On November 10, the Florence municipal administration signed the agreement regarding “Shanghai and Florence – China-Italy Design Exchange Center” with UNESCO “Creative City” (Shanghai) Promotion Office (hereinafter referred to as “Creative City” Promotion Office”) to officially launch the construction of this project. It is reported that this is a quite substantial cooperation between Florence and Shanghai in the field of creative industry, which will open a new chapter for Florence and Europe in this area. The Mayor of Florence, the Vice-president of Tuscany region, the consul general of China in Florence attended the signing ceremony; moreover, Tongji University and Florence municipal administration also signed the project cooperation agreement simultaneously. The President of DOBE, Jia Bo, accompanied them the whole process and also attended this signing ceremony.
Italy’s creative design is world-famous. In recent years, China has increasingly boomed demand for innovative design and industrial design with the rapid expansion of Chinese economy and the transformation of industrial structure. Under the support of the governments of the two countries, the creative design cooperation between China and Italy tends to develop rapidly with dynamic academic communication, enterprise exchanges, personal exchanges and regional exchanges themed as design, which infused new vitality into the economic and trade cooperation between China and Italy. Shanghai is not only the economic, financial and fashion center of China, but also one of the cities in China with the rapidest development in creative industry, the maximum overall strength and comparatively mature industrial form, which has good basis for foreign cooperation and has already developed multiform creative cooperation in fashion, automobile, etc.
In June last year, entrusted by Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Casermation, the Creative City Promotion Office organized Shanghai creative industry delegation consisting nearly 50 persons to attend Italy and China cultural year Shanghai week – creative industry forum in Milan under the lead of the Chairman of the Municipal Political Consultative Conference – Feng Guoqin , and also held the business partnering meeting between China and Italy to reach cooperation intention on about 30 projects, including “Shanghai and Florence – China-Italy Design Exchange Center” as the most important one.
“Shanghai and Florence – China-Italy Design Exchange Center” is a project between Shanghai and Florence to boost cooperation. The project will establish one base in Florence and Shanghai respectively. The Florence base, suited at the Strozzi villa of Florence, will provide design studio, exhibition, show, project connect, training and other services for Shanghai creative design enterprises. It will become the window and start point of Shanghai creative design enterprises in the Europe depending on the geographic location and special position of Florence in design and fashion to expand to the whole Europe and promote the bilateral communication in the field of design and fashion as well as project cooperation. The Shanghai base will be established in the Shanghai creative industry cluster, in the role of providing Italy creative enterprises with opportunities to exchange and develop in China.
The Florence base is planned to put into operation officially in October next year.
