Sir John Sorrell, ‘Creative Island’ author visits Taipei to explore Taiwan’s age of Creativity
'UK Creative Industries Seminar' was held in Taipei to promote further co-operation on creative industries between the UK and Taiwan.
'UK Creative Industries Seminar' was held in Taipei to promote further co-operation on creative industries between the UK and Taiwan.
To mark the first visit of Sir John Sorrell’s visit to Taiwan, the British Trade & Cultural Office organised a “UK Creative Industries Seminar” in Taipei to promote further bilateral co-operation on cultural and creative industries between the UK and Taiwan on 15 March.
Seven UK creative services companies presented in this seminar, showcasing UK’s best practices on product/industrial design, user interface design, retail homeware design, consumer brand marketing, music, creative talent cultivation and museum business. This seminar was served as a platform to facilitate possible cross-sector business collaborations with Taiwan industries.
Sir John Sorrell delivered a keynote speech titled “The Age of Creativity” at the seminar. He said:
I believe we are at the dawn of a new age – where nations, cities and businesses are increasingly turning to creativity and design to achieve growth and success. In today’s global economy, where capital and labour are so mobile, where goods and services can be produced almost anywhere, it is the power of ideas and innovation, of creativity and design adding value, that will bring growth, economic success and prosperity. I hope this visit will increase the mutual understanding between the UK & Taiwan’s cultural & creative industries, inspire new thinking and initiate co-operation which will deliver real changes.
The UK’s strengths in design and creative industries are well-recognised in Taiwan. UK architects Thomas Heatherwick and Rod Sheard have both visited Taiwan at the invitation of the Council for Cultural Affairs (now the Ministry of Culture), and given public lectures to audiences of 2000-3000. Taiwan Designers regularly participate in the annual London Design Festival (LDF) and for the last two years Ministry of Culture had hosted a Taiwan pavilion at LDF. UK companies also participate regularly in international design events in Taiwan, and in 2012 the UK was the only country exhibiting at the Taipei City’s Design Expo, featuring “Design is Great” theme on UK design, architecture and creative expertise.
The UK is also a very popular destination for Taiwanese studying abroad, especially for creative sector courses – Taiwanese students are the fifth largest international contingent at the University of the Arts London.
Further information
Sir John Sorrell is the author of ‘Creative Island’ I and II. He originated and developed the London Design Festival in 2003 with the purpose of positioning London as the design capital of the world and as the gateway to the UK’s world-class creative industries, which now has over 300 events at the venues across London. More than 300,000 people attended the 2012 event, with 60,000 from abroad.
Sir John launched a new annual conference called “Global Design Forum” at the 2012 London Design Festival, with the aim of bringing together leading players in the world of design to discuss, debate, to think and make decisions about the way they want design to impact the world. In November 2012, the first “Global Design Summit” took place in Hong Kong to take the conversation forward, identify the key issues and to help set the agenda for the future.