As the tech world gathered in Helsinki for Slush 2024, Estonia brought its touch to Europe’s biggest startup event. The “Finno-Ugricism 2.0.24” side event at the Estonian Embassy explored how combining creative industries with DeepTech reshapes the Nordic-Baltic innovation scene.
At the panel discussion, Estonia’s Minister of Culture Heidy Purga joined Finnish entrepreneur and investor Ronny Eriksson to discuss the changing boundaries between cultural and technological innovation. Eve Peeterson, Head of Innovation and Startup Department at Enterprise Estonia, moderated the dialogue, recapped below.
Breaking down the Creative-Tech divide
The conversation began by addressing a critical misconception about creative technologies. As Minister Purga articulated: “Creativity is not a talent, it is a way of operating… It’s essential for solving problems and overcoming challenges.”
Eriksson noted the recent introduction of the term “radical creativity” and questioned how this approach could be applied to solve today’s increasingly complex challenges. He assured that the Nordic region, where Estonia belongs, is the place to explore such novelties: “Just recently, we got the news that Finnish company Oura, which makes smart rings, raised a new round at €5B valuation. They are combining design and tech in a completely new way and prove we can have new category leaders here.”
A key focus then should be centred around the need to reshape educational systems to support creative technology development; Minister Purga emphasized: “Access to arts and the culture education must be the necessary factor which nurtures creativity and provides a solid basis for understanding human nation needs when developing technical solutions.” She assured that Estonia, which has Europe’s best PISA scores and one of the highest ratios of public spending on education, is nurturing future talent in such a way.
We may need to blur the lines. Now it works so that you have an art school in one location, and then you have a business school — somewhere else, and then the technological school is again in a different place,” added Ericsson.
However, AI brings more opportunities and challenges besides remaking the educational approach. One example is the film industry, said Minister Purga. “One can have a film storyboard drawn, or a character created by a single prompt now, and we need to see how that changes the creative process”. It is worth noting that Estonia is no stranger to movie-making — famously, Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Tenet was partially filmed in Tallinn.
She has also mentioned an Estonian art & tech farm Maajaam, which recently hosted ‘Wild Bits’ exposition, running until September 15, 2024, featuring as part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 program. Located in Otepää Nature Park, the exhibition presented 15 installations along a 3km trail, merging technological art with the natural environment. International artists from Germany, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, and other countries created projects that explore the intersection of nature, humanity, and technology. A perfect showcase of what this discussion was set to chat about.
To commence the evening in a truly innovative fashion, Minister Purga headed to the turntables, delivering a DJ set that blended the latest electronic music with techno classics.
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