Creative industry to give Phl leverage in competition

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) vows to support the creative industry, acknowledging that this sector will give the country leverage in the global competition.

CCCI president Lito Maderazo said that the chamber has recognized Cebu’s high capability in leveraging the world’s creative sector, and that it is intensifying its support to the industry.

“The creative sector is one area that offers promising future for Cebu,” said Maderazo adding that aside from other industries, competitiveness issues in the creative sector should also be closely looked into.

In fact, during the last Cebu Business Month (CBM) celebration, the chamber included the Creative Industry as one of the highlights of the event, through the Creative Summit.

One of the chamber’s agenda is to teach the creative players in Cebu to seriously launch their talents commercially.

Earlier, this year’s Creative Summit chairperson Mary Ann Solomon said that CCCI will continue to help artists in Cebu to link with the market. “We want these creative minds in Cebu to shine.”

CCCI will act as the springboard in coaching the artists how to make money out of their talents.

This is with the aim, that with the rich artists’ community in Cebu across the sub-sectors, visual arts, advertising, graphics, design, fashion, among others, Cebu will be able to partake a large chunk of the US$2.3 trillion creative industry market in the world.

Creative industries are those that have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and that have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry Cebu Provincial office recently announced that a lending facility will be made available for the creative sector in Cebu, by the SB Corporation, through the Creative Cebu Council.

Cebu’s creative industry is now led by the Creative Cebu Council, a non-profit group with 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. /JOB (FREEMAN)