Creative industry task force formed

CEBU, Philippines - A multi-agency task force is now working on identifying measures to strengthen Cebu's creative industry at the same time prepare for the impact of the opening of the ASEAN economy.

The Department of Trade and Industry Central Visayas is working with other government agencies including the Department of Tourism, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Agriculture, National Economic and Development Authority, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to address concerns of the emerging creative sector.

DTI-7 regional director Asteria Caberte said that the existing organization of the creative industry in Cebu, the Creative Cebu Council, will be mobilized.

Measures will be introduced to further harmonize industry priorities, she said.

While Cebu has successfully carved its name in the annals of  the world’s creative sector having able to produce world-class designers like Kenneth Cobonpue, Monique Lhuillier, among others, Caberte said this advantage should be maximized and that continuing education program should also be crafted to create more brilliant talents in the creative sector.

Likewise, the music industry and other creative sub-sectors, will be given attention to such as visual arts and theater, among others.

Caberte added that access to finance is identified as one of the biggest concerns among players of this sector, as well as its strong linkage to the commercial market.

Proper education about financing -- how to properly access credit, and use it productively, and other professional help will also be provided for the stakeholders.

Significantly, the task force will also help industry players to craft or formulate advocacies that are geared towards strengthening the industry.

Cebu’s creative industry is now led by the Creative Cebu Council, a non-profit group with is an alliance of artists and creative entrepreneurs who have bonded together to promote, develop and champion the creative industries sector in the province.

In the year 2000, the creative economy was estimated to be worth US$2.2 trillion worldwide, and it was growing at five percent annually.

The global entertainment and media industry alone injected around US$2.2 trillion in the world economy in 2012.

Global exports of creative goods and services—products such as arts and crafts, audiovisuals, books, design work, films, music, new media, printed media, visual and performing arts, and  creative services registered more than double growth between 2002 and 2008.

The total value of these exports reached US$592 billion in 2008, and the growth rate of the industry over that six-year period is averaged at 14 percent. — Ehda M. Dagooc (FREEMAN)