At its 10th anniversary the European Creative Business Network met on September 11 in Ljubljana – just before the opening of “FUTURE UNLOCKED” as part of the Slvoenian EU-Presidency.

The member forum 2021 was not only a forum for its 145 members in 40 nations to show case their policies and strategies, it was not only locking back and reviewing the achievements of 10 years after it started with 5 members thanks to the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 – to name a few milestones in supporting agenda setting in European Policy: Spillover Effects for CCSI (2013-2015), Research Alliance on CCSI (2016 – 2019), Cohrent Strategies in the EP (2018), Cross-Innovation of CCSI and its role in Horizon Europe (2019) and finally the promoting of the Knowledge and Innovation Community for CCSI (2020).

The member forum 2021 has been in fact a door opener for the next generation of ECBN and its makers. The ECBN Board presented

  • its agenda for 2021-2027 under the title

    “Great Green Creative Industries Initiative”
    and
  • its removal from Rotterdam to Brussels, being hosted by Cultuurloket at THE CANAL: https://kanal.brussels/

The member forum focused its debate on the cooperation with the Creative Climate Leadership in a new and strong cooperation with Julie´´s Bicycle, the innovations in public services, the governance gap in cooperation with Creative Bureaucracy Festival, and finally synergies with the New European Bauhaus, presented by Michela Magas, member of the high-level rondtable of the NEB.

After 10 years ECBN is ready to further develop as a sustainable structure in EU policy debate with a new base in Brussels, thanks to Maarten Quaghebeur, Director at Cultuurloket, and move ahead to contribute to the Tripple Transformation Europe is facing: The Digital, Green and Social Transformations.

Bernd Fesel: “I was proud to serve ECBN as managing director now for 6 years and to enable this system change for ECBN itself. Now I look forward to contribute as Chairman and Speaker of ECBN even more to the policy making for the Great Green Creative Industries. The New Brussels based ECBN will provide a strong platform for a next generation of policy makers for the CCSI.”