Creative Industries in the EU:

Why EU Cares?How EU Supports Creative Industries?

Presentation at McGill University Globalization Forum, 2016 by Dr. Lidia Varbanova

Website: www.lidiavarbanova.caFacebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/LidiaVarbanovaCoachingMasterclasses/

I. Defining the Creative Industries

13 categories (DCMS, UK): advertising, architecture, art and antiques, crafts, design, designer fashion, film and video, computer games, music, performing arts, publishing, software and computer services, television and radio.

Important: Shift from public support of not-for-profit art forms (classical music, dance, drama theatre) to commercial forms (media, design, architecture).

“The creative industries are those industries that have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent, and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property.” (DCMS, UK, 1996)

1. Require some input of human creativity.2. Contain some intellectual property that belongs to an

individual or a group 3. Vehicles for symbolic messages to those who consume

them – “carriers of meanings”: “symbolic goods”. 4. Experience goods: products/services where product

characteristics, such as quality or price, are difficult to observe in advance, but these characteristics can be ascertained upon consumption.

Source: UNCTAD (2010) and Throsby (2012)

Important: CONNECTEDNESS!

Defining the Creative Industries: Features

Example: Harry Potter: from a character in a book to films, computer

games, action figures, clothes, etc.

II. The Importance of Creative Industries Globally

Creative industries account for as much as 7% of world GDP

Provide 29.5 million jobs worldwide

Exports of creative goods and services were worth US$ 624 billion, showing 14% annual growth over the 2000s (2011, UN Creative Economy Report)

The Importance of Creative Industries Globally

“Cultural and creative industries are major drivers of the economies of developed as well as developing countries. Indeed, they are among the most rapidly growing sectors worldwide. It influences income generation, job creation, and export earnings. It can forge a better future for many countries around the globe”Irina Bokova, UNESCO

Director General

“Culture is both a driver and an enabler of human and sustainable development. It empowers people to take ownership of their own development, and stimulates the innovation and creativity which can drive inclusive and sustainable growth.”

Helen Clark, UNDP

Impact of Globalization on Creative Industries

Positive impact Negative impact

Increased trade volume of cultural products

Access to more cultural products and services

Higher cross-border collaboration: mobility of artists and cultural products

Creation of new tastes based on exposure to different cultures

Greater understanding of culture of other countries

Increased economy of scale lead to standardization of tastes: the more people have access to the same books, music, movies, the more their tastes tend to converge

Threat on cultural identityCopyright legislation issuesTraffic of cultural heritage

across the national bordersThreatening the viability of

locally made products

III. Contribution of EU’s Creative Industries NESTA, UKNesta is an innovation charity

with a mission to help people and organisations bring great idea

Challenge in research of creative industries: absence of comparable statistics across the countries of the EU

Nesta’s report (December 2015) helps address this by providing consistent estimates of employment in the creative industries of the EU’s 28 member states and, where data has allowed, the wider ‘creative economies’ of 20 member states www.nesta.org.uk

Contribution of EU’s Creative Industries: NESTA research (2015)

Creative industries create about 3% of EU GDP - corresponding to an annual market value of €500 billion

Creative industries employed 11.4 million people in 2013, accounting for 5% of the EU workforce.

The three largest creative industry workforces: Germany: employing 3.1 million (5.8 per cent of its workforce)UK: employing 2.3 million (7.9 per cent)France: employing 1.4 million (5.5 per cent of the workforce)

Note: ‘creative economy’ consists of jobs inside the creative industries and creative jobs in other industries

Source: NESTA , Dec, 2015 (www.nesta.org.uk)

Creative Industries: Trends in Europe

1. Cultural fluidity: Increased mobility of artists, arts managers, creative entrepreneurs: crossing borders.

2. Digitalization of culture and arts.3. Democratization of creativity has given

everyone the right to be a creative.4. Creative jobs are less likely to be

displaced by future automation: uniqueness of the talents.

5. Increased levels of direct and indirect competitors for CCI in Europe and globally.

IV. EU Support of Creative Industries: Priorities

1. Coordinating with Member States to reform regulatory environments.

2. Promoting innovation in education: responding to changing skill needs

3. Supporting the mobility of artists.4. Developing policies and initiatives to

promote market access for an investment in CCIs.

1. EU Support of Creative Industries: Actions & Initiatives

Green Paper “Unlocking the Potential of CCIs”, 2010:Aims to spark a debate on the

requirements of a truly stimulating creative environment for the EU’s CCIs.

Includes multiple perspectives, from that of the business environment to the need to open up a common European space for culture, from capacity building to skills development and promotion of European creators on the world stage.

2. EU Support of Creative Industries: Actions & Initiatives

Creative Europe Program (2014-2020): E1.46 billion (9% increase over the previous budget) Aims to support the European audiovisual, cultural

and creative sector.Helping European cultural and audiovisual works to

reach audiences in other countries, the program will also contribute to safeguarding cultural and linguistic diversity.

EU Support of Creative Industries: Actions & Initiatives

Creative Europe Program: 56% of its budget: to the MEDIA sub-program for

audiovisual and the cinemaat least 31%: to the Culture sub-program for

performing and visual arts. 13%: to new cross-sectoral strand, which includes

funding the new Creative Europe Desks and supporting the financial guarantee facility which is set to come into operation from 2016.

