Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

cultural themes in order to inform the public and mobilize thearts community around these themes.2.4.2 The Asia-Pacific regionIn the Asia-Pacific region, the creative industries havebeen an important element in the development of matureeconomies such as Japan and the Republic of Korea, as wellas of fast-growing economies such as Singapore andMalaysia. Many city authorities in China, Japan, the Republicof Korea and Singapore have formulated economic investmentpolicies based on creativity and creative enterprise as astrategy for economic growth and competitive advantage. Inmost Asian countries the concept of creative economy associatedwith cultural industries gradually is being absorbed andreflected in national economic development strategies. Manycountries in the region started to analyse the potential oftheir creative industries for job creation, revenue and trade.While both the crafts industries and cultural tourismcentred on heritage sites attracted some attention and are betterrecognized for their potential for income-generation, theyremain isolated activities. In general, these industries are thefocus of individual projects driven either by entrepreneurs oras part of development projects funded by the government,external international assistance or NGOs. Over the years,projects have been designed, for example, on the basis of thepotential of harnessing the craft industries as a motor foreconomic development among the poorer segments of thepopulation. Often, however, these economic activities fail tomaintain the economic growth foreseen in the projects assoon as external support stops either because of constraintsin terms of infrastructure or inadequate funding. It is graduallybeing understood, therefore, that a comprehensive developmentstrategy is needed to realize the potential of theseindustries for economic development and poverty alleviationin Asia. This is the motivation behind such programmes asthe Jodhpur and the Paro Initiatives promoted by UNESCO.Regionally, one can divide the Asia-Pacific region intodifferent groups according to how importantly the conceptand activities of creative industries figure in the economy.Several major Asia-Pacific economies, including China, India,Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea,Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam have much activity relatedto the creative economy as well as a strategic interest in creative-industrydevelopment, though it may not be expressedin these terms.China: The “cultural creative industries” startedbooming in China during this decade. As indicated in chapter5, China became a leading player in the world market forcreative goods throughout the period from 2000 to 2008,due to the richness of its cultural diversity and its ability toproduce a good mix of traditional and high-tech creativeproducts. A clear sign of the government’s intent to fullyexplore the potential of China’s cultural creative industries asa development strategy was its inclusion in the 11 th Five-YearPlan. Moreover, China has had the fastest economic growthin the world for more than 30 years, and technology has beenparamount in its “catching-up” strategy. 22 Obviously, theseconditions, particularly the combination of investment, technologyand creativity, have been conducive to harnessing thecreative economy in the country.Another important feature of China’s modernizationdrive and the success of its creative industries results frommultidisciplinary policies in which ministers of commerce,culture, science and technology, information and educationwork in a concerted manner. The creative industries have beenidentified as one of the pillars of China’s future economicdevelopment. 23 Structural reforms recognizing the growingrole of culture and creativity for economic development havebeen articulated with a view to enhancing creative industries,particularly those generating high-growth, value-added goodsand services. In this respect, China is a concrete example ofhow cross-cutting policies should be integrated in order toenhance the overall impact of the creative economy for developmentgains. Recently, innovative financing arrangements,including new private partnership, have been an engine for thedynamism of its technology-intensive creative industries. 24An important shift in policy orientation from “made inChina” towards “created in China” is already noticeable.China was able to mitigate the impact of the economiccrisis of 2008-2009 with a fiscal stimulus and other measuresto accelerate economic restructuring towards a more balanced,sustainable and environmentally friendly growth model.Substantial investments were mobilized for deeper structural2The development dimension22 Keynote address by E. Dos Santos (Chief, Creative Economy and Industries Programme, UNCTAD), on the interface between technology and culture at the Tenth ChinaInternational High-Tech Expo (CHITEC), Beijing, May 2007.23 Opening speech by the Minister of Culture of China, First China Beijing International Cultural and Creative Industry Forum & Expo, Beijing, December 2006.24 Address by E. Dos Santos, UNCTAD, at the Creative Industry Development Forum, Beijing, May 2007.CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 201047