In January of 2007 the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) assembled a Creative Class Taskforce, consisting of many area organizations, to bring Dr. Richard Florida and the Creative Class Group’s “Creative Communities Leadership Project” to the greater Dayton area. This regional community empowerment project, now entitled DaytonCREATE, is an effort by 32 “catalysts” in five teams to revitalize the region’s economic competitiveness using Dr. Florida’s theories, existing strengths, and open source planning with the community. More information is available on Dr. Florida and the Creative Class at www.creativeclass.com

updayton is one of the five initiatives proposed by seven of the 32 Dayton catalysts. It was created to spur economic growth within the region by attracting and retaining young talent. updayton will do this by engaging, connecting and empowering young creatives in the Miami Valley.

Who are the Young Creatives? The young creatives are the next generation of the creative class. They are engineers, poets, lawyers, computer programmers, scientists, artists and architects – anyone who is between the ages of 18-40 and creates for a living. Today’s entire creative class accounts for 30% of the population and over 50% of all wages and salaries – young creatives and their constantly increasing college graduation rates will be an even bigger force in our world. Where young creatives choose to live and work will determine the regions and businesses that are successful in the next decade.

The annual Young Creatives Summit gives Dayton’s diverse young talent a louder voice in the region. Based on the ideas from the 2009 and 2010 Summits, we’ve launched an Action Plan for the community. To check out what we have planned for the 2011 Young Creatives Summit, go to http://updayton.com/summit.

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