Concept and context of the creative economy
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democratic governance. The report emphasizes that cultural diversity is a key dimension for sustainable development and peace, and examines four areas that significantly influences the evolution of cultural diversity: languages, education, communication and cultural content, as well as creativity and the marketplace. The objective was to propose a coherent vision of cultural diversity by clarifying how it can become beneficial to the action of the international community.
1.3.4
Sustainable development
The creative industries also contribute to sustainable development. It is becoming increasingly recognized that the concept of “sustainability” has a larger scope beyond simply its application to the environment. The tangible and intangible cultural capital of a community, a nation or a region of the world is something that must be preserved for future generations just as natural resources and ecosystems need to be safeguarded to ensure continuation of human life on the planet. Cultural sustainability implies a development process that maintains all types of cultural assets, from minority languages and traditional rituals to artworks, artefacts and heritage buildings and sites. It is the creative industries jointly coordinated with cultural policies that provide the strategies to get hold of the investments to develop and promote the cultural industry in a sustainable way. The creative industries participate directly into sustainable development. The notion of “cultural sustainable development” implies some concepts.46 ■
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intergenerational equity: development must take a long-term view and not compromise the capacities of future generations to access cultural resources and meet their cultural needs; this requires particular concern for protecting and enhancing a nation’s tangible and intangible cultural capital. intragenerational equity: development must provide equity in access to cultural production, participation and enjoyment to all members of the community on a fair and non-discriminatory basis; in particular, attention must be paid to the poorest members of society to ensure that development is consistent with the objectives of poverty alleviation.
Throsby (2008). International Trade Centre (2009). UNCTAD (April 2010), Creative Economy E-newsletter.
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importance of diversity: just as sustainable development requires the protection of biodiversity, so also should account be taken of the value of cultural diversity to the processes of economic, social and cultural development. ■ precautionary principle: when facing decisions with irreversible consequences, such as the destruction of cultural heritage or extinction of valued cultural practices, a risk-averse position must be adopted. ■ Interconnectedness: economic, social, cultural and environmental systems should not be seen in isolation; rather, a holistic approach is required, i.e. one that recognizes interconnectedness, particularly between economic and cultural development. The contributions that artistic and cultural production, dissemination and participation make to economic empowerment, cultural enrichment and social cohesion in the community, in order to promote major social progress, are the main reasons to support the principles of cultural sustainable development. ■
The primary input for creative activities is creativity, a natural resource in abundance in the world. The creative industries production is usually less dependent on heavy industrial infrastructure and can be easily compatible with rules and objectives that aim at environmental protection and preservation. For ethical trade to be sustainable, producers are advised to focus on innovation, and not only to seek out low-cost solutions. More support is needed for sustainability-related finance, scaling up social entrepreneurship.47 The creative industries offer a vast platform to this ethical business. There is a recent trend towards ethical consumerism. Both producers and consumers of creative products increasingly question the true cultural, economic and environmental value of what they create, buy and sell. In this spirit, UNCTAD has been spreading the message that creativity and biodiversity are well matched and should be seen as a win-win solution to promote responsible use of the world’s biodiversity, while promoting the development dimension of the creative economy.48 This topic is further elaborated in chapter 2.