Creative economy can help cities achieve SDG 8: UNESCO Report

NEW DELHI: The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) International Centre for Creativity and Sustainable Development (ICCSD) recently released CSDI Index along with the initial results of the Index research. It is the first combination of creativity stimulus which is being promoted by UNESCO. A research framework has been built by the organisation for assessment of the role of creativity and innovation in urban sustainable development with the help of detailed data analysis. The results of the research have been published in a research paper series called ‘Creativity and Sustainable Development Research’.

The first issue of the Index Report evaluated the extent to which creative economy can contribute in helping cities achieve SDG 8 (Decent employment and economic growth).

Following four key points have been identified as part of the Index –

1. International Demonstration of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) – According to the Index, the creative economy in over 60 per cent of the creative cities across the world directly contributes more than 10 per cent of GDP.

2. Universality of the Creative Economy – Creative economy stimulates the overall economy of a place and creates employment in both large and small cities. Moreover, it was found that the level of contribution of the creative economy to the GDP of a city has no correlation with the size of the city.

3. Leading Advantages of the Digital Technology Sector – Index found the information services and the science and technology sectors to be outperforming the culture and art sectors in terms of economic contribution. The difference is relatively high. It becomes befitting for culture, art, and recreation and entertainment sectors to integrate scientific research and emerging technologies as a means to enhance industrial added value.

4. Characteristics of Chinese Cities – Municipalities directly under the central government in Beijing and Shanghai have larger endowments in scientific research and cultural resources. The proportion allocated to the creative economy in these cities is higher than most cities. The blend of industries, concentration of local scientific research, and cultural resources are all critical to the development of a creative economy in China’s creative cities.