Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

a focus on innovation and creativity. 25 WIPO’s work coversseven main areas: i) literary, artistic and scientific works; ii)performances of performing artists, phonograms, andbroadcasts; iii) inventions in all fields of human endeavour;iv) scientific discoveries; v) industrial designs; vi) trademarks,service marks, and commercial names and designations; andvii) protection against unfair competition, and all otherrights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial,scientific, literary or artistic fields.9.6 UNDP: Engaging developing countriesin the creative economy for development9The international dimension of creative-industries policyThe UNDP Special Unit for South-SouthCooperation was established by the United Nations GeneralAssembly in 1978 to promote, coordinate and supportSouth-South and triangular cooperation worldwide and tofacilitate the activities of the United Nations system inSouth-South initiatives. The Special Unit works closely withthe China and the Group of 77 (G-77), which is the largestintergovernmental body in the United Nations, representing133 developing countries and providing the platform for thecountries of the South to articulate and promote their collectiveeconomic interests. Many multilateral processes are setin motion via debate at the level of the G-77 with implicationsin international and national contexts.The Special Unit for South-South Cooperation andthe G-77 engaged in the “Creative Economy forDevelopment” agenda owing to the immense potential ofdeveloping countries but also of their marginal contributionto the rapid expansion of the global creative economy andtheir limited participation in the international flows of culturalgoods and services. With the support of the G-77, theSpecial Unit began to mobilize the United Nations systemto build capacity along the entire creative industries valuechain in developing countries so that the full benefits of theirinnate creativity could be fully realized. Hence, the missionentrusted to the Special Unit by the G-77 in this context wasto promote better understanding of the potential of the creativesector and the new opportunities that it could create foreconomic growth, poverty reduction, social inclusion anddevelopment in the South.The Creative Economy for Development agenda beganto be formulated at the Second South Summit of the G-77and China, which was held in Doha, Qatar, in June 2005. Atthe opening session, the Minister of Foreign Affairs andForeign Trade of Jamaica, then the President of the G-77,recognized the global trends in Southern trade and requested“that developing countries explore new and dynamic ways ofresponding to these growing disparities”. At the concludingsession, delegates adopted two documents, one making recommendationsfor South-South cooperation and the otherrecommending specific South-South projects. The documenton South-South cooperation asked the Chairman of the G-77 to submit a study on new and dynamic sectors, includingservices and creative industries, and encouraged that arrangementsbe made for South-South sectoral cooperation.As a response, the Special Unit for South-SouthCooperation initiated an inter-agency dialogue in September2005, followed by the Creative Economy Forum in Shanghaiin early December that same year. Outcomes of the forumincluded a partnership with UNCTAD, the “Partnership forTechnical Assistance for Enhancing the Creative Economy inDeveloping Countries”, and the recommendation for theorganization of a Creative Economy Expo, which woulddevelop and reinforce market mechanisms for Southerncreative goods and services. This initiative strengthened thepartnerships that had begun with the United Nations Multi-Agency Informal Group on Creative Industries initiated byUNCTAD in 2004, and it reinforced commitment to thefledgling plans for an Expo. Later in 2005, the UnitedNations Day for South-South Cooperation highlightedcreativity and diversity and called for the United Nationsbodies to coordinate efforts with respect to the creative economyin order to bring about real development impact fordeveloping nations.Since then, the Special Unit for South-South25 For a summary of the draft and references to the full draft, see: http://www.wipo.int/tk/en/consultations/draft_provisions/pdf/tce_provisions_summary.pdf.246 CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2010