Newcastle‘s Intellectual, Social and Creative Infrastructure

Across Australia, Newcastle is perceived as a strong working and sporting city, with an increasingly recognised good environment and a high quality of life.  Problems of physical infrastructure – such as transport – need to be addressed.

But successful cities in the future will not be centres of mining and manufacturing:- they will be centres of ideas, innovation, and creativity.  This requires a different type of infrastructure:- the ‘ideas infrastructure’ – networks of people stimulating each other’s creativity, sharing ideas, and building influence.

There is already a great deal of creative and ideas activity in Newcastle, but the challenge is to improve recognition and connectedness – to build linkages and synergies between these groups, to increase the overall ‘ideas capacity’ in the city, and particularly to increase the national recognition and influence of Newcastle as a centre for innovation.

The New Institute’s next public forum will bring together a range of contributors to address the topic of ‘Building an Ideas City” – the challenge of developing Newcastle’s intellectual, social and creative infrastructure.

In a forum loosely based on the ABC’s ‘Q and A’ over a dozen different groups representing perspectives from business, social, industrial, arts, communication and media perspectives shall join together to address this challenge.

The evening also aims to build interaction between the invited groups, the general public, and the “Ideas Community” of Newcastle;  and to foster initiatives to build the infrastructure to support the development of Newcastle as a recognised “Ideas City” in the future.

The venue in Newcastle City Hall also provides opportunities for socialising in nearby pubs and restaurants after the forum.  This is a great step forward in the development of the New Institutes activities in Newcastle.  All Welcome!!

THIS FORUM IS OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC 
VENUE:  Hunter Room, Newcastle City Hall  (NOTE NEW LOCATION)  
DATE: Tuesday 11th October  2011  
TIME: 7.00 till 8.30pm  ADMISSION: $5 Donation
FURTHER DETAILS:  www.newinstitute.org.au  or Victoria at 0408588550

NEXT MEETING: The Church after THAT Problem.  Joanne McCarthy, Fr Geoff Mulhearn.  Newcastle City Hall, November 8th

 

 

Building an Ideas City