Creative industries offer untapped opportunities for growth and are more resilient to economic crisis, said a UN report released here Wednesday.
“Creative industries have shown more resilience to the impact of the global economic crisis than traditional manufacturing industries,” said the report, entitled Creative Economy Report 2010 and conducted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) .
According to the report, global exports of creative goods and services — centered industries such as arts and crafts, audiovisuals, books, design, films, music, new media, visual and performing arts — had more than doubled from 2002 to 2008, reaching nearly 600 million U.S. dollars.
“The report presents the creative economy as a dynamic solution for some of the most critical issues that the world is facing today,” Dr. Josephine Ojiambo, who is the president of the UN General Assembly High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation, said at a press briefing.
Creative economy promotes inclusive socio-economic development and has the potential to be an adaptive, innovative solution with the capacity to address a much broader set of priorities, Ojiambo said.
According to the report culturally appropriate institutional and regulatory frameworks are crucial to the establishment of economies that have the capacity to attract investors, technology innovators, and businesses.
The report also shows that South-South trade in creative products and South-South investments in digital technologies are gradually increasing but have the potential to expand even faster if supported by enhanced international support.
Ojiambo said that “the demonstrated impact of creative economy can set forth an applicable framework for further development gains.”
An example of a creative industry in a developing country is Nigeria’s 2.75 billion U.S. dollar film industry, also known as ” Nollywood,” which is the third largest in the world, creates thousands of jobs and is the country’s second most important industry after oil.