Knowledge Brief

Cultural and creative sectors are a significant source of jobs and income, and also generate important spillovers to the wider economy. However, the absence of internationally comparable statistics that reveal their full economic and social impacts also means that the sectors remain largely undervalued in the policy debate. As governments across the G20 reconsider growth models in the wake of COVID-19, cultural and creative sectors can be a driver in a resilient recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of the media and culture sector in uplifting people during difficult times. As hundreds of millions of people were confined to their homes during the pandemic, many turned to music, films, television and other art forms for entertainment, education and cultural enrichment, leading to a surge in streaming and online services.

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.

The work of Europe's creative industry professionals is not only relevant from an economic perspective. It is also important for the promotion of Europe’s diverse cultural identity and European values including equality, democracy and sustainable development.

Since 2018, the German Federal Ministry for  Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has been promoting the sector cultural and creative industries (CCI) through its implementing organisations Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale  Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Goethe-Institut. This future oriented sector offers important levers for the implementation of a feminist development policy, which is a priority of the BMZ. Almost half of employees in the CCI sector are women but they often work under precarious conditions.

Statistical data confirm the continued rise in the contribution of culture and art to the economy and employment in the EU and worldwide. The number of cultural professionals and artists is growing steadily, while their employment conditions become more and more unstable. This situation spreads to other sectors and needs to be addressed both in terms of social security and benefits, and revenues and taxation aspects. The EU competence in cultural, social and employment policies is limited, consisting of guidance and coordination without any possibility of harmonisation.

Jobs entry conditions are tough for disadvantaged youth in a tight labor market. South African employers prefer to hire employees who have at least completed a secondary school education and one year of work experience. Yet, over 47 percent of South Africa’s unemployed youth have education levels below secondary (termed “Matric” in South Africa) level education and most youth have not held a job.

Angola is at a critical juncture and a multi-sectoral strategy is needed to stimulate job creation that will help build the economy and future prospects for young Angolans, while more deeply engaging youth and increasing productivity in the short term. Job prospects are limited and although youth are better prepared for the labor market than adults, they are still vulnerable and face multiple constraints. The existing portfolio of Active Labor Market Programs offer few programs that are appropriate for the most vulnerable youth.

This note illustrates how AI can support post-secondary learning across the entire tertiary and vocational education sector in emerging markets.