|
|
|
| .Creative
Economy Report 2008 |
The
challenge of assessing the creative economy towards informed policy-making
by UNCTAD.org
The Creative Economy Report 2008 - The challenge of assessing
the creative economy towards informed policy-making is the first
comprehensive study to present the United Nations perspective
on this emerging topic. This policy-oriented analysis is intended
to facilitate a better understanding of the key issues underlying
the emerging creative economy at national and international levels.
It brings together contributions from five United Nations organizations,
namely UNCTAD, UNDP UNESCO, WIPO and the International Trade Centre
(ITC), in a joint endeavour to enhance policy coherence and international
action in this area.
Developing countries around the world can find ways to optimize
the potential of the creative economy for generating economic
growth, job creation and export earnings while at the same time
promoting social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development.
[...]
10.2 Major findings
10.2.1 Definitions and concepts
Definitions of the "creative economy" may vary, but
it is generally agreed that at the heart of the creative economy
lie the creative industries. There is no single agreed definition
of the "creative economy" or the "creative industries"
although clearly, they embrace the concept of "creativity"
as an essential characteristic. In the contemporary world, creativity
is often referred to as a key resource in the knowledge economy,
leading to innovation and technological change and conferring
competitive advantage on businesses and national economies. The
association of creativity with commodities gives rise to a class
of products known as "creative goods and services",
of which, many believe, "cultural goods and services"
constitute a subset formed by products with artistic or cultural
as well as creative content. This in turn enables the definition
of "creative and cultural industries" as those industries
producing creative and cultural goods, respectively. Different
models of the creative economy have different ways of identifying
and classifying the creative industries, though for the purposes
of this Report, the following groups of industries are included:
- cultural heritage;
- visual and performing
arts;
- audiovisual industries;
- publishing and
printed media;
- new media;
- design; and
- creative services,
including advertising and architecture.
This Report seeks
to establish a realistic benchmark of definitions of the "creative
economy". A future objective must be the generation of a
robust classification system that is not dictated simply by statistical
convenience or availability but rather is based on an understanding
of what evidence is
required to develop policy.
10.2.2 Cross-cutting linkages
The "creative economy" is a multidimensional concept
with linkages to a number of different sectors in the overall
economy. Different approaches to analysing the
creative economy lead to different emphases on its various aspects.
For example, a sociological approach has examined the notion of
a "creative class" in society, comprising professional,
scientific and artistic workers whose presence generates economic,
social and cultural dynamism. Other approaches
have stressed the role of culture in terms of social empowerment.
Even beyond urban planning circles, the concept of the "creative
city" has become established, while geographers focus on
the locational aspects of creative activity in the form of creative
clusters, networks and districts. The multifaceted nature of the
creative economy means that it cuts across a wide range of areas
of economic and social policy in addition to any intrinsic value.
Thus policy-making in relation to the creative economy is not
confined to a single ministry or government department; rather,
it is likely to implicate a number of different policy fields,
including:
- economic development
and regional growth;
- urban planning;
- international
trade;
- labour and industrial
relations;
- imigration;
- domestic and foreign
investment;
- technology and
communications;
- art and culture;
- tourism;
- social welfare;
and
- education.
Moreover, there is
a similar multiplicity of involvement across the public sector,
the corporate sector, the non-profit sector and civil society.
10.2.3 The creative economycin the developed world
In the developed world during the 1990s, the creative industries
grew faster than other sectors, including services and manufacturing.
One of the major drivers of this growth was the extraordinarily
rapid pace of technological change in multimedia and telecommunications
that occurred during this period. In particular, digital technology
opened up a range of new media through which cultural content
could be delivered to consumers, and the creative industries responded
by supplying an ever-widening array of creative products to the
market. On the demand side, rising real incomes among consumers
in developed countries, coupled with changing preferences for
modes of cultural consumption, helped to sustain the growth of
the creative economy. By the middle of the first decade of the
new millennium, the proportion of GDP contributed by the creative
industries in developed countries averaged around 3 to 6 per cent.
For example, recent estimates collated by OECD for member countries
indicate that the creative industries in France and the United
States made up about 3 per cent of gross value added in 2002-2003
and almost 6 per cent of gross value added in the United Kingdom.
