www.abcc.org.uk
13 April 2011 Volume 34 Issue 7 creative industries Louvre Abu Dhabi
billion in 2008 — more than double their 2002 level, indicating an annual growth rate of 14 per cent over six consecutive years. This is a confirmation that the creative industries hold great potential for developing countries that seek to diversify their economies and leapfrog into one of the most dynamic sectors of the world economy. The world economy has been receiving a boost from the increase in South-South trade. The South’s exports of creative goods to the world reached $176 billion in 2008, accounting for 43 per cent of total creative industries trade with an annual growth rate of 13.5 per cent during the 2002- 2008 period. This indicates a robust dynamism and developing countries’ fast growing market share in world markets for creative industries. South-South trade of creative goods amounted to nearly $60 billion, an astonishing growth rate of 20 per cent over the period. The trend is also confirmed in the case of creative services, whose share of South-South trade grew to $21 billion in 2008 from $7.8 billion in 2002. In the light of this positive evolution, developing countries are highly encouraged to include creative goods in their list of products and to conclude negotiations under the Global System of Trade Preferences in order to give even more impetus to the expansion of South-South trade in this promising area. A right mix of public policies and strategic choices are essential for harnessing the socio-economic potential of the creative economy for development gains. For developing countries, the starting point is to enhance creative capacities and identify creative sectors with greater potential through articulated cross-cutting policies. Efforts should be oriented towards the functioning of a “creative nexus” able to attract investors, build creative entrepreneurial capacities, offer better access and infrastructure to modern ICT technologies in order to benefit from global digital convergence, and optimize the trade potential of their creative products in both domestic and international markets. A positive spillover effect will certainly be reflected in higher levels of employment generation, increased opportunities for strengthening innovation capabilities and a high quality of cultural and social life in those countries. Policy strategies to foster the development of the creative economy must recognize its multidisciplinary nature — its economic, social, cultural, technological and environmental linkages. Key elements in any package to shape a long-term strategy for the creative economy should involve
concerted inter-ministerial actions to ensure that national institutions, a regulatory framework and financing mechanisms are in place to support the strengthening of the creative and related industries. A major challenge for shaping policies for the creative economy is related to intellectual property rights: how to measure the value of intellectual property, how to redistribute profits and how to regulate these activities. The evolution of multimedia created an open market for the distribution and sharing of digitized creative content, and the debate about the protection or sharing of IPRs became highly complex, involving governments, artists, creators and business. The time has come for governments to review the limitations of current IPR regimes and adapt them to new realities by ensuring a competitive environment in the context of multilateral discourse. The creative economy cuts across the arts, business and connectivity, driving innovation and new business models. The digital era unlocked marketing and distribution channels for music, digital animation, films, news, advertising, etc., thereby expanding the economic benefits of the creative economy. The mobile revolution is changing the lives of millions of people in the developing world. In 2009 over 4 billion mobile phones were in use, 75 per cent of them in the South. In 2008 more than one-fifth of the world’s population used the Internet, and the number of users in the South grew five times faster than in the North. However, developing countries are lagging in terms of broadband connectivity. For the creative industries, this is a constraint because many applications to stimulate creative production and e-business do not run without sufficient bandwidth. Therefore, national and regional investment efforts should be guided, in collaboration with international agencies, towards better infrastructure for broadband in the South. The creative economy is both fragmented and society-inclusive. It functions through interlocking and flexible networks of production and service systems spanning the entire value chain. Today it is strongly influenced by the growing role of social networks. These new tools, such as blogs, facilitate connectivity and collaboration among creative people, products and places. Pragmatic policymaking requires a better understanding of who the stakeholders are in the creative economy, how they relate to one another and how the creative sector relates to other sectors of the economy.
Policies and initiatives should be specific rather than generic, and preferably not top-down or bottom-up but allowing for ownership and for partnerships involving stakeholders from the public and private sector, artists and civil society. Schemes that are more inclusive and flexible will facilitate effective and innovative measures to revitalize the creative economy. Policies for the creative economy have to respond not only to economic needs but also to special demands from local communities related to education, cultural identity, social inequalities and environmental concerns. An increasing number of municipalities all over the world are using the concept of creative cities to formulate urban development strategies for reinvigorating growth with a focus on culture and creative activities. The main principles can be adapted for rural areas and disadvantaged communities as a tool to generate jobs, particularly for youth, empower creative women and promote social inclusion in line with the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Municipalities are therefore acting faster and more astutely than the spheres of federal government, which can be more constrained by power issues and bureaucracy. Ideally, target plans of action for the creative economy should be shaped at all levels, from the community to the municipality to the national level, independent of order. It is important, however, to reconcile cultural and social objectives with instruments of trade, technology and tourism. In the aftermath of the crisis, the firmness of the market for creative products is a sign that many people in the world are eager for culture, social events, entertainment and leisure. They are devoting a higher share of their income to memorable life experiences that are associated with status, style, brands and differentiation; this phenomenon, a symbol of the way of life in much of contemporary society, is rooted in the creative economy. Evidence suggests that even during the global recession people continued to go to cinemas and museums, listen to music, watch videos and TV shows, play video games, etc. Even in times of crisis, creative products continue to thrive as an integral part of our lives. This explains why some creative sectors appear more resilient to economic downturns and can contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive economic recovery. Each country is different, each market is special and each creative product has its specific touch and splendour. Nonetheless, every country might be able to identify key creative industries that have not yet been exploited to their full potential so as to reap developmental benefits. The report, Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option, published by UNDP can be found at:
http://www.undp.org/publications/CER%2710_all_o ptimized.pdf
11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32