Creative economy: As good as gold
Loeries man says the economic value of new ideas in generating growth and employment is not sufficiently appreciated, and business and government should be doing far more to support the creative economy
With jobs in SA’s manufacturing and mining industry under increasing pressure, there are fresh calls to focus more on the creative economy. Leading the charge is Andrew Human, CEO of the Loeries brand awards festival, which starts in mid-August. He says more work needs to be done in explaining the benefits and value the creative industry brings to the economy, not only in terms of jobs but in coming up with new solutions to complex problems across a variety of sectors. The SA Cultural Observatory (Saco) says the creative economy contributes more than R90bn to the country’s GDP and employs thousands of people, mainly youth, who make up 77.6% of the population. Saco recently released an employment report that found that more than 1m, or 6.72%, of all SA jobs are housed in the broader cultural economy. Notes Human: "I think it’s a much bigger picture than just those employed. For every one designer sitting behind a computer, there is a whole community that is nurtured." But is there en...
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