Dominican Republic: Dominican Republic is recognized not only as a tourist destination but also as a cultural destination for its tangible and intangible patrimony, gastronomy, cultural industries and arts. The city of Santo Domingo was selected the 2010 American Capital of Culture, a designation created to promote inter-American integration in the cultural field and to promote respect for national and regional diversity. A noteworthy initiative of the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic is the creation of a new penitentiary model with an educational centre that provides inmates with a Free School programme as well as classes in painting, theatre, dance and art crafts. The General Attorney and the Minister of
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Culture recently announced a strategic partnership to sustain and develop the arts and culture in other centres of the country.63 The Ministry of Culture through the National Centre for Art Crafts created the National Registration System for Art Craft makers with the aim of identifying and supporting their works through initiatives across the country. Jamaica: Since the 2002 release of a study commissioned by UNCTAD and WIPO64 on the importance of music as an economic activity and source of income-generation and trade opportunities, the government has devoted more and more attention to the strategic role of the creative economy can play in fostering development in the country. A key message conveyed in that report, applicable in principle to the whole Caribbean region, was that the music industry developed with little government assistance. A turning point occurred when the National Industrial Policy recognized music and entertainment as two key elements of the national development strategy. This debate progressed further with the 2004 National Strategy and Action Plan to develop the Jamaican music industry, an effort that brought together the private sector, governments and international institutions.
2 The development dimension
Meeting of Ministers of Culture of the Americas was hosted and chaired by the Minister of Culture of Barbados,62 and the Ministerial session adopted a declaration committing all the 34 members of the Organization of American States to increase their efforts to promote and support cultural and creative industries activities as part of their national policies for the promotion of sustainable economic growth. UNCTAD was invited to present the findings of the Creative Economy Report 2008 for the Ministerial segment.
Brand Jamaica as the home of reggae
Creativity represents one of Jamaica’s most distinguishable assets and competitive advantages as a country. Through its music, fashion, dance and cuisine Jamaican culture continues to influence and impact global pop culture as it has done since the introduction of Garveyism, Rastafari and reggae music. Jamaica’s exploitation of this sector is vital if it is to realize development gains from international trade, as highlighted in the UNCTAD São Paulo Consensus. The United Nations estimates that the creative industries are growing at a faster rate than the world economy in general. Yet there is still a critical lack of empirical statistics on the contribution of Jamaican music or creative industries to national GDP. This has resulted in repeated undervaluation of this sector in an array of studies, with estimates ranging from $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion in generated revenue. Brand Jamaica is a business brand building campaign to expand the country’s profile from a primarily leisure destination, celebrated for its cultural icons and athletes, to one where business plays an even greater role. Brand Jamaica has for the most part been an organic evolution driven by the country’s creative entrepreneurs and their cultural products. A decade ago, the Government awakened to the potential of culture and creative industries as an important economic strategy for national growth, signalled with the inclusion of music and entertainment as a strategic cluster group in the National Industrial Policy in 1996. Responsibility for promotion of the sector was given to the country’s trade and investment facilitation agency, Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO). The agency, in partnership with the music industry, facilitated the development of the national Sounds of JamaicaTM brand campaign launched at the Marché international de l’édition musicale (MIDEM), the world’s largest music industry trade fair, in 1997 in France. The initiative galvanized the Jamaican music industry in an unprecedented demonstration of strategic cooperation. However, after a vibrant period of active brand management and trade show participation between 1997 and 2000, the initiative lost momentum. Fragmentation of various aspects of Jamaica’s creative industries across five ministries and at least six agencies without the benefit of a sector-driven master plan resulted in staggered duplication, inertia and ongoing loss of wealth-generating opportunities. Additionally, Jamaica has a “hustler” reputation internationally, which negatively affects market confidence in supply consistency, legal protection and business practices. The global appeal and adoption of Jamaican music have spawned home-grown versions and artists within the genre from Germany’s Gentleman to United States Grammy winner No Doubt, for example. The increasing availability of home-grown reggae and the rising cost of Jamaican versus home-grown
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For further information see UNCTAD Creative Economy Programme E-News No. 8, December 2008. Observatorio, Órgano difusor del Ministerio de Cultura, Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana, N° 21, Enero-Abril, 2010. Witter (2002). C R E AT I V E E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 2 0 1 0
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