[A2k] IPS: Creativity has (cash) value

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

Brazil: Creativity has (cash) value

Rio de Janeiro, 21 Nov (IPS/Mario Osava) -- The culture and creativity
economy
and its contribution to sustainable development will be the central
theme at a
10-day meeting of experts, artists and government delegates from more
than 70
countries, which kicks off Friday in two Brazilian cities.

Three days of discussions on the "Creative Economy" will begin on
Sunday with a
conference on "21st Century Strategies for Development", headed by
Brazilian
Culture Minister Gilberto Gil and the director of the United Nations
Development
Programme's Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (SSC-SU), Yiping
Zhou.

The new creativity-based economic sector, barely defined as yet,
includes
handicrafts, artistic output of all kinds, and new technologies such as
computer
software. Culture, therefore, plays a key role in its expansion.

Dieter Jaenicke, the director-general of the Forum Cultural Mundial
(FCM, World
Culture Forum), told IPS that cultural goods and services are now of
great
importance in the economy of many countries, and in some cases they are
the main
stimulus for tourism and the principal export product.

The FCM will be held from November 24-30 in Rio de Janeiro, and
December 1-3
in Salvador, the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia.

There are many examples of small countries, like Jamaica with its
reggae music
which "has gained incredible standing," and others in the Caribbean and
in Africa,
that are joining the United States, where films and other cultural
products are the
second largest export category, Jaenicke remarked.

The United Nations has estimated that culture accounts for seven
percent of the
global gross domestic product, amounting to $1.3 trillion. Because this
sector is
growing at an annual rate of 10%, considerably higher than the average
for the
global economy as a whole, it is one of the keys to future development.

Gil, better known as a world-class singer-songwriter, is enthusiastic
about the
creative economy, and wants Brazil to establish the first international
centre
dedicated to it. An important innovation introduced at his initiative
has been "to
treat cultural activities as economic activities as well," he said,
reporting on nearly
four years as minister of culture.

Intellectual property and proposals for making its regulations more
flexible, or
changing them, in the light of the emergence of the Internet and other
technologies, are issues that will concern many experts and government
officials at
several meetings at the Forum and its associated events, which will
include a
meeting of the ministers of culture of the Mercosur (Southern Common
Market)
trade bloc.

Culture and the arts are also important "in education and in conflict
prevention,"
and therefore the debate on "Culture for Peace" will be another
important event at
the Forum, Jaenicke said. Interesting experiences in which artistic
projects have
reduced tensions and violence, for example, in Brazil's "favelas" or
shantytowns,
will be presented.

Discussion on these and other topics, such as the relationship between
culture and
development, globalisation, rights and cooperation, will be part of the
Global
Convention, to which over 500 experts and artists have been invited,
400 of them
from outside Brazil. The programme includes conferences, lectures,
panels and
workshops devoted to reflecting on the role of culture in the world.

But the Forum will also provide the occasion for countless dance, music
and
theatre performances, and visual arts, photography, fashion and design
exhibits,
especially from Africa and Latin America. Videos and a series of 11
documentary
films will also be shown.

A "White Night" consisting of 24 hours of uninterrupted cultural
activities, will
take place from Saturday to Sunday at several locations in Rio de
Janeiro, on the
same lines as multi-site arts festivals held in several cities in the
world, particularly
in Europe.

The associated events are to include the annual meetings of the
International
Network of Cultural Policies, bringing together delegates of ministries
of culture
from over 60 countries, and the International Network of Cultural
Diversity,
comprising more than 300 artists' and cultural groups' organisations
from 50
countries.

The ministers of culture of the community of Portuguese-speaking
countries, and
about 30 cultural networks and foundations from around the world will
also be
meeting here, making Rio de Janeiro the capital city of cultural debate
for seven
days.

This is the second FCM to be held. The first, hosted by Sao Paulo in
2004, drew
some 15,000 participants to the debates and more than 150,000 visitors
to the
shows and exhibits.

This year, it is hoped that those numbers will at least be maintained,
Jaenicke said.
The next Forum, in two year's time, will be held in a different country
which has
not yet been chosen.

The Forum is an initiative of 51 governmental and non-governmental
organisations. This year, the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, Servico
Social do
Comercio (SESC, Social Services provided by the trade private sector)
and the
Casa Via Magia Cultural Institute, in Salvador, are supporting the
event.
+

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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
CPTech
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@cptech.org