10.2.4 The creative economy in the developing world
The engagement of developing countries with the creative economy
varies dramatically around the world partly because of differences
in the industrial and export capabilities of different countries
but partly also because of variation in the extent to which different
countries have recognized and implemented a deliberate development
agenda for the creative sector. In Africa, for instance, there
has been only limited commercialization of creative products.
Perhaps the most obvious illustration is music, a form of cultural
expression that is of particular importance on the African continent.
Much of the music industry in Africa remains based on live performance,
with formal production and circulation of music products still
awaiting further development. A salient issue here is that developing
countries commonly lack the institutional resources to manage
copyright collection and payment systems. Accordingly, star performers
are frequently attracted overseas in search of wider opportunities
or simply in pursuit of payment for what they do. Some areas of
Asia, by contrast, are at the leading edge of innovation in creative
production, as in the case of video games in the
Republic of Korea. Likewise, a number of Asian cities are formulating
urban development strategies with a strong emphasis on cultural
and creative activities. In the Caribbean and Central and South
America, the state of the creative industries varies considerably
across the board, with different industries being the focus of
attention in different countries, such as publishing in Argentina,
music in Jamaica or the film industry in Mexico.
10.2.5 The value chain for creative products
It is essential to understand the value chain for the production
and distribution of creative goods and services in order to determine
optimal points of intervention for policy initiatives designed
to boost the creative economy. A systematic understanding of who
the stakeholders in the creative economy are, how they relate
to one another, and how the creative sector relates to other sectors
of the economy is critical for informed policy-making.
One tool that has proven useful for studying the creative economy
is value-chain analysis, which depicts the progress of creative
goods from an initial idea through to final consumption. In particular,
it is important to examine the early stages in the chain, i.e.,
to understand the structure of the production sector for creative
goods and services. Production units in this sector range from
individual artists and producers on the one hand to large transnational
corporations on the other. In between are small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs), which, in many developing-country situations,
comprise the most significant element in terms of volume of output
and levels of employment and community engagement. In a number
of instances, these businesses offer the best prospect for combining
economic revenue potential with the development of authentic cultural
symbols and traditions, for example in the production of craftware,
fashion products, music recordings, etc. Indeed, SMEs may become
the cornerstone of locally based strategies for sustainable development
of the creative industries, enhancing the economic, cultural and
social life of the community. Value-chain analysis also enables
identification of creative products and services with particular
competitive advantages or that are capable of being developed
as niche markets in particular situations.
10.2.6 Data issues
Reliable data on the creative economy – on its inputs, outputs,
value of production, prices, employment and trade – are in
short supply among developing countries, and there is an urgent
need to improve statistical collections as a basis for formulating
creative-industry policy. The lack of a tradition for economic
valuation and measurement in the cultural sphere, combined with
difficulties of definition in the realm of cultural activities
and creative goods and services, has meant that there has been
a dearth of reliable indicators on which to base assessments of
the size and scope of the creative economy. Moreover, the rapid
pace of technological change has made it difficult to keep abreast
of new products and services constantly coming onto the market.
Thus at present, we have only a limited set of measures of creative-industry
output, employment and trade. In an ideal world, these are the
data with which we might start. In addition, data on participation
and cultural and creative activity time-use would help to develop
a more holistic perspective. Even so, new models are required.
In regard to creative employment, for example, statistics on occupation
by industry are necessary to assess the linkages between the creative
industries and other sectors while data on the locational distribution
of employment is important for analysis of creative clusters.
In regard to trade, although exports and imports of physical products
produced by the creative industries are documented (as in the
statistical tables on trade in creative goods and services assembled
as part of this Report), the increasing dematerialization of cultural
products has made statistical tracking of trade problematic. In
regard to audiovisual products, for example, the international
market in rights and services certainly exceeds the physical market
in value terms, yet documentation of the volume and value of rights
trade is difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, it is possible to
make some progress towards improving our understanding of international
trade of creative products through a combination of existing trade
data and statistics on copyright payments.
10.2.7 Trade
Despite the problems in measurement, it is possible to assemble
consistent data on trends in exports and imports of creative products
classified by region and by product category. In
a pioneering exercise, this Report presents a universal comparative
analysis of trade in creative goods and services, based on national
trade statistics that can serve as a starting point in the development
of more comprehensive and more transparent statistical collections.
