[Kictanet] John Eger's essay "Forging a Creative Community for the New Creative Economy"

Tue Feb 21 19:08:59 EAT 2006

Hi all,
I thought some of youmight like this. Sorry for cross
posting.
Cheers,
FE

> 
> > From: john eger <jeger at mail.sdsu.edu>
> > Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 18:39:38 -0800
> > 
> > Forging a Creative Community for the New Creative
> Economy
> > 
> > Feb 17, 2006  By John Eger
> > 
> > Creating a twenty-first-century city is not so
> much a question of technology
> > as it is of jobs, dollars and quality of life. A
> community's plan to reinvent
> > itself for the new, knowledge-based economy and
> society therefore requires
> > educating all its citizens about this new global
> revolution in the nature of
> > work. To succeed, cities must prepare their
> citizens to take ownership of
> > their communities and educate the next generation
> of leaders and workers to
> > meet the new global challenges of what is now
> being termed the "Creative
> > Economy."
> > 
> > Having the most wired and wireless infrastructures
> are undoubtedly important.
> > San Diego even commissioned a City of the Future
> Committee in 1993 to make
> > plans to build the first fiber-optic-wired city in
> the United States in the
> > belief that just as cities of the past were built
> along waterways, railroads,
> > and interstate highways, the cities of the future
> will be built along
> > "information highways" -- wired and wireless
> information pathways connecting
> > every home, office, school, and hospital and,
> through the World Wide Web,
> > millions of other individuals and institutions
> around the world.
> > 
> > But at the heart of such efforts must be a
> recognition of the vital roles that
> > art and technology play in enhancing economic
> development and, ultimately,
> > defining a "creative community" -- a community
> that exploits the vital
> > linkages among art, technology and commerce. A
> community with a sense of
> > place. A community that nurtures, attracts and
> holds the most creative and
> > innovation workers.
> > 
> > In recent years, people habitually have referred
> to the domain in which
> > Internet-based communications occur as
> "cyberspace," an abstract
> > communications space that exists both everywhere
> and nowhere. But until
> > flesh-and-blood humans can be digitized into
> electronic pulses in the same way
> > that computer scientists transform images and
> data, the denizens of cyberspace
> > will have to continue living in some sort of real
> physical space -- a home, a
> > neighborhood and a community.
> > 
> > The state of California in 1996 launched its
> statewide Smart Communities
> > program, recognizing that electronic networks like
> these will play an
> > increasingly important role in the economic
> competitiveness of its
> > municipalities. The underlying premise of the
> California initiative is that
> > smart communities are not, at their core,
> exercises in the deployment and use
> > of technology, but rather active tools in the
> promotion of economic
> > development, job growth, and higher living
> standards overall. In other words,
> > technological propagation in smart communities is
> not an end in itself, but
> > rather a means to a larger end with clear and
> compelling benefits for
> > communities.
> > 
> > We have learned a great deal about the challenges
> that cities face in a new
> > global "information economy," an economy based on
> something other than the
> > production of goods and services or agriculture.
> Although these basic
> > industries continue, the new economy relies on the
> production, use, and
> > transfer of information and knowledge.
> > 
> > In fact, one distinct possibility is that cities
> of the future will not be
> > cities in the usual sense, but rather powerful
> regional economies. Kenichi
> > Ohmae, author of The Borderless World (1999,)
> suggests we are witnessing the
> > resurgence of the age-old concept of the
> city-state or, as he prefers, the
> > "region-state." The new region-state has the power
> and authority to take
> > ownership of its own future and establish a
> governing process reflecting a new
> > model of government for the digital age.
> > 
> > Civic engagement and new civic "collaboratories"
> (collaborative projects and
> > endeavors) will also be needed to help reinvent
> our great cities to reclaim
> > the sense of place and civic pride this once
> possessed, as well as to ensure
> > that no one is left behind. In The Magic of
> Dialogue: Transforming Conflict
> > into Cooperation (1999), Daniel Yankelovich argues
> that there is a "struggle
> > between two one-sided visions of our future: the
> vision of the free market and
> > the vision of the civil society." Citizens need to
> create the "social
> > capital," that distinguishes their communities,
> and in the process close the
> > gap between the electorate and those they elect,
> as Robert D. Putnam put it in
> > his seminal work Bowling Alone (2000).
> > 
> > Cities of the future no doubt will be "creative
> communities" in the sense that
> > they recognize art and technology as vital, not
> only to a region's livability,
> > but also to the preparedness of its workforce.
