Creative Circular Cities partners gather in Tallinn to refine pilots in six cities
Cities from across the Baltic Sea Region have met in Tallinn on 3 to 5 December to refine their project pilots, developed in the BSR Interreg project “Creative Circular Cities”. The last event of the project in 2024 – the Strategy Lab – was hosted by the Tallinn Business Incubator and co-organised by Zero Waste Kiel and the Danish Cultural Institute.
During the lab, the project partners from Aarhus, Gdynia, Kiel, Riga, Tallinn and Turku were given tools and new sources of inspiration to develop their pilot projects for engaging their cities in a circular economy with creative industry input. The first day included talks on social entrepreneurship in Estonia, various initiatives at the municipal, activist and entrepreneurial level to tackle waste issues, as well as an introduction to collective governance structures.
Heading into the second day, activist and placemaker Jaakko Blomberg joined the Lab to give examples on how to involve creative people in city projects by creating opportunities and providing autonomy. Jaakko Blomberg is one of the minds behind spaces in Helsinki such as Free City of Kalasatama, Pasila Street Art District and events such as Kallio Block Party, Cleaning Day and Helsinki Sauna Day.
The Lab also benefited from the skilled facilitator and service designer Krzysztof Ożóg, who helped the partners to tackle complex problems through playful and thought-provoking workshops. In the end, the partners presented their visions for pilot projects ranging from a creative circular carnival to circular conferences, new business models and incubation programmes involving people at all levels, from students to small businesses and creative industries.
The Tallinn Strategy Lab also included excursions to local initiatives that are supporting the transition to a circular economy: Lilleküla Circular Economy Center which hosts repair workshops and processes more than 40 types of waste, Vivita Solutions Laboratory where children can develop creative skills and make creations from waste material, and Tallinn Design House which features various circular design product lines.
“Creative Circular Cities” is co-funded by the EU’s Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme to promote circular transition at local level by involving the culture & creative sectors and industries. CCC initiates a transnational co-creation process, in which 6 demo cities – Aarhus (DK), Kiel (DE), Gdynia (PL), Riga (LV), Tallinn (EE), and Turku (FI) – will jointly develop & test CCSI-driven approaches for an integrated circular transition.