+ a new financial guarantee facility enabling small cultural and creative businesses to access up to €750 million in bank loans. This guarantee will operate from 2016 and specifically target small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), will share the risk on loans offered to them by banks.

3. EU Support of Creative Industries: Actions & Initiatives

Economy of Cultural Diversity @diversity

(pilot project, 2013)Aims:

to test new approaches for dealing with content for innovation and digital sharing and distribution;

To contribute to easing online access to culture, cultural heritage, and cultural literacy, promoting cultural diversity in the digital environment.

Open Idea Competition

Reasons:Improving career opportunitiesAccessing new marketsCreating new jobs in the culture and creative

sectorsPromoting cultural diversity and

intercultural dialogueIncreasing and broadening audiencesBuilding partnerships & contactsCreating professional networks

4. EU Support of Creative Industries: Focus on Mobility of Artists and CCI Professionals

EU Support of CCI: Cultural Networks

CCI networks are about:Inclusiveness and opennessHaving a “common voice” in the sectorCross-border experiencesSharing and learning, developing joined

projects“Laboratory/experimental” type of thinking

and actionsSpontaneous innovationMotivating “intrapreneurial” climateFUN!

CINEW - ‘Creative Industries Network European Window’ European project in the

frame of the Atlantic Area Transnational Programme, devoted to Atlantic Small and Medium Enterprises in the Creative & Cultural Industries.

Key Cultural Networks Supported by ECCulture Action EuropeEuropean Festivals

AssociationEuropean Jazz

NetworkEuropean Music

CouncilEuropean Dancehouse

NetworkEuropean Network of

Cultural Centers

European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centers

Europa NostraCulture Agora

5. European Capital of Culture ProgramA city designated by the EU

for a period of one calendar year during which it organizes a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension.

Started-1985 by Melina Mercouri

ECOC: catalyst for social and economic development of a city

2016: San Sebastian, Spain and Wrozlaw, Poland

6. Capacity Building: support outside EU:Eastern Partnership Culture Program

Targeted countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus

First phase: Helps strengthen policy-making, project and resource generating capacities of both the public sector and cultural operators.

Second phase: support of creative industries: Activities: mapping, training,

online learning, study visits, partnership fairs, cultural leadership initiatives, working groups, use of local and international experts, toolkits, an award scheme, networking and sharing good practice through the website, Facebook page, newsletter etc.

V. Policy Recommendations: EU Level The Road Ahead

1. Increase the usefulness of strategy documents through the targeting companies of all sizes in the region as well as other stakeholders.

2. Increase the availability of diverse financial mechanisms and instruments for creative industries.

3. Increase availability of seed and venture capital for creative companies, e.g. through venture capital schemes for creative start-ups.

4. Enhance the physical and social creative environment by developing creative spaces and further developing the urban environment.

5. Increase the quality of cluster organisations through, for example, the European Cluster Excellence Initiative.

Source: European Cluster Observatory (2013)

Policy Recommendations: Road Ahead6. Invest in creativity, innovation and

sustainable creative enterprise development across the value chain.

7. Strengthen the evidence base through rigorous data collection (improvement in statistics).

8. Investigate the connections between the informal and formal sectors as crucial for informed creative economy policy development.

9. Invest in local capacity-building between the 3 sectors to empower creators and cultural entrepreneurs, government officials and private sector companies.

Policy Recommendations: SpecificThe Road Ahead

At Municipal Level Specialized OrganizationsMapping local cultural

resourcesCulture-led urban

regeneration policyStrategy for creative

citiesCreative clustersSupport of cultural and

innovation districtsCreative placemaking

strategy

IncubatorsAcceleratorsArtist-run centres and

cooperativesLow-cost arts spacesSupport for startup arts

enterprisesNetworks of startup

companies Coaching for startup

companiesSource: New Book: International Entrepreneurship in the Arts, Lidia Varbanova (Routledge, 2016): https://www.routledge.com/International-Entrepreneurship-in-the-Arts/Varbanova/p/book/9781138844353

Further ReadingsEuropean Commission (2010). Green Paper: Unlocking the

Potential of the Cultural and Creative Industries. Brussels: European Commission. Online access: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52010DC0183

European Commission (2010). Study of the Entrepreneurial Dimensions of the Cultural and Creative Industries. Utrecht School of Arts. Online access : http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/doc3124_en.htm

European Union (2014). Good Practice Report on the Cultural and Creative Sectors’ Export and Internationalization Support Strategies. Working Group of EU Member States’ Experts on Cultural and Creative Sectors.

KEA European Affairs (2006). The Economy of Culture in Europe. Study, prepared for the European Commission (Directorate-General for Education and Culture. Brussels: EC

Understanding Creative Industries. Cultural Statistics for Public-policy Makers (2010). UNESCO. Online access: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/30297/11942616973cultural_stat_EN.pdf/cultural_stat_EN.pdf

Website: www.lidiavarbanova.ca Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LidiaVarbanovaCoachingMasterclasses/ Email: lidia.varbanova@mcgill.ca