Recognizing the Value of and Investing in Creative Enterprises – UNDP
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has called on African policymakers to develop comprehensive and pragmatic policy initiatives that accelerate and support a vibrant creative economy.
Dr. Angela Lusigi, UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, who launched the call, said society needs to identify practical strategies and approaches that foster creativity and critical thinking in young people from primary and secondary levels.
It is also important for African countries to recognize and address regulatory constraints and structures to enable them to keep pace with the rapidly changing creative sector.
These were featured in a report prepared and published by Dr Lusigi on the occasion of World Creativity and Innovation Day 2022.
Dr Lusigi stressed the importance of fostering reward systems to identify and appreciate creativity and innovation, adding that greater efforts must be made to protect intellectual property rights in order to properly compensate creators.
World Creativity and Innovation Day is observed on April 21 every year to raise awareness of the crucial role of creativity and innovation in different aspects of human development.
Dr. Lusigi referred to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which highlighted the need for policy makers to integrate the creative sector into national and local development policies.
She said African policy makers need to understand the opportunities and challenges of the sector and use them as a basis for planning and policy making.
They should also focus on increasing the financial sustainability of the sector by improving access to credit, risk capital and other instruments.
She encouraged people to take advantage of the low barriers to entry, inclusiveness and agility of the creative economy to create new products, services and revenue streams.
Dr Lusigi said young people were already at the forefront of the creative sector and should be encouraged to take it to the next level.
She indicated that “as we continue to deal with the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need both creative thinking and innovation to get us out of the situations we find ourselves in and we catapult to the next level of our global journey towards sustainability.”
Source: GNA