Creative Ghetto originally started with adressing the problems and prejudices there is about deprived neighbourhoods in Denmark, the so-called "ghetto areas" . The prejudices, that are often ethnically defined, have a segregating effect not just on specific groups of people, but also on the entire neighbourhood and its reputation and attraction compared to the rest of the city. This affects the residents of the area negatively because they experience the identity of the neighbourhood as socially fragmented and placed outside of the city development -socially, culturally and economically.

Creative Ghetto wishes to break this vicious circle. Not by focusing on cultural integration -the traditional approach - but by working with social and business integration. The local oriented background of Creative Ghetto are the various efforts that have been started the last couple of years on Nørrebro -Copenhagen. This is specifically the urban regeneration effort " Områdefornyelsen i Mimersgadekvarteret". This regeneration project is, among other things, a social and employment effort upgrading the skills of the residents of the area. Social integration is an integrated part of the ongoing regeneration of the area with a focus on improving the social cohesion of this place.

Creative Ghetto is a seven month education process with the aim of giving 13-15 young people in the age of 20-35 with immigrant background an opportunity to impress the experienced workers in creative businesses by using their good ideas and hard work and to make sure they get one of the prestigious jobs.

The most essential thing in creative businesses is innovative thinking. New trends, new ideas and new creative people. With Creative Ghetto the creative businesses get a chance to meet an unutilized creative ressource -the "new Danes" (people with immigrant background). The purpose of Creative Ghetto is to upgrade the skills and ressources of creative people with immigrant background and bring out new creative people into the spotlight.

An essential point of Creative Ghetto is that the share of immigrant people is a growing part of the population and for this reason an expanding consumer segment. This means that the advertising industry have room for persons that can target the messages to appeal to this specific growing consumer group. The purpose is then to make way for the of employment of people with immigrant background in the creative industry in the future. The establishment of networks between young creative persons with immigrant background is not just a job opportunity for the unemployed, but also a development possibility for the businesses.

Methodically the project participants go through an upgrading education giving them a broad creative basis education. This education programme makes the participants capable of keeping thmselves updated and establising themselves in the creative business. The methodic development of the project focus on exposing the skills of each participant as good as possible. In an educational context it is very important that the participants constantly are involved directly in planning of the individual course of development and that they know about their possibility to influence the course to suit their own goals and wishes. The young people must find their own creativity and show it to a selected audience -that actually listens- and make use of the network which Creative Ghetto can get them. The target is to make projects that match the work of people in the advertising industry. The education and the creative input will be given by comedians, actors, advertising people, media people etc.

Creative Ghetto has 3 modules:

The project has not ended yet, but when the results are visible it is important that the results get communicated out as broadly as possible. This communication strategy is planned for five different groups:

Creative Ghetto primarily benefits the 13 persons with immigrant background who learn to make use of their creative potential. In a more general level it benefits the creative businesses and society -both socially and economically. In a completely different level Creative Ghetto benefits the Danish housing strategy against ghettoisation, the municipality of Copenhagen, the urban regeneration strategy in Mimersgadekvarteret and initiatives like the entrepreneur campaign for people with immigrant background, including the "Born Global" project that is also supported by the European Social Fund.

The European Social Fund.

Creative Ghetto recieved 2,2 million Danish kroner in support from the European Social Fund, the municipality of Copenhagen and the Danish state.

Creative Ghetto
Heimdalsgade 37, 2.
DK-2200 Copenhagen N
Denmark
Pernille Skov (Projectleader), tel. 0045 27 37 75 67

31/07/2006

case

Urban Policy

Social inclusion & integration