Success - Made in Langenhagen: A special exhibition

 

Contact data:

Bettina Reimann

Tel: 004951303532

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 

Main problems to be solved:

Lack of pride of the population in their hometown, lack of awareness of special values; lack of awareness about regional products.

 

Aim of the project:

By creating an exhibition with all the goods produced in Langenhagen in the past and nowadays new identification-factors for the population should be built up. Also small and medium enterprises who sell their goods directly to the people of Langenhagen should gain new customers. A mix of smes and industrial enterprises in our exhibition was made to show the variety of economical power.

 

In our exhibition people became aware of the fact, that all compact discs of Lenas „Satellite“, the eurovision song contest-winner, were pressed in Langenhagen by showing Lenas original platinum CD. But people also learned, that in former times wallpapers from Langenhagen were sold all over Europe. And they found out, that nowadays you can build a healthy nutrition with fruits and vegetables, meat and bread produced in Langenhagen. 

 

By researching, which products were made in Langenhagen successfully in the past, we also presented personal stories of entrepreneurship. An exhibition about goods and their producers, about people who dared to take risks. But also an exhibition about hardworking people nowadays and about goods with unique taste, produced by craftmanship.

 

Results: 

Make the products and the international or local success of producers aware to a broard public.

About 6000 people saw the exhibition, that was shown twice up to now, in Langenhagen and in Hannover.

 

Outcome within the WP: 

Create an event, that can simply be adapted to other regions and other countries. To show, how such an exhibition can be made interesting enough to fascinate the people. 

 

Outcome for the region as a whole: 

Show the large variety of entrepreneurship, create a different view on Langenhagen for people living in other municipalities of the region, creating interest and finding new customers for regional products.

 

Planning: 2012, January to May; exhibition shown in June and September 2012; documenation (brochure) presented in September 2012

Costs: About 24.000 Euro

 

Financing: Municipality of Langenhagen, VRA

 

Implementation of the project:

- Which stakeholders were involved? Entrepreneurs, politicians

 

- What process did you run through to fit the project into local conditions?

Historical research for interesting products and their stories; collection of products and information about the enterprises, that produce them; winning smes (especially farmers, bakers, slaughters) to take an active part by letting the visitors taste their goods.

 

- How did you sustainably implement the project (locally, regionally)?

With a brochure, documenting all the goods and information shown in the exhibition, we can transport the aim and the idea also to people who didn't see the exhibition. It's planned, to show the exhibition again, perhaps partially with new products.

 

KEY QUESTION LIST:

1 Which successes were achieved so far in the pilot project?

Over 6.000 people watched the exhibition

 

2 What are the expected boundary conditions for the project to be implemented?

Money is needed egain, every time the exhibition is built up in another place. Ongoing research about new products and developments is necessary.

 

3 Which related projects can be studied or consulted (other innovative best practice examples) before starting to think on implementation?

None

 

4 What is the applicability / transferability of the project?

The exhibition is easy to apply - every region has it's special products, a history of production and interesting stories of entrepreneurship nowadays and in history.

 

5 Which tools does the project bring in to alleviate / help starting up implementation elsewhere?

The documentation of the exhibition (available in german) can be sent to every interested municipality. It shows, which branches were included and which information is interesting to the people. Fotos and film sequences available on www.pferdestaerken-langenhagen.eu show, how an exhibition can be designed.

 

6 Sustainability 

a) How is/can the project be sustainably implemented? What is needed to reach this?

An exhibition on first sight is a single project without sustainability. But on the second hand it is a start, that can be extended and shown again and again, containting new developments. Therefore you need a little budget for showing and promoting the exhibition and people who collect new information and goods.

 

b) what are the benefits of the project seen from the Profit, Planet, and People side?

Smes can profit directly by presenting their goods to a broarder public; motivation for buying regional goods has a positive effect on the energy balance - buy local means buying without wasting energy for transportation; the profit for people is awareness of relationships between production and their city, of products, that are made nearby. Also: Knowledge about their hometown.