Report Programmers' consultation | Mobility & Safety, Night Agenda and Grants | 8 May 2024

We transformed the Theatre Foyer of the Rotterdam Library into a stage for discussion with makers and organisers from the city on 8 May 2024. Herewith a short recap of the N8W8 R'dam programmers' meeting.

After an opening with an overview of the N8W8's current projects and introduction of the N8W8 crew, all chairs were immediately pushed aside. We gathered input for our opinion on Nut & Necessity Night Mayor. We presented four propositions where people voted by standing left or right. The propositions led to animated discussions. where it became clear that the issue of Night Mayor in Rotterdam is nuanced. In each case, the position was predominantly unanimous. The results of our advice on the usefulness and necessity of the Night Mayor, of which this position was part, will be presented to the municipal council at the end of June.

We then divided attendees into several break-out rooms, covering the topics of Mobility & Safety, Grants and Night Agenda.

Mobility & Safety

During the Mobility and Safety break-out, it became unanimously clear that there is currently 'not at all enough' safe night-time transport in the city. It was argued that the presence of safe nighttime public transport could be essential for nightlife culture to flourish. After all, this is how the public and this is how workers can get home safely after a long night. On the other hand, it also became clear that this is not currently the biggest concern of nighttime creators, mainly due to the feasibility of a short-term change.

Grants

In the break-out room on Grants, it became clear that opinions were divided on the subject. Those who have applied for (and received) grants and funds before were more positive than those with less experience. People shared the sentiment that conditions and guidelines could be more sharply worded as well as indicated that many of the programme makers present did not have a clear overview of the grants, funds and schemes accessible to them. To lend a helping hand here, we will soon draw up an overview from the N8W8 R'dam. In it, we will highlight relevant subsidy possibilities that are interesting for realising your night project.

Night agenda

In the break-out room on the Night Agenda, we discussed whether and in what way, if any, there would be a need to set up a Night Agenda. The result of this was less unanimous. Where most votes were between some need and strong need. This also varies by target group, with tourists, students and visitors from outside the city in particular currently finding it difficult to find what is happening in the city in terms of night culture. People indicated that the UitAgenda is not currently a good channel for promoting events at night, due to the associated profile which is more focused on families and children. However, there is a need for a clear overview of events, indicating a need for curation and editorials to give more context to existing events. Participants suggested using existing systems, such as Resident Advisor or Bash, rather than investing in an entirely new platform. Others suggested that an Instagram account collecting all activities could be an efficient solution. It was also concluded that maintaining such an agenda or channel is a lot of work, which requires money. We are exploring further options for possibly rolling out a night diary and will advise on this.

Any other business

Finally, a number of questions and comments were shared in the open roundtable. Thus, attendees shared their concerns about the extinction of the night, and one wonders how we can put Rotterdam's night back on the map? How do we make Rotterdam nightlife iconic again? It was also mentioned that there could be more knowledge transfer between generations, transferring entrepreneurship and knowledge about organising clubs.