> Future cities will understand
> > that a basic understanding of the role of
> technology as a tool of
> > transformation, and that art-infused education is
> critical to producing the
> > next generation of leaders and workers for the
> knowledge economy. Today, the
> > demand for creativity has outpaced the ability of
> most nations to produce
> > enough workers simply to meet their needs.
> > 
> > Worrying about the lack of qualified workers in
> this day and age may sound
> > odd. With the globalization of media and markets
> in full bloom, America, for
> > example, is beginning to see the outlines of yet
> another out-migration of
> > jobs, unleashing new concerns about rising
> unemployment. Many economists are
> > alarmed that the latest round of losses -- unlike
> the earlier shift of
> > manufacturing jobs to Taiwan and less-developed
> East Asian countries -- will
> > have a dramatic impact on America's wealth and
> well-being.
> > 
> > Twenty years ago, it was fashionable to blame
> foreign competition and cheap
> > labor markets abroad for the loss of U.S.
> manufacturing jobs, but the pain of
> > the loss was softened by the emergence of a new
> services industry. Now that
> > the service sector has also widely automated
> itself, banking, insurance, and
> > telecommunications firms are eliminating layers of
> management and
> > infrastructure.
> > 
> > The traditional corporate pyramid is disappearing
> replaced by highly skilled
> > professional work teams. State-of-the art software
> and telecommunications
> > technologies now enable any kind of enterprise to
> maximize efficiency and
> > productivity by employing foreign workers wherever
> they are located, making
> > the service-sector jobs even more precious.
> Forrester Research Inc., a
> > market-research firm, estimates some 3.3 million
> service jobs will move out of
> > the United States over the next 10-15 years.
> Others put that number at 15
> > million, and say the results will be devastating
> for the U.S. economy.
> > 
> > While CEOs, economists and politicians are telling
> us that these are
> > short-term adjustments, it is clear that the
> pervasive spread of the Internet,
> > digitization, and the availability of white-collar
> skills abroad mean
> > potentially huge cost savings for global
> corporations. Consequently, this
> > shift of high-tech service jobs will be a
> permanent feature of economic life
> > in the 21st century -- but this does not
> necessarily mean the news is all bad
> > for workers in the United States and other
> developed countries.
> > 
> > Some economists believe that globalization and
> digitization will improve the
> > profits and efficiency of American corporations
> and set the stage for the next
> > big growth-generating breakthrough. But what will
> that be?
> > 
> > A number of think tanks, including Japan's Nomura
> Research Institute, argue
> > that the elements are in place for the advance of
> the Creative Age, a period
> > in which free, democratic nations thrive and
> prosper because of their
> > tolerance for dissent, respect for individual
> enterprise, freedom of
> > expression, and recognition that innovation, not
> mass production of low-value
> > goods and services, is the driving force for the
> new economy.
> > 
> > The new economy's demand for creativity has
> manifested itself in the emergence
> > and growth of what author Richard Florida has
> termed the Creative Class.
> > Although Florida defines this demographic group
> very broadly, he does a
> > convincing job of underscoring the facts of life
> and work in the new knowledge
> > economy. As he points out, "every aspect and every
> manifestation of creativity
> > -- cultural, technological and economic -- is
> inextricably linked."
> > 
> > By tracking certain migration patterns and trends,
> Richard Florida did a huge
> > service for those struggling to redefine their
> communities for the new
> > knowledge economy. However, many questions remain.
> Can the community, through
> > public art or cultural offerings, enhance the
> creativity of its citizens? And
> > if the new economy so desperately demands the
> creative worker and leader, what
> > should schools and universities do to prepare the
> next generation of creative
> > people?
> > 
> > I first realized that we were doing something
> fundamentally wrong in K-12
> > education when I was asked in 1996 to chair
> California's then-governor Pete
> > Wilson's Commission on Information Technology.
> About the same time, the
> > governor had a subcommittee on education
> technology, which I also chaired.
> > Participating in that effort were such luminaries
> as one of the founders of
> > the personal computer industry, Alan Kay; Larry
> Ellison, founder and chairman
> > of Oracle Corporation; Joanne Kosburg, former
> president of Californians for
> > the Arts and a secretary of state and consumer
> affairs under Wilson; and Jeff
> > Berg, Chairman and CEO of International Creative
> Management Inc.
