LAVA09
Dear participants,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to Iceland and to the second annual conference of the Northern Periphery Programme - LAVA09.
The theme of this year’s conference is a new generation of industry development, in which the industry development takes place in collaboration between the traditional and creative sectors.
There lies a great potential in adding additional value to existing products and services by developing the possibilities for cross sector collaborations between creative sectors and traditional sectors.
It has been said that the greatest assets of any region are its people, their individual creativity, skill and talent. Creative industries play an increasingly more important role in the knowledge based economy of the future. Not only for a higher average growth and job creation, but the creative sector plays an important role in cultural identity and in fostering cultural diversity.
Iceland is an appropriate place to hold such a conference. In Iceland we are experiencing the importance of our creative industries better than ever before.
During the economic collapse and the crisis we are experiencing. It is good to feel the creative power which has been Iceland‘s strength for a long time.
The creative power of our people is attracting attention and making Iceland a place where people want to come and visit.
The Creative Industries are a fast growing sector globally, providing numerous jobs and increasingly adds value to our identity.
Improving the quality of life will ever more depend on better utilisation of energy and involvement of creative and knowledge based industries. The creative industries must move from the margins to the mainstream of economic and policy thinking. It is becoming very important for our economy which is growing fast.
I want to give you two amazing examples:
1. Icelandic Gaming industry in Iceland has recently formed an association. The newly formed association consist of over 20 companies with over 300 employees. The growth in the industry is enormous over the next 12 months over 200 recruitments are planned and current revenue for 2009 is around 54 million Euros. The gaming industry employs those experienced in other traditional businesses and also those with experience tailored to the gaming industry.
2. Framestore, the largest digital visual effects company in Europe, has opened a daughter company in Iceland and employed dozens of people. There is a perfect mixture of artistic and technological knowledge needed. The company undertakes projects such as making the polar bear in movie The Golden Compass, to name one.
On recent work and work in process by the Government towards Creative Industries I would like to use the opportunity to mention three things.
Firstly, in May this year the Icelandic government increased reimbursement of production costs incurred in the production of films and television programmes in Iceland from 14% to 20%. This has been an important factor in keeping the production up and running in the times of financial recession.
Secondly, bills of law on support for innovation companies was recently presented before the parliament. The aim of the bill is to improve the competitive conditions of innovation companies and foster research and development work by providing innovative companies with a right to tax credits in respect of costs and on the other hand, encourage persons and legal parties to invest in innovative companies by giving tax deduction for such investment.
It is foreseen that this new legislation, if approved by the parliament, will enter into force as of January 2010, and provide valuable incentives for innovation and R&D companies in Iceland and further strengthening their growth.!
Thirdly, I would like to mention that a bill of law on Investment Incentives is currently being worked on by a working group at the ministry of Industry. The bill, which I hope to be able to present before the parliament in the beginning of 2010, aims at encouraging investment in Iceland by providing a framework for defined incentives which the state can grant to attract positive foreign investment to the country.
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This conference coincides with the European Year for Innovation and Creativity 2009. The key note speaker is Mr Įron Losonczi, architect and ambassador for the European Year from Hungary. Other speakers include Ms Steinunn Siguršardóttir, a well known Icelandic fashion designer and Reykjavķk’s Artist of the Year 2009 and Mr Ian Brannigan from the Western Development Commission in Ireland, which has commissioned a report outlining a trend setting policy for industry development.
As part of the conference programme you will visit CCP our leading company in the gaming industry company comprised of courageous pioneers willing to push their talents to the limits to create award winning virtual worlds and online games. A company creating diverse jobopportunities i.e. for economists, electricians, sociologists, designers as well as IT people.
The House of Ideas, a project which is home to several start-up companies, a recording studio, and art and design projects. Set up by Reykjavķk University and the Iceland Academy of the Arts with the aim of setting up 50 new companies providing 500 jobs.
Here in Reykjavik City Hall you can travel through the exhibition of NPP projects with Icelandic participants as well as a “living workshop” of creative entrepreneurs from the NoCry project.
I congratulate the Northern Periphery Programme for having shaped the conference Lava09, which provides an important communication platform between the creative industries and traditional industries at times when we are all looking at new ways to move forward.
I wish you all the best and hope that you will enjoy the conference and bring home fruitful experiences and provisions for future projects.
Thank you.
