Culture and the experience economy can help address issues like materialism and unsustainable growth. Non-material forms of social capital and experiences provided by culture are part of the solution. Culture creates places where people want to be, fostering community and innovation. By changing values and behaviors, culture can help achieve prosperity without continuous growth and save the world from environmental and social problems.

8. Can culture save the world?

9. My pitch
- Happiness and wealth fell out with each other more than half a century ago.
- We need to ‘reboot’ economics and find a way to achieve prosperity without growth.
- Non-materialist forms of social capital and experience are part of the solution.
- Culture and the experience economy can win us back from materialism.
- Reaching people, and fighting for headspace, is a core strength of the cultural sector.
- Culture creates the places and spaces that people want to be in, fostering a more
compelling and competitive identity.
- Innovation must no longer be the preserve of consumerist ‘novelty’ and desire but has to
become part of how we craft our collective future.
- Culture can (help to) save the world.

10. Prosperity: The Reboot.

11. “Growth for the sake of
growth is the philosophy of
the cancer cell.”
Edward Abbey

12. In the last quarter century...
Global Economy 100%
Carbon Emissions 40%
Global Ecosystems -60%
Redefining Prosperity: UK Sustainable Development Commission 2009

13. The debt burden
- Personal debt in the UK more than
doubled from 1990 to today.
- Even during the 2008 recession, it
was growing at the rate of £1m
every 11 minutes.
- In 2008 it reached £1.5 trillion,
higher than our GDP .

14. What makes us happy?
Partner/spouse and family relationships 47%
Health 24%
A nice place to live 8%
Money and finances 7%
Religious or spiritual life 6%
Community and friends 5%
Work fulfilment 2%
Don’t know 1%
Redefining Prosperity: UK Sustainable Development Commission 2009

15. Sell Sell Sell

16. “Our commonest economic error is
the assumption that production and
trade are our only practical
activities, and that they require no
other human justification or
scrutiny.
“We need to say what many of us
know in experience: that the life of
man, and the business of society,
cannot be confined to these ends;
that the struggle to learn, to
describe, to understand, to educate
is a central and necessary part of
our humanity.”
Raymond Williams
Raymond Williams, Communications, 1962

17. Advertising is an
accident of capitalism.

18. Consumerism will
not save us.

19. We have to stop selling shit
to sleepwalkers

20. We (the UK) are consuming
three planets each.

21. Use Less. Live More.

22. Investing in the
experience economy

23. Fighting the (low cost)
flight.

24. Taking part...
- 66% of adults took part in
two or more different
cultural or sport sectors
- 79% had visited historic
environment sites
- 65% had visited a museum,
gallery or archive
- 54% used a public library
DCMS Taking Part Survey 2009

25. The value of ‘taking part’
- Mental wellbeing (or happiness!)
- Social cohesion and stronger communities
- Volunteering and engagement
- Lifelong learning
- Mass innovation and inspiration

26. Culture and the Fight for Headspace

27. Taking part...
- 66% of adults took part in
two or more different
cultural or sport sectors
- 79% had visited historic
environment sites
- 65% had visited a museum,
gallery or archive
- 54% used a public library
DCMS Taking Part Survey 2009

33. 100:4950

34. Allied London Lancashire Wildlife Trust Oz Promotions
Arup The Lowry Northwest Trades Union Congress
Bolton MBC MANCAT Oldham MBC
Bury MBC Manchester Airport Quantum
Bridgewater Hall Manchester Metropolitan University Red Rose Forest
Community Foundation for Greater Manchester Manchester Art Gallery Rochdale MBC
Co-operative Bank, Smile and CIS Manchester Pride 2005 RWE Solutions
Cornerhouse Manchester Student Christian Movement Salford City Reds
CTAC Manchester City Council Stockport MBC
Emerge Recycling Manchester City Football Club Sustainability Northwest
Environment Agency Manchester Enterprises The Printworks
Environment Network for Manchester Manchester EEACs Salford City Council
ENWORKS Manchester Museum Sheppard Robson
Galaxy Radio Manchester: Knowledge Capital Tameside MBC
Friends of the Earth Manchester Manchester United Football Club Trafford MBC
George House Trust MIDAS United Utilities
GMPTE Mersey Basin Campaign University of Bolton
GM CVO Museum of Science and Industry University of Manchester
Groundwork Northwest Moonfish University of Salford
ITV Granada Nornir Urbis
North West Regional Assembly Wigan and Leigh College
Northwest Business Leadership Team Woodford Group
Northwest Regional Assembly Wigan Athletic Football Club
Northwest Regional Development Agency

35. Culture and Placemaking

37. Old school brand theories
- Products = Emotion
- Organisations = Personality
- Destinations = Experience
-PLACES = all of the above

38. Pre-requisites Presence
Anholt City
People Place
Brands Index
Pulse Potential

39. Tourism campaigns
Acts as a driver for image; share Shared themes, storylines and Gets you on the radar; sets the
campaign tactics and themes campaign tactics context for visits and promotion
Place brand
& image
Supporting an urban Housing market renewal Confidence & community
renaissance cohesion

40. Culture and Innovation

43. The Ten Habits of Mass Innovation
- One: Invest in creating - Three: Education - Seven: Innovation is - Nine: Consumers and
very widespread systems designed for the inescapably a public- markets need to be as
capabilities for innovation innovation economy not private undertaking: much part of innovation
in public and social the industrial economy. public platforms often policy as scientists and
sectors as well as create the basis for a laboratories.
commercial. - Four: Mass innovation mass of private
societies encourage - Ten: Innovation has to be
innovation.
- Two: Innovative societies ideas to be challenged central to the story the
are good at mingling: and tested. - Eight: Innovation needs nation tells itself.
they encourage people to be about how products
and ideas to find one - Five: Low barriers to are used as well as how
entry make markets
another and combine competitive and cultures they are invented.
creatively. creative.
- Six: Innovative societies
are good at turning ideas
into action.

44. Creative combinations...
- Two: Innovative societies are - Creativity is often highly - An innovative society needs
good at mingling: they conversational and so strong public platforms in
encourage people and ideas innovative societies need to which ideas can be
to find one another and be populated with spaces, published, debated, tested
combine creatively. real and virtual, where people and then taken up.
mix, publish, talk and debate.
- Creativity comes from
- This process of creative interaction and dialogue
combination often relies on ... between different ideas not
spaces where ideas and just from diversity alone.
people mingle ... institutions
like museums, galleries and
libraries.

45. Provocati
on 01: No
vember 2
006
The Ten H
Mass Inno abits of
By Charle
vation
-Innovation by the
s Leadbeater
masses, not just for
them: that must be
our national
purpose.
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46. Cultural solutions:
- Building social capital
- An ‘alternative hedonism’
- Changing values and shifting behaviours
- Reducing our carbon footprint
- Stronger places and competitive identity
- Genuine innovation
- A happier world