Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

entirely limited to the major urban centres. The successfulpromotion of creative industries requires that they bereflected in the national education system, which wouldoffer targeted training opportunities at different levels (formal,non-formal, informal) in skills and knowledge that arerelevant to professional participation in the creative-industriessector. Such training also needs to serve as a repositoryof knowledge relating to the rich cultural traditions thatunderpin these professions. It is also necessary to conferthe status and importance that are due these specializationsthrough a programme of certification and licensingdesigned specifically for the creative-industries sector.■Cultural identity/cultural diversity. An area that has traditionallyformed part of cultural policy in the broadest sense hasbeen government responsibilities for the cultural life of thepeople as reflected in the traditional knowledge and theintangible cultural capital of the community. Althoughthere are demonstrable economic ramifications arising fromareas such as the expression of cultural identity or the protectionand celebration of cultural diversity, this is an areaof policy that is generally regarded as intrinsically importantin its own right. For our purposes, it is clear thatpolicy in these areas should undoubtedly be regarded as partof an overall domestic policy strategy that encourages andsupports the creative economy.8Box 8.1Shanghai creative industries: The Chinese wayThe concepts of “creative economy” and “creative industry” have had great impact on China’s social and economic development, the most importantbeing the discovery of the economic value of culture. The academic and public sectors in China have focused on the value of the creative economy as“a kind of newly emerging culture perspective and economic practice that stresses the support and promotion to the economy of art and culture”.Therefore, in many cities of China, instead of “creative industry”, the “cultural creative industry” is a more commonly used term.As a country with a long history and rich cultural heritage, China has always experienced a strong demand for cultural products. The industries are manufacturingproducts for international brands, making China one of the biggest exporting countries in the world, but these products are “made in China”,not “created in China”. As a result, China’s new generation is playing Korean games and watching Japanese cartoons and Hollywood movies. Chinesepeople are increasingly surrounded by products originating in the creativity and culture of other countries. A 2006 survey on the consumption of creativeproducts in Shanghai showed that the group between 20 and 35 years of age prefers international brands much more than local brands, and this tendencyis even stronger in younger groups. This tendency is caused by the dominant idea that culture and economy are separate entities; however, thecreative industries may help to reverse this trend. Creative industries focus on culture and creativity and then extend to other related industries in theform of a value chain, providing broader ways of generating value-added products and services.Policy strategies for the creative industriesIn China, Shanghai was a pioneer city in the promotion of the creative industries, with the Municipal Government playing a key role. In the 11th Five-YearPlan of the Shanghai government, promoting creative industries has been listed as a key issue in developing modern service industries. In the past,Shanghai was very strong in manufacturing, but now it is shifting towards the service and finance industries. Hence, in 2007, it was a governmentpriority to accelerate the development of creative industries so as to promote the structural reform of industries with a view to building a new frameworkfocused on the service economy. In the “Key Guide for the Development of Creative Industries in Shanghai”, the five main areas of creative-industry developmentare:■■■■■R&D, including advertising, animation, software and industrial design;architectural design, including engineering and interior design;culture and media, including art, books, newspaper publishing, radio, television, film, music and performing arts;business services, including education, training and consulting services; andlifestyle, including fashion, leisure, tourism and sports.Creative industries already account for about 7 per cent of Shanghai GDP. Seeking to turn Shanghai into a creative city, the government has set a targetof 10 per cent for the contribution of creative industries to total Shanghai GDP in 2010.Stages of development of Shanghai creative industriesShanghai has divided its development of creative industries into three stages: creative-industry parks, creative-industry clusters and creative-industryprojects.■Stage 1: Creative-industry parks – the model of old factory warehouses plus artists. In the first stage, many old warehouses in the downtown areawere renovated and furnished to become modern office buildings while retaining some of their original equipment and appearance. These buildingsare usually spacious with high ceilings, making an ideal environment for the start-up of creative businesses by artists and entrepreneurs. Since thesebuildings were almost useless in the past, the rents were comparatively low and thus good for creative companies and individual artists. This modelhas proved to be quite successful: by the end of March 2007, 75 creative-industry parks had already been built in Shanghai.CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2010211