Social and Sustainable Economic Transformation

The British Council together with the Jogja Festivals Study Centre joined forces to study the landscape and key players of festivals in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and South East Asia. Particularly for the South East Asian Region, this has become one scope to study due to the key role that the Indonesian government played in initiating the ASEAN Working Group of Creative Economy, the World Conference on Creative Economy and the fact that there are many international festivals.

In response to a brief from UKRI India, the task we set ourselves with this research was to capture and present a comprehensive overview of the creative industries sector in India, the industry ecosystem which supports it, and the policy frameworks within which it operates. In seeking to distill a significant amount of data and information, our aim was to provide a clear understanding of where the opportunities and possible barriers lie for future India-UK creative industries research and innovation collaboration.

Recalibrating the Compass: New Approaches to Asia-Europe Cultural Relations summarises the insights, ideas and recommendations highlighted throughout the series and presents guidance for future work in the field of Asia-Europe cultural relations. Apart from passing on knowledge on how to navigate the current challenges of international cultural relations, this publication will provide some starting points when thinking about the roles stakeholders can play in the field of Asia-Europe cultural collaboration and possible strategies for a post-pandemic recovery.

The Taskforce identified a real risk that Ireland will emerge from COVID-19 to find its arts, culture and events sectors decimated, with some venues closed for good, many businesses folded, large numbers of skilled and talented performers and workers gone to other careers, and much of the experience and creativity of the sectors gone. It could take years to rebuild these essential sectors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged discussion of the broader culture as representing, in some instances, a “global public good”, through its capacity to promote social cohesion, increase people’s resilience and connect communities to different forms of cultural expression, in addition to its commercial value.

Workers in the cultural and creative sector (CCS) are involved in a wide range of jobs and activities including advertising, gaming, newspapers and magazines, motion picture production, sound recording and music production, as well as live performance and radio/TV broadcasting. In 2015, UNESCO estimated that the cultural and creative sector worldwide generated US$2,250 billion in revenues. According to 2019 ILO estimates, there were nearly 180 million people employed in the arts, recreation and entertainment, representing 5.4 per cent share of global employment.

The objective of this study, carried out by the IDB, is to promote and give visibility to one of the sectors of the creative economy with the greatest potential, not only for the entertainment and software industries, but also for others such as health and education. This study will explore how the industry is not only capable of generating wealth, but also of creating more sophisticated jobs as new technologies develop along with the creative sectors.

Cultural and creative sectors (CCS) constitute a vibrant economic activity and source of jobs, enterprise turnover and tax revenues. However, the role of culture for local development is more than these direct outputs. Smartly managed culture-led urban regeneration can breathe new life into decaying neighbourhoods. CCS also contribute to increasing levels of regional innovation and productivity, through new product design, new production techniques, new business models, innovative ways of reaching audiences and consumers, and emerging forms of co-production.

The OECD-ICOM Guide for Local Governments, Communities and Museums provides a self-assessment framework for i) Local and regional governments to assess and improve their approaches to maximise the social and economic value of cultural heritage as part of sustainable local development; and ii) museums to assess and strengthen their existing and potential linkages with the local economy and social fabric.

This case study considers the role of the MUSE network of museums for local development in the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy. It considers the dimensions of local development featured in the OECD-ICOM Guide for Local Governments, Communities and Museums.