of the internship. During their stay abroad, intensive care will be provided. The programme finances all accommodation and subsistence costs as well as language courses. Interested young adults should seek further information on our website or by phoning the responsible, Sandra Commichau, at 0341/14077970. 

 

 

Final conference – BRAVE NEW WORK

On 14th December was the final meeting of the European funded project BRAVE NEW WORK where partners from Greek, Italy, Spain and Germany meet. In Girona, a contemplative small town in the north east of Catalonia, the final outcomes of the project were discussed. Together with the Spanish partners, Aufbauwerk as coordinator of the project organised the conference. Aim of BRAVE NEW WORK, which started in December 2007, was the mobilisation of people aged 50 and older to receive positive work experiences through an internship in a partner region. New interests –new friends – new mobility: Brave New Work as an “once in a lifetime” work and travel experience! – a slogan which accompanied the participants throughout their internship and beyond. Round about 40 participants, including hosting institutions, attended the final conference. The project partners started to give a feedback of their experiences in convincing elderly people to take part in this project and the related problems at the beginning of BRAVE NEW WORK. Later on the participants reported about their working experiences in the new environment of a foreign country. They received the Europass Mobility, an official document stating their successful participation in the project. Finally, each participant, hosting institution and project partner received a documentary movie, showing the elderly people before, during and after their internship. The movie highlights the diversified working fields and affecting moments of the participants.

→documentary movie Brave New Work

 

Mobility Conference at Girona – A Project is finishing
After a lifetime of two years, the BRAVE NEW WORK project comes to an end. In cooperation with ESPIRAL from Girona (Spain), the Region of Western Greece and ANAPIA Abruzzo (Italy), internships for elderly persons (50+) in other European countries have been organised. The exchange gave the participants the opportunity to develop their job mobility, to add an important experience to their CV, and to explore new employment perspectives for themselves. On 14 & 15 December 2009, all project participants will receive a EUROPASS diploma that certifies their abroad internship. During the event, participants, project partners and other stakeholders will discuss and jointly reflect the value of a project like BRAVE NEW WORK for elderly persons. Highlight of the conference will be the premiere of a documentary movie that portraits the participants before, during and after their internships.

 

The Successful Story of SMART soon continues:
The Monitoring Committee of the INTERREG IVC Programme of the European Union has approved the application for a mini-programme "SMART+". The Lead Partner is once again the Aragonese Federation of Municipalities and Regions (FAMCP). The project brings all original partner from the SMART RFO (INTERREG IIIC) as well as two new partners from Romania (Cluj County Council) and Bulgaria (National Association of Municipalities) together. SMART+ will start its lifetime on 1 January 2010. A new website will be set up early in 2010 to give all further information. The Aufbawerk will function as the Technical Project Secretariat. The tasks include the financial management and controlling of the project as well as ensure a joint concerted project implementation.

 

 

 

 

Presentation in Sweden

On invitation of the Joint Technical Secretariat of the INTERREG IVC Programme, Aufbauwerk will present the intermediary results and experiences from the ESF6 CIA project at the „Capitalisation Conference“ on 9 and 10 December 2009 at Gothenburg, Sweden. The event is part of the official programme of the Swedish Presidency in the European Council. About 400 persons are expected to attend the event, coming from all over Europe and including senior representatives from EU member states. More information about the conference are available here: http://interreg4c2009.eu

 

 

 

 

11/10/2010 - First partner meeting in the energy project EmPower

On the first of October the partners of the Intelligent Energy Europe project EmPower met for the first time in the Centre for Technology Structure of the Riesa-Großenhain Region (ZTS) in Glaubitz. The main purpose of the meeting was for the partners to get to know each other, as well as planning the next steps within the project. In particular, the discussion focused on the concept of the “Intelligent Energy Data Warehouse”. This is a future online platform that will bundle information and serve for better marketing of the products and services of SMEs in the sustainable energy sector. It will be produced until the spring of 2011. Furthermore, the project’s public relations played an important role. The partners agreed on the future logo of the project and planned the launch of the project website that will shortly be online and contain up-to-date information on the project in English as well as the four project languages (German, Spanish, Estonian and Greek). At the end of the successful meeting, the partners celebrated with a joint dinner at the “noodle center” in Riesa.

 

 

Yet again a successful funding bid

The team of Aufbauwerk can celebrate another successful funding bid. Last Friday, the Monitoring Committee of the Baltic Sea Region Programme approved the “CREATIVE URBAN POLES” project for funding in the next three years. Lead partner of the project is the Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences Cottbus (Germany). Further partners come from Zielona Gora (Poland), Klaipeda (Lithuania), Tartu (Estonia) and Linköping (Sweden). Aufbauwerk had developed the project application for and together with the lead partner exploiting the experiences from the begun work in CREATIVE CITIES. Link: http://eu.baltic.net/

 

 

Project start: EmPower

The first of July was the official starting date of the project EmPower (full project title EmPowerment of SME to Network for Intelligent Energy“). In EmPower, 12 institutions from four European regions are cooperating: Tartu in Estonia, West-Macedonia in Greece, Aragon in Spain and Saxony in Germany. Within the next three years (till June 2013), the partners will work together to foster the dissemination of intelligent energy technologies whose potential is not yet fully used, to support small businesses to better market their intelligent energy solutions in the partner regions, and to initiate technology transfer. The project belongs to the EU programme “Intelligent Energy Europe” (IEE) and has a budget of roughly 1.8 million euro.

 

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