meets annually in Geneva. This has paved the way for partnerships and prompted a new impetus for collaborative initiatives, taking into account the competencies, mandates and differentiated approaches of the bodies involved. A concrete example of such initiatives was the Creative Economy Report 2008, a joint endeavour by five United Nations agencies to improve policy coherence and the impact of international action on issues relating to the creative economy.
9.2.4 UNCTAD XII: From the creative industries to the creative economy
The international dimension of creative-industries policy
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A High-level Panel on Creative Economy and Industries for Development met on 14-15 January 2008 in Geneva as an UNCTAD XII pre-conference event. The session was attended by eminent government officials, policymakers, experts and practitioners from the cultural and creative community and academia. They represented 49 countries, 19 international organizations and 9 non-governmental organizations. The panel was convened by the SecretaryGeneral of UNCTAD with the aim of assisting Member States in their deliberations on this topic at UNCTAD XII.11 The session had three specific objectives: (a) to provide a platform for progress in the intergovernmental debate in the area of the creative industries and the emerging creative economy; (b) to review the work undertaken by the UNCTAD secretariat in fulfilling its mandate on this innovative topic, reassert its role and identify areas for possible future work; and (c) to take stock of progress made on the analytical and policy agenda surrounding the creative economy. It was recognized that, in line with its mandate (São Paulo Consensus, paragraphs 65 and 91), UNCTAD has been playing a key role in sensitizing governments to the potential of the creative economy to foster trade and development gains, promoting policyoriented initiatives and enhancing cooperation with countries, institutions and the international community at large.12 The panel discussed policy strategies, multilateral processes, national experiences, assessment tools, and areas for international cooperation aiming at enhancing creative capacities in developing countries. It also recognized that UNCTAD’s work in the area of the creative economy and the creative industries should be pursued and enhanced. Participants expressed support for UNCTAD to strengthen 11 12 13 14
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synergies with the United Nations agencies, in particular with the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, UNESCO, WIPO and ITC. UNCTAD should continue to fulfil its mandates and assist governments on issues related to the development dimension of the creative economy, in line with the three pillars of its work: (a) consensus-building, by providing a platform for intergovernmental debates; (b) policy-oriented analysis, by identifying key issues underlying the creative economy and the dynamics of creative industries in world markets; and (c) technical cooperation, by assisting developing countries to enhance their creative economies for trade and development gains. Furthermore, two other important events were held during the twelfth session of the quadrennial Ministerial Conference of UNCTAD held in Accra, Ghana, from 20 to 25 April 2008: (a) the launching of the Creative Economy Report 200813 by the Partnership between UNCTAD and the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation as the first multi-agency study to present the United Nations perspective on this emerging topic; and (b) the launching of the UNCTAD Creative Africa Initiative.14 Creative Africa was an initiative put forward by the UNCTAD secretariat with a view to bringing greater pragmatism to the policy debates. The aim was to showcase the diversity of African culture and the vigour of African creative industries through a series of cultural events held during the conference. Creative Africa marked the starting point of a strategy to strengthen the creative economy so as to foster development in Africa. The events spotlighted the continent’s visual arts, music, dance, film and fashion. The initiative was articulated as a tool for promoting government and business interests and to open up new avenues to effective international cooperation. The Creative Africa concept is based on ownership and partnerships involving all stakeholders. Famous African artists performed through music, poetry, dance, film, and fashion as well as arts crafts exhibition. Moreover, two seminars provided a forum for free open dialogues to shape business, investments, partnerships and international cooperation through action-oriented initiatives. As a follow-up, UNCTAD was invited to address a meeting convened by the EU Parliament in Brussels in March 2009, gathering around 60 Ambassadors and Parliamentarians from the European Union and Africa, as well as the Director General for
UNCTAD (2008). For further details about the meeting, consult: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=1942&lang=1&m=14639&year=2008&month=1. Ibid. http://www.unctadxii.org/en/Programme/Other-Events/Creative-Africa/Launch-of-the-Creative-Economy-Report/. http://www.unctadxii.org/en/Programme/Other-Events/Creative-Africa/.
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