Creative CommonsInvestigative Exchange Berlin

May 2010

document version: 10-04-201o

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.

This project focusses on creative bottom-up projects in various cities.

These bottom-up (/grassroot/upstream) realized projects can be

described as projects that have been created with little government

influence and has been started by people themselves. We believe that

these processes are of less (direct) economical influence for a city, but

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.

The Stadsridders Foundations goal is to utilize the creative opportunities

the city has to offer by means of multidisciplinary collaboration. We

want to create quality and innovation within the urban environment.

The Stadsridders’ members have different backgrounds, what ties them

together is their interest in the spatial, creative and social dynamics of

the city.

Creative Commons

Stadsridders Creative Commons website showing various bottom-up cases in The Hague and Berlin on a map

Within the Stadsridders Creative Commons project we organise an

investigative exchange from The Hague to Berlin. We are interested in

how bottom-up realized projects emerge and what the effect is on the

living climate in this city. In this exchange we want to learn more about

these projects in Berlin and visualise the outcome. This can then act as

an inspiration for The Hague.

A second goal of this investigative exchange is to meet creatives living

and working in Berlin and to exchange experiences. When possible

we would like to collaborate with them in investigating the bottom-

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.

The results will act as input for the two-day workshop that is planned in

June 2010 in The Hague. In this workshop with creatives from The Hague

(and possibly from Berlin) new possibilities for a specific location in The

Hague (a former elementary school) will be createded.

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

can travel with one car to Berlin. We will select people with different

backgrounds (design, architecture, communication, graphics, etc) but

who share the same interest in the development of the city.

Berlin Investigative Exchange

Page at the stadsridders website describing and visualising a bottom-up project

The investigation is focused on the following questions:

• How did specific bottom-up projects in Berlin emerge?

• What were/are the main factors for succes?

• What was/is the relationship with the government?

Based on this we will look for general conclusions and find a way to

present this to the people in The Hague.

The project has an open character: Stadsridders will provide the

framework, but the participants (and others) can shape the contents of

the project further. This way each participant can get the results he/she

wants.

The project can be divided into four different phases:

1. Preparation

Form an investigation group (in The Hague and in Berlin),

collaboratively define the research questions and collect initial

information;

2. InvestigationinBerlin

The investigation in Berlin will focus on specific cases in Berlin.

When possible we would like to discuss these cases with local

government and creatives was well;

3. ExchangewithBerlin

Learn from, comunicate and worktogether with creatives in Berlin;

4. Finalisation

Collaboratively finish the final presentation in The Hague and

present findings during the workshop in June.

Method

Video-stills of the interviews in Berlin during the first trip.

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. )

Concept Programme

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.

Financial

More InformationWebsiteStadsridders: stadsridders.comCreative Commons Project: stadsridders.com/ccBerlin Exchange: stadsridders.com/cc/news/berlin-exchange

ContactArn van der Pluijmarn@stadsridders.com+31 6 1809 2978skype: avanderpluijm