Beauty, art and joy are those intangible attributes that give mere humans a glimpse into transcendence. Creativity and cultural expression are often the thing that break the monotony in many societies. Creatives and cultural entrepreneurs have risen to the fore in the last couple of years as being one of the keys to bolstering economies worldwide.
This observation is no different in the Caribbean and Dr. Keith Nurse mentioned “Caribbean economies have a narrow and declining industrial base and an expanding debt overhang in part due to deteriorating export competitiveness. As such there is an increasing view among Caribbean governments and regional agencies that the creative industries can be an engine for economic growth and a mechanism for diversifying economies and improving global competitiveness.”
The Orange Economy or the Creative Economy, as defined by John Howkins, “includes all the sectors whose goods and services are based on intellectual property: advertising, architecture, crafts, design, fashion, film, games and toys, music, publishing, research and development, software, TV and radio, and videogames, and visual and performing arts.” The wide range of business opportunities within this sector helps to point to the great impact it has and can have, and the Entrepreneur Weekly is spreading some light on that today.
Global Impact
The Cultural and Creative Industries have great potential and have already begun to show their capacity. In a 2015 study done by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), it is said that this particular economy stands out from the crowd because the individuals within these industries tend to be young, highly productive, educated and they display independence and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneur Weekly is all about empowering entrepreneurs in various fields to pursue their dreams and business owners within the CCI have great capacity for economic growth and it is a viable industry to be involved in.
In the same report done by UNESCO, it was revealed that “Capitalising US$2,250b and nearly 30 million jobs worldwide, the cultural and creative industries are major drivers of the economies of developed as well as developing countries. Indeed, they are among the most rapidly growing sectors worldwide. It influences income generation, job creation and export earnings.”
It is currently estimated that the Orange Economy accounts for 3% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and 30 million jobs worldwide. Inspired by ideas, it’s known for constant innovation, singular products (not mass production) and digitalised processes.”
Post Covid-19 Reality
The world is still adjusting to the blows of the pandemic but there were certain industries that were hit harder than others. Entrepreneurs within the Cultural and Creative Industries have been said to have fared consistently worse than other national economies overall. It is estimated that they contracted by US $750 billion in gross value added in 2020, while job losses in this field are estimated conservatively at 10 million worldwide.
Around the world, in the heat of the pandemic, the livelihoods of artists and cultural workers were tremendously affected by lockdowns and physical distancing measures. As the economies of the world emerge, there needs to be support given particularly to this sector for its economic capacity to reach its fullest potential and entrepreneurs within it can ultimately be appreciated for the worth they provide.
Local Impact
In Jamaica, the CCIs are what form the richness of “Brand Jamaica.” Though this is true, it is an underserved and under researched sector. However, there is an increase in gauging the economic impact and capacity. Through these initiatives, it has been noted that the local CCI contributes 5.2% of the country’s GDP, generates 3% of total employment and is estimated at generating 2.2billion annually in revenues.
Entrepreneurs within this sector are valuable to the country and have the capacity to increase in value if their efforts are substantially supported.
JBDC and the Orange Economy
The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) has had a long history with entrepreneurs within the Cultural and Creative Industries. This interest now finds fruit in a project with UNESCO. The project, “Validating Jamaica’s Cultural & Creative Industry through Economic Impact Assessments and National Statistical System (JAM NSS-CCI)” is geared toward validating Jamaica’s CCIs through Economic Impact Assessments and National Statistical System.
The JBDC wants creatives’ voices to be heard within the important conversations that shape advocacy and inform policies. Through this partnership, the JBDC will take the lead on promoting the Creative Voices Survey to gather data from individuals within the CCI as well as encourage industry associations and other key networks to do an extensive survey promotion to their networks.
Along with this survey, there will be key stakeholder consultation sessions during the period November 15 – 18, 2022, with individuals within Governance & Policy, Education, Industry Associations, Literature & Publishing, Film, TV, Broadcast & Digital Media, Design & Fashion, Museums & Galleries, Theatre, Dance & Performing Arts and Music. Following, this the industry wide survey will be activated.
Sources
https://www.santander.com/en/stories/orange-economy
https://www.jbdc.net/knowledge/mapping-of-jamaica-cultural-creative-industries/
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/disruption-and-resilience-unesco-reports-reveal-new-data-impact-covid-19-culture
https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/The-Orange-Economy-An-Infinite-Opportunity.pdf
https://publications.iadb.org/en/orange-economy-infinite-opportunity
https://www.iadb.org/en/news/orange-economy-innovations-you-may-not-know-were-latin-america-and-caribbean
https://blogs.iadb.org/caribbean-dev-trends/en/the-creative-orange-economy-and-the-caribbean/
https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditctsce2022d1_overview_en.pdf
