While music rights holders are collectively being remunerated more than ever before, the (re)distribution of revenue in the music streaming value chain remains extremely uneven and opaque. When the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed live performance opportunities, it became clear that despite the success of music streaming, the great majority of artists remain unable to rely on digital revenues alone to sustain their livelihoods. This policy brief provides a critical overview of the challenges and opportunities posed by different revenue-sharing systems for the music sector’s main stakeholders, including artists, composers, labels, and distributors, while also identifying how these systems, can have an impact on the diversity of cultural expressions more generally. Building upon secondary research and interviews conducted with a variety of industry experts, it sheds light on existing initiatives which serve to improve diversity in the sector, summarise the main trends observed, and offers perspectives to ensure that the industry not only operates in a sustainable manner, but that it is ultimately representative of all those who desire to participate in it. 

The cultural and creative sectors were among the hardest hit by the pandemic, with over 10 million jobs lost in 2020 alone. Public investment in culture has been declining over the last decade and creative professions remain overall unstable and underregulated. Although culture and entertainment are major employers of women (48.1%), gender equality is a distant prospect. Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity – Addressing culture as a global public good offers insightful new data that shed light on emerging trends at a global level, as well as putting forward policy recommendations to foster creative ecosystems that contribute to a sustainable world by 2030 and beyond.

This book describes the forms of copyright-based transactions and contractual practices that together form what could loosely be described as an international standard. It can be observed in countries where film and audiovisual production industries have reached a certain level of maturity in terms of legal, financing and distribution infrastructures. Some countries where such industries are still emergent face challenges in delivering a supportive infrastructure for creators, producers, performers and other right holders to access the national copyright framework and ensure they are appropriately protected and incentivized by it. Experience also shows that – over a certain budget level – no matter where a producer lives and works, they will need to reach out to the international community of film financiers and distributors, and so become familiar with the global market for film rights and the legal standard required to establish the necessary copyright documentation.

This document is an overview of the lessons learned from an IFAD project on scaling up rural youth access to inclusive financial services for entrepreneurship and employment implemented in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. It contributes to shaping regional policy dialogues and strategies for supporting youth integration in the rural development space and will inform the design of future youth projects in IFAD.

This study maps the state of skill development of indigenous children, youth and adults throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It identifies the main challenges to skills development among LACs indigenous peoples at the five life stages infancy/early childhood, childhood and preadolescence, adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. It summarizes evidence-based policies and programs that address access and achievement gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous children, youth, and adults gasp that affect the development of lifelong skills and participation in the labor market. Based on the analysis, we highlight lessons learned and recommend lines of action.

It is widely accepted that schools and other settings catering to youth can play an essential role in offering education in life skills and character. However, there exists a broad array of potential targets for such programs, suggesting the need for guidance on which targets are most likely to result in demonstrable and valuable results. This report attempts to integrate a broad literature addressing the universe of targets for skills development programs for youth. After identifying a set of 30 candidate skills to investigate further, research literature was reviewed to evaluate each skill on three dimensions. Measurability had to do with the extent to which adequate measurement tools were available for evaluating skill level, with emphasis on those tools specifically used for younger populations and available in multiple languages, particularly in Spanish. Malleability had to do with the extent to which there is evidence that interventions have the potential to modify skill level, with emphasis on those that have been extensively evaluated through randomized controlled trials. Finally, meaningfulness had to do with the extent to which evidence exists demonstrating that the higher levels of skill can result in consequential outcomes. Based on these criteria, 10 skills were selected for further review as having the most compelling evidence to date that they are life skills that matter: Mindfulness, Empathy and compassion, Self-efficacy/ Self-determination, Problem solving, Critical thinking, Goal orientation and goal completion, Resilience/Stress resistance, Self-awareness, Purposefulness, and Self-regulation/Self-control/Emotion regulation. The evidence for each is summarized. We finish with a review of key issues to consider in the design, implementation, and evaluation of life skills that matter.

This profile aims to analyse the wealth of data on the media and culture sector (MCS) and its sub-sectors, using as a starting point economic activities rather than occupational profiles. While this provides an opportunity to highlight the overall employment contribution of the sector (i.e. through its artists, professionals, technicians, and non-talent-based workers), it may not fully highlight the significant differences in working hours, contractual arrangements and employment status that exist among the various occupational profiles that characterize this diverse and vibrant sector. 

This S4YE Discussion Note explores three critical and growing sub-sectors within the health workforce that could offer opportunities to increase youth employment: (i) new non-clinical support roles (ii) digital health jobs and (iii) jobs in the care economy. Overall, gaps in the health workforce supply chain must be addressed through investment in education, TVET infrastructure and resources to align workforce demand and supply for emerging healthcare jobs and the migratory health labor force.

