Co-Creation Forum. Challenging the city walls

Overview

In the midst of the digital revolution, cities face with the problem of accessibility of information and dissemination of culture. While the historical centre has traditionally been culturally rich, peripheral areas often lack the cultural initiatives and infrastructure capable of creating new experiences and greater social cohesion. For some time, the city of Milan has implemented a good series of initiatives aimed at promoting and developing innovation and social inclusion for the most fragile segments of the city; yet, there is still widespread consensus that its suburbs should benefit more directly from the cultural wealth that characterizes the central areas. In fact, twenty of the twenty-one museums in Milan are located within the Spanish walls of the city. Digital technology is arguably the most powerful tool available for promoting the dissemination of cultural content and for activating new ways to enjoy the cultural heritage of a city.

With the goal of making Milan’s cultural milieu more permeable and interconnected, and promoting the widespread use of the city’s rich cultural heritage, MEET, along with the City of Milan and the scientific and methodological support of the Institute Without Boundaries | George Brown College of Toronto, will host a multidisciplinary team to devise innovative digital models for connected creativity. The aim of the initiative, developed as part of the European Regional S+T+Arts Center project, is to explore and develop innovative models that are able to use digital technology to outsource, extend, and connect the central areas of the city of Milan with the most peripheral and metropolitan areas of the city.

What is a Charrette?

A charrette is a collaborative and creative process that brings together stakeholders from different backgrounds to conceive, design and prototype ideas. Through intense brainstorming, and guided discussions, multidisciplinary teams generate solutions in response to organizational challenges. Participants are encouraged to use design thinking systems and techniques to obtain new perspectives that generate unique results.

What is the Institute Without Boundaries?

The Institute without Boundaries (IwB) was founded in 2003 in Toronto by the School of Design at George Brown College. The IwB is a Toronto-based think tank and academic program that focuses on the practice of collaborative design with the goals of social, ecological and economic innovation. 

How does the Co-Creation Forum work?

It’s a two day-long process taking place in Milan December 2019. The participants are expected to be a group of about 30 creatives, technologists, researchers, cultural operators, policy makers, artists, professionals and students supported by the team of the Institute Without Boundaries | George Brown College of Toronto. The objective is to identify concrete services and solutions that contribute to feeding the public policies of the city of Milan.

A project of:

Supported by:
       

Under the auspices of: