There was a palpable sense of energy and potential at our Belfast HUB-In roadmap workshop on 23 November at Titanic Belfast. Not to mention a great deal of knowledge and expertise, as we were joined by 37 representatives from the city’s heritage, public, creative industries, academic and voluntary and community sectors.
HUB-In is all about promoting urban transformation and the regeneration of historic urban areas (HUA) using innovation and entrepreneurship as a catalyst in eight pilot cities.
We had several aims for the workshop: giving delegates an overview of Belfast’s HUB-In ambitions, Maritime Belfast Trust’s work and an outline of wider innovation initiatives being developed across the city – not least the Innovation District where the HUB-In project is based.
Our main objective was to generate and capture ideas on how local creatives can bring their unique perspectives to support the Maritime Mile’s sustainability, preservation, and enhancement through innovation – and for these ideas to support the development of the Belfast roadmap.
Ian Turner from Energy Cities provided expert facilitation and structure, using the open space process – encouraging delegates to participate and interact with colleagues they hadn’t met before.
Enthusiastic discussion centred on the following eight themes:
- local people and families
- skills and education
- heritage and information sharing
- connectivity and infrastructure
- process and values
- digital technologies
- music and arts
- environment and sustainability
And now, it’s over to the Belfast HUB-In team to review and refine with Energy Cities those fantastic workshop ideas to align them with the wider European HUB-In project.
Our thanks to everyone who gave their time and energy on the day! You can follow Belfast’s progress here and by following @EUHUBIN on Twitter & Facebook!
Photos: Belfast City Council