This exercise draws attention to the complexity, the heterogeneity
and the multidisciplinary nature of the creative economy and points
to the difficulties in conceptualizing, classifying and measuring
production and trade of the creative industries. The actual figures
for trade are without doubt an underestimate and skewed towards
production, as this is where data collection concentrates.
As noted above, the material aspect of the creative economy is
potentially less important than its immaterial/rights dimension;
unfortunately, however, this is
the domain on which we have the least information. Moreover, we
have little knowledge of the effective modes of governance of
this trade. WIPO has made some useful interventions in this field,
but its objective is regulation; thus it
focuses on different variables. The trend analysis shows that
trade in creative goods and services over the last decade has
shown an unprecedented rate of growth as compared to the more
traditional manufacturing and services. Assuming this growth continues
in the coming years, it will open up new opportunities for developing
countries to increase their market shares of global trade in creative
products.
10.2.8 Connectivity and ICTs
As noted earlier, a major driver of the growth of the creative
economy worldwide has been the advent of new information and communication
technologies (ICTs). Of course, ICTs benefit the whole economy
but their role in the creative industries is of particular significance.
They offer new distribution channels for creative content; allow
the adoption of innovative entrepreneurial business models; and
strengthen the links between creativity, culture, technology and
economic development.
In the context of developing countries, ICTs have a strong potential
to boost socio-economic development, especially through the opportunities
that they provide to SMEs to broaden their customer bases and
increase their participation in international supply chains. ICTs
can leverage new links in the value chain in many creative industries,
especially via the phenomenon of digital convergence. Again, however,
measurement issues arise, especially in assessing Internet penetration
and usage, the extent of e-commerce, etc. Efforts are under way
in different parts of the United Nations system to meet the challenges
of new technologies through international cooperation, for example
in the compilation of standardized statistics, the promotion of
a global hub for networking, and support for creative-economy
expos to expand understanding of the creative industries in a
digital environment.
10.2.9 Policy towards the creative economy
The cross-cutting nature of the creative economy means that policy
development for the creative industries must be formulated on
a coordinated interministerial basis. The range of instruments
that can be used by policy-makers in charting
development strategies for the creative industries in developing
countries is wide indeed. In broad terms, the need is for infrastructure
development and capacity-building to reinforce the operation of
fiscal policies, competition law and
intellectual property regimes in addition to traditional debates
about intrinsic value. In more specific terms, policy initiatives
may be undertaken in:
- mapping of inventories
of cultural assets and creative industries;
- SME business development
and finance (e.g., micro-finance);
- copyright legislation
and enforcement;
- support for artists
and the arts, both direct (via fiscal means) and indirect (through
encouragement of privatesector support);
- conservation of
tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
- expansion of digital
capacity and know-how;
- market development,
both domestic and export;
- tourism promotion;
- education, training
and skills development; and
- industry assistance
(e.g., via investment incentives, tax concessions, etc.).
As a result, policy
development cannot be confined to a single ministry but requires
co-ordinated action across a range of ministerial responsibilities,
and although mainly urban in location, it is important in rural
areas, too. The appropriate development paradigm is one based
on sustainable development measured in economic, cultural, social
and environmental terms. Only by adopting such a paradigm shift
can we recognize the breadth and depth of
the potential contribution of the creative industries to developing
countries.
10.2.10 International context
The creative economy features in a number of arenas of international
policy-making. The challenge is to create a positive environment
to optimize the potential of the creative economy for development
gains. Moreover, given the multifaceted and multidisciplinary
nature of the creative economy, governments can benefit from synergy
and expertise from the United Nations system to analyse key issues
to assist them in policy formulation.
Policy-makers need to be aware of a number of subtleties in dealing
with the creative economy. In the area of trade, for example,
ongoing multilateral negotiations continue to encounter difficulties
in dealing with cultural products
although it should be noted that the General Agreement on Trade
in Services (GATS) has built-in flexibilities that developing
countries can use to strengthen their creative industries. The
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) offers some prospect for consideration of topics related
to the creative economy, but to date, matters such as folklore
and traditional knowledge have received little attention. Undoubtedly,
a major area for national and international action is the copyright
area. Further development of the creative sectors of many developing
countries depends critically on having in place an effective copyright
regime, as well as the implementation of the WIPO Development
Agenda. Other initiatives for trade expansion are under way, for
example the development of opportunities for increased South-South
trade as part of the work of the UNDP Special Unit for South-South
Cooperation and the facilitation of business opportunities for
creative entrepreneurs by ITC.
