Creative industry, traditionally, refers to those sectors or industries whose origin lie in the artistic abilities and skills of an individual -- and has the capability to generate not only employment and revenue for the country but also act as a highly effective cultural export, creating a "brand" for the country. The difference between other profession and creative profession is that, while the former is usually selected under parental/peer/societal influence, the latter is self-selected. The beauty of creative industry lies in its ability to create immense opportunities for economic growth for a developing country with limited resources, while herding its mostly youthful workforce in to using its passion and energy into something constructive and meaningful.
An untapped sector of Bangladesh: If we look at our neighbouring countries, we see how they are using their creative industries to generate a tremendous amount of revenue and employment for its economy. Take for instance fashion industry of Sri Lanka, film industry of India, music industry of Pakistan, etc. They not only bring foreign currency to their country, they also bring international recognition in the selfsame bag of trade proceeds.
According to Creative Industries Federation, the creative industries in the UK generated around 87 billion pounds GVA in 2015. It has approximately shown a growth of 34% since 2010. This proves, provided that proper opportunities are created, policies are designed, creative industries have a huge potential for growth and revenue generation for a country.
Here in Bangladesh, we have yet to realise the full potential of this sector. We have a wealth of cultural heritage of historical significance that we need to preserve and learn from. At the same time, we need to map out the current state of the new and emerging creative sectors and markets to identify areas of potential of growth. This has to be a combined effort from policymakers, educators and other stakeholders of the industry to cash in on this opportunity.
Why is the creative industry struggling to recruit young people? : There are several reasons why our creative industry is not growing as fast and sustainably as it can. If we are to benefit from this industry fully, we need to acknowledge these issues and rectify them.
a) Societal views and lack of encouragement from parents: More often than not, a career in the creative industry is not very encouraged and seen with the same height as other professions like engineering, accounting etc. If I was to summarise the view, I would say that pursuing a career in the creative industries are largely considered economically risky. This attitude often acts as a discouragement for people to even consider a career in this industry.
b) The path to becoming a creative professional is unclear. Due to lack of infrastructural developments and opportunities, this industry is failing to attract and retain people. Another key reason is the lack of availability of practical courses/ help relating creative fields in educational institutes of our country. The ones that do support the creative fields, tend to do so in the "traditional manner". All this reflects the poor positioning and potentially lack of "future proofing" of this industry in the minds of people.
More steps should be taken to revamp this industry: Traditionally and historically, if we look around the globe, we can see that the creative sector is perhaps one of the most preferred careers amongst the students and graduates. If you look at the scenario in Europe or America, you will see that creativity is encouraged and practised in educational institutions from a very young age. As a result, those young minds do not have to be further motivated to join the creative industry or make contributions to it. Sadly, the situation is not the same because of the problems mentioned above.
One might ask: why is it different elsewhere? : The answer is simple - they get support from family, educational institutions, society and government. We often say to the next generation to follow their dreams. But then, if our children wanted a career in the creative industries, we tend not to encourage them.
Hence, if we are to make a change and tap into the immense potential of our creative industry and its possible contribution to our economy, we need to make a holistic approach.
Establish liberal arts departments in public and private universities: If we want our creative industry to flourish, we need to build ample amount of infrastructures for that and take a ground-up approach. Introducing liberal arts departments is a necessary step. A few private universities offer such courses, but public universities need to do that too. Having skilled and educated youths is one of the factors that are fundamental in driving the creative industry. Furthermore, setting up departments in the universities that contribute to the creative sector or patronise creativity will send a strong message to society about the potential of this industry.
Use the media (old and new) to spread the awareness about the potential of this industry, mainly targeting society: We need to use the strength of our media to spread the word about the potential of our creative industry and the fact that we can earn a vast amount of revenue from that. As mentioned earlier, there is a societal reluctance in relation to people who plan or are pursuing their career in this industry. It is not considered respectable by some, economically unviable by many. We need to correct this mentality and only then will this and the next generation be encouraged enough to get into this industry without any hesitation. The established media channels should consider having separate branches for film, music, fashion, etc. The sole purpose of this is to draw people's attention and show them the creative work of our country in addition to broadcasting news, ads, serials and so.
Collaborative efforts of the government and private sectors: A general rule of thumb for any sector or industry to grow is the support from both the government and the private sectors. Our government has taken positive steps to help this sector flourish. The Ministries of Industry and Cultural Affairs are working on it and are increasingly collaborating. For instance, a new policy (National Industrial Policy 2016) was drafted last year and replaced the one of 2010 with favourable terms for the creative industries. As an aside, I was lucky enough to work on this in my previous role -- and saw firsthand the issues and our government's resolve. Alongside government initiatives, however, we need more from the private sector. This includes creating more quality infrastructures for learning drama, music, fashion, crafts, visual arts, photography, etc. that will be able to attract the new generation. I consider myself fortunate that I currently work for an organisation that has this built into its core.
So, we have made some progress, and it is good to see that we are finally making more challenging and diverse films, music, fashion and visual arts while also starting to develop more modern forms. So, progress, certainly. We have also seen government's resolve and support. What needed next is for the educational institutions and private sector to play their part.
Let me end with this; my organisation, Bengal's motto is "projecting a culturally rich Bangladesh to a global audience". This is what inspired me to continue my work via this organisation. We realise that Creative Industry is not just a "nice to have" or a "hobby" but can be, perhaps should be, one of the key engines that drive not only economic resilience and sustainability but also change the image of what Bangladesh is to the wider world.
Eeshita Azad, Director, creative planning and coordination, Bengal Group Limited.
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