To analyze SSCM in the fast fashion industry, this study compares the sustainability reports of H&M and Everlane, industry leaders with strong sustainability messaging. This comparison reveals that fast fashion has failed to sufficiently engage upstream and downstream stakeholders in their SSCM strategies. Moving forward, fast fashion companies should incentivize collaboration towards more comprehensive SSCM policies throughout the supply chain. 

Cultural and creative sectors and industries are a significant source of jobs and income. They are a driver of innovation and creative skills, within cultural sectors and beyond. They also have significant social impacts, from supporting health and well-being, to promoting social inclusion and local social capital. As national and local governments reconsider growth models in the wake of COVID-19, cultural and creative sectors can be a tool for a resilient recovery if certain longer-term challenges in the sector are addressed. The report outlines international trends with new data, including at subnational scale. It addresses issues in cultural and creative sectors in terms of employment, business development, cultural participation and funding, both public and private. It provides analysis of how these sectors contribute to economic growth and inclusion, taking into account the impact of COVID-19 related crisis on jobs and firms. Finally, it offers recommendations on how to capitalise on the role of cultural and creative sectors in national and local recovery strategies.

This report, by the IDB, OECD and UNESCO, outlines current knowledge of the impact that AI systems have on women’s opportunities for work, and their position, treatment and status in the workforce. It does so by exploring how AI is used within and outside the workplace, and how it could be used in the future. It looks at the potential impact of new and emerging AI technologies on the skills that employers will require, on how women look for and are hired for jobs, and on how jobs are structured through automated monitoring and oversight. The report maps the opportunities and challenges that AI presents for the working lives of women and highlights the complexities that varying national and regional contexts present for understanding the impact of AI on the work of women. The report also notes that current research does not offer a complete or definite picture of how AI impacts the working lives of women and calls for further research and analysis in this area.

The EU Blue Economy Report continues to analyse the scope and size of the Blue Economy in the European Union. It aims at providing support to policymakers and stakeholders in the quest for a sustainable development of oceans, coastal resources and, most notably, to the development and implementation of polices and initiatives under the European Green Deal in line with the new approach for a sustainable Blue Economy.

 This report has been commissioned by the World Intellectual Property Organization, with the objective of presenting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural and creative industries, education and research, identifying their initiatives and challenges in facing the pandemic, and consequently, the main trends and trajectories that emerged.

The Mercy Corps Ventures pilot detailed in this report was completed over three months at the start of 2021 to test whether digital stablecoins and mobile wallets could ease frictions and reduce costs in cross-border payments for un/underemployed youth completing microwork in Kenya, and the results are very promising.

The Freemuse State of Artistic Freedom Report 2022 shows the extent of attacks on artists and creative freedom in 2021 in numbers and infographics that illustrate the stark reality of the struggle for this right. They show the numbers of artists reported killed, imprisoned, brought to trial, attacked, and subjected to other forms of persecution. There is also a breakdown by region and by sector – music, film, and other art forms. 

The main goal of this paper is to review the state of the apparel and footwear industry as it relates to automation, employment and gender issues in context of the ILO-EU project “Building Partnerships on the Future of Work” project. The paper highlights the importance of the sector for women’s employment and the gendered nature of the industry; summarizes the literature on the effects of industrial automation and digitization on employment in the apparel and footwear industry, in particular their gender dimensions; and presents a brief overview of the apparel and footwear sector in the project countries, namely Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Romania and Spain.

This report outlines the case for thinking beyond borders to achieve a sustainable, circular economy that matches environmental goals with social ambitions. It highlights key levers for governments and multilateral bodies, illustrating the benefits of a global, socially just approach to environmental, trade and development policies, and the risks of continuing along current policy pathways.

The Toolbox for Rural Youth Employment is a vital resource for enhancing employment opportunities in the agri-food sector and supporting rural development. This comprehensive guide offers a curated selection of effective tools and methodologies, with detailed instructions and practical examples demonstrating their application in various contexts. It also provides links to additional resources for a deeper understanding and effective implementation.

Can digital technologies enable new tourist experiences? How can tourist destinations and nation brands be constructed and promoted in the light of cultural industries and digital technologies? How can a territory and its brand be managed through digital technologies in the current context? How is tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean facing the challenge of economic recovery? The questions above—central to this publication—echo the report Vision 2025, Reinvest in the Americas: A Decade of Opportunity, of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which states that in the years to come, in order for the region to gain economic recovery, it will be necessary to invest in digitization and the rapid adoption of new technologies, while encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship as well as supporting SMEs.