An important step forward in raising the profile of the creative
sector in developing countries has been the ratification of the
UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity
of Cultural Expressions. This treaty draws particular attention
to the role of the creative industries as a source of economic
and cultural empowerment, particularly in the developing world,
and encourages countries to give greater prominence to policy-making
in this area. All of these international aspects should be seen
in the context of the Millennium Development Goals. The Goals
provide a set of strategic objectives and the creative industries
in developing countries are well placed to contribute to their
achievement.
Summary of key messages
The key messages of this Report can be summarized as follows:
- Evidence shows
that trade in creative goods and services is important to the
economies of developing countries, and the importance of this
trade highlights the strength of the creative economy in many
parts of the developing world. Despite the difficult obstacles
that many developing countries face in accessing global markets
for creative products there is the potential for looking to
export expansion as a source of growth for the creative economies
of these countries.
- Policy strategies
to encourage the development of the creative industries in Southern
countries must recognize the cross-cutting and multidisciplinary
nature of the creative economy, with its widespread economic,
social and cultural linkages and ramifications. Key elements
in any package of policy measures are likely to emphasize the
"creative nexus" between investment, technology, entrepreneurship
and trade.
- Evidence-based
policy-making is hampered at present by a lack of comprehensive
and reliable data on the various dimensions of the creative
economy.
Progress can be made in assessing production and trade in creative
products in developing countries using existing statistical
sources. Further progress, however, requires the development
of new models for gathering data (qualitative and quantitative)
concerning the creative industries and how they function within
the economy as well as improvement in the quality of current
data-collection processes.
- Current IPR legislation
has not been able to avoid economic asymmetries. Therefore,
efforts to enforce IPR regimes should ensure that the interests
of artists and creators from developing countries are duly taken
into account. Intellectual property should provide a stimulus
to creators and entrepreneurs in the form of a tradable economic
asset that is instrumental to enhancing the potential of the
creative sector for development.
The full report is
available 
click
here
|
|
| .Next
Event |
the
future of Creative Agencies
Thursday,
February 19, 2009
Registration:
18:30-19:00, Conference: 19:00-21:15
Tickets
Location: Platform 21, Prinses
Irenestraat 19, 1077 WT Amsterdam [between WTC and RAI]
The
conference language is English.
Supporter: Info.nl
Our speakers are
Jann
C. de Waal,
Managing Director, Info.nl
A new breed of creative agencies
Paul
Hughes,
Strategic
Director and Partner, Lava graphic studios, Coach
to the Creative Class
Design for change
Robert
Marijnissen,
Programme Manager,
Creative Cities Amsterdam Area (CCAA)
The
City as a Creative Agent
Jochem
Leegstra,
Founder,
Creative Director, ...,staat creative statements
Moderated by Seth
van der Meer,
Creative
Director, Sandfire b.v.,
Chairman, NLGD Festival of Games
|
|
| .Club
of Amsterdam blog |
|
 |
Club
of Amsterdam blog
http://clubofamsterdam.blogspot.com
January
5:
It
Happened
January
5:
The
Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report
|
|
|
|
| .News
about the Future |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Singularity
University to Study Accelerating Technologies, Launches at NASA
Ames
With the support of
NASA, Google and a broad range of technology thought leaders and
entrepreneurs, a new university will launch in Silicon Valley this
summer with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders
to address "humanity's grand challenges."
Singularity University
(SU) will open its doors in June 2009 on the NASA Research Park
campus with a nine-week graduate-level interdisciplinary curriculum
designed to facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation
across a broad range of carefully chosen scientific and technological
disciplines whose developments are exponentially accelerating.
SU co-founders Dr.
Ray Kurzweil and Dr. Peter Diamandis will unveil plans for the new
university today at the annual TED (Technology, Entertainment and
Design) Conference in Long Beach, Ca.
"We are now in
the steep part of the exponential trajectory of information technologies
in a broad variety of fields, including health, nanotechnology,
and artificial intelligence," said Kurzweil. "It is only
these accelerating technologies that have the scale to address the
major challenges of humanity ranging from energy and the environment,
to disease and poverty. With its strong focus on interdisciplinary
learning, Singularity University is poised to foster the leaders
who will create a uniquely creative and productive future world."
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
| |
