Policy Matters: Cultural Industries

Cultural Industries are defined as those industries which produce tangible or intangible artistic & creative outputs, and these have a potential for wealth creation and income generation thorough exploitation of cultural assets, knowledge based goods & services. Common factors in cultural industries are that the use creativity, cultural knowledge and intellectual property to produce services & products with social and cultural meaning

They include cultural practices, indigenous skills, etc. - publishing, music, radio television, cinema and of course crafts & design.

This new definition is an effort towards re-interpretation and acknowledgment of local knowledge & enterprise. Cultural industries are believed to have the potential to contribute significantly to economic growth and thus UNESCO is developing framework and policies to enhance the same, especially in hte developing.
Their overt concern over copyright is curious.

In this view a Jodhpur Convention - Asia Pacific Creative Communities: Promoting the Cultural Industries for Local Socio-Economic Development was held in jodhpur in February this