Recognise the value of creative business and invest in it – UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called on African policymakers to develop a comprehensive and pragmatic policy initiatives that accelerate and sustain a dynamic creative economy.
Dr Angela Lusigi, UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, who made the call, said society needed to identify practical strategies and approaches that fostered creativity and critical thinking in young people beginning at the primary and secondary education levels.
It is also important for African countries to recognize and address constraints and regulatory structures to enable them keep pace with the rapid evolution of the creative sector.
These were contained in a report prepared and released by Dr. Lusigi to mark the 2022 World Creativity and Innovation Day.
Dr Lusigi underscored 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 remunerate creators.
World Creativity and Innovation Day is celebrated on 21st April every year to raise awareness about 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 stressed the need for policymakers to integrate the creative sector into national and local development policies.
She said African policy makers needed to understand the opportunities and challenges of the sector and use them as the basis for planning and policymaking.
They should also focus on increasing the financial sustainability of the sector by enhancing access to credit, venture capital and other instruments.
She encouraged the 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 the youth were already at the forefront of the creative sector and should be encouraged to take it to a higher level.
She advised 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 catapult us to the next level of our global journey to sustainable development.”
Source: GNA