> > 
> > Early on in our deliberations Larry Ellison
> suggested our goal should be "to
> > put a personal computer in the backpack of every
> K-12 student by the year
> > 2001." It was a big, startling idea and captured
> everyone's attention
> > regarding the enormity of our task. California in
> 1996 was about fiftieth
> > among the 50 states in computers per pupil.
> > 
> > But Alan Kay shouted across the room, "Would you
> give five pencils to a
> > school, Larry?" The computer, Alan argued, was
> nothing more than a pencil.
> > What about the paper? he asked, and more
> importantly, what about the ideas
> > that must come when we ask the student to put
> pencil to paper? Our challenge,
> > he said, was to better understand how students
> learn, what they needed to
> > learn to survive and succeed in today's knowledge
> economy, and what our
> > teachers in private and public learning
> institutions were doing about it.
> > 
> > Later that year I was asked to meet with a senior
> vice president of the Los
> > Angeles-based Alliance of Motion Picture and
> Television Producers, who were
> > asking Governor Wilson to "declare a state of
> emergency" to help Hollywood
> > find digital artists. Silicon Valley, we learned,
> also wanted the governor to
> > lobby Washington for more foreign visas for the
> same reason. There were people
> > aplenty who were computer literate, they claimed,
> but could not draw. In the
> > new economy, they argued, artistic talents are
> vital to all industries
> > dependent upon the marriage of computers and
> telecommunications.
> > 
> > Sadly, we discovered that art and music had been
> cut out of most California
> > schools over 20 years ago in our zeal to be number
> one in the world in math
> > and science. At the time this decision was made
> the United States was about
> > eleventh in the world according to the
> Organization for Economic Cooperation
> > and Development. Now, the United States ranks
> about 24th in the world while
> > Singapore, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are in the
> top 10 in part because they
> > have found a way to underscore the linkages
> between music and math, art and
> > science.
> > 
> > Until recently, there has been only limited
> evidence of the connection between
> > education and in appreciation of the arts and
> success in the postindustrial
> > age of information. But now it is becoming
> increasingly apparent that arts
> > initiatives will be the hallmarks of the
> most-successful schools and
> > universities and, in turn, the most-successful and
> vibrant
> > twenty-first-century cities and regions. One key
> to this vision is that we
> > must acknowledge the current out-migration of
> high-tech jobs as a challenge to
> > the status quo. As former Hewlett-Packard CEO
> Carly Fiorina told a panel of
> > governors a short time ago, "Keep your tax
> incentives and highway
> > interchanges; we will go where the highly skilled
> people are."
> > 
> > Those communities placing a premium on cultural,
> ethnic, and artistic
> > diversity, reinventing their knowledge factories
> for the creative age, and
> > building the new information infrastructures for
> our age, will likely burst
> > with creativity and entrepreneurial fervor. These
> are the ingredients so
> > essential to developing and attracting the bright
> and creative people to
> > generate new patents and inventions, innovative
> world-class products and
> > services, and the finance and marketing plans to
> support them. Nothing less
> > will ensure a city's economic, social, and
> political viability in the
> > twenty-first century.
> > 
> > 
> > John M. Eger, Van Deerlin Professor of
> Communications at San Diego State
> > University, was chair of Governor Wilson's first
> Commission on Information
> > Technology. He is editor of The Smart Communities
> Guidebook, released by The
> > State of California (1997), and the recent author
> of The Creative Community
> > published by SDSU. This article was excerpted and
> adapted from the March /
> > April issue of The Futurist, published by The
> World Futurist Society.
> > 
> > Copyright® 2005 e.Republic, Inc. All rights
> reserved.
> > eRepublic, Inc. 100 Blue Ravine Rd., Folsom, CA
> 95630
> > 
> > --
> > John M. Eger
> > Van Deerlin Chair of Communication and Public
> Policy
> > Executive Director, International Center for
> Communications
> > San Diego State University
> > 5500 Campanile Drive
> > PFSA 160
> > San Diego, CA
> > 92182-4522
> > telephone 6195946910
> 
> 
>
****************************************************************************
> ***
> * Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA
> *
> * (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation
> Association in the U.S.A.)
> *
> * Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in
> Distance Education
> *
> * Founder and V.P. for Technology and Coordination
> of
> *
> *   Global University System (GUS)
> *
> * 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-5913,
> U.S.A.
> *
> * Tel: 718-939-0928; Email: utsumi at columbia.edu
> *
> * 
>
http://www.itu.int/wsis/goldenbook/search/display.asp?Quest=8032562&lang=en
> *
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> *
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> 
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    Florence Etta
  Programme Co-ordinator
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