Abstract

The creative economy has become a powerful transformative force in the world today. Its potential for development is vast and waiting to be unlocked. It is one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the world economy, not just in terms of income generation but also for job creation and export earnings. But this is not all there is to it. A much greater proportion of the world’s intellectual and creative resources is now being invested in the culture-based industries, whose largely intangible outputs are as ‘real’ and considerable as those of other industries. Human creativity and innovation, at both the individual and group level, are the key drivers of these industries, and have become the true wealth of nations in the 21st century. Indirectly, culture increasingly underpins the ways in which people everywhere understand the world, see their place in it, affirm their human rights, and forge productive relationships with others.