Date: 22 September 2005
Venue: Auditorium 1, CTICC
Cost per delegate: R650 Excl. VAT
Register Now by clicking here
The recent decimation of the Textile industry leaves the Western Cape with a significant challenge: How do we position the Western Cape Province for future economic growth?
The main industries in the Western Cape, namely tourism, agriculture and fishing are seasonally driven. Over the past eight years, the textile industry has seen a 28% decrease in the number of people gainfully employed in this sector, which for many years, has been the most significant economically active sector in the region. The cost advantages of the textile industry in the Far East, in particular, China, leaves us little hope of regaining lost ground. Our only strategy is to create a competitive, sustainable advantage that is not cost driven, but based on skills inherent to us.
While Johannesburg has clearly established itself as the business capital of the country, Cape Town still needs to find and establish an economically sound positioning, a business proposition in keeping with the character of the Cape. This business proposition will:
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Drive sustainable growth of the Western Cape economy
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Position the Province to leverage off the opportunities presented by 2010
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Create sustainable employment
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Allow the Cape to remain a flourishing business hub
Why the creative shall inherit the Earth?
The initiators of this event have identified as our first thought leader, Dr Richard Florida, a 43-year-old Professor of Economic Development at the Carnegie Mellon University.
"It's not just that the modern day economy has connected us all in an interdependent global web," argues economist and Hirst Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, Richard Florida.
"It's that now, more than ever before, talented people have the world at their fingertips, and their location decisions are changing the rules of the game."
Dr. Florida's insight raises a simple question: How well positioned is Cape Town to become a viable economic hub capable of attracting this highly educated and mobile elite?
Florida, author of the bestselling book, The Rise of the Creative Class, nominated by Harvard Business Review as one of the top breakthrough ideas of 2004, will address this question in a presentation ideally suited to business leaders and policymakers, creative entrepreneurs and educators.
Particularly at issue in his talk will be the way cities nurture and sustain the Creative Class, a cutting-edge grouping that Florida says includes people working in science and engineering, architecture and design, education, arts, music and entertainment.
This broad alliance, Florida's research has shown, is driving transformations in work, leisure, community, and the everyday life of cities. Drawn by the interplay of technology, talent, and tolerance, Florida's presentation will suggest the factors that turn cities into global economic centres.
For more details and register to attend the event, visit www.designindaba.com or contact Michelle. For more details on Dr. Florida's work visit www.creativeclass.org.
This initiative is brought to you by Design Indaba in association with ACSA, Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town.
Date: 22 September 2005
Venue: Auditorium 1, CTICC
Cost per delegate: R650 Excl. VAT
Register Now by clicking here
Speaker Profile: Richard Florida
Professor Richard Florida is one of the world's leading voices on development. A creative class thought leader and Professor of Economic Development at the Carnegie Mellon University in the USA, he has written two powerful books whose message is resonating in London, Washington, Toronto, Delhi, Dublin, Amsterdam and many other cities. The books ‘The Rise of the Creative Class' and ‘The Flight of the Creative Class' have sparked a lively debate on a range of new initiatives in cities and regions world-wide. It shows how some of the most profound changes in our workplace and culture stem from the rise of creativity as an economic force. This is a message of impact and interest to South Africa, - and one that speaks to the heart of Cape Town's vibrancy, innovation and creative life.
To find out more about his thoughts on this subject, visit www.creativeclass.org and read his articles on "What We Need is Vibrancy", "Managing those Creative Types" and "Managing for Creativity."
Richard Florida will be speaking at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 22 September on how to grow and develop the Cape creatively to ensure future economic growth and job creation.
Register Now! For more details and online registration, visit: www.designindaba.com or contact Michelle.
This initiative is brought to you by Design Indaba in association with ACSA, Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town.
Posted on Wednesday 21 Sep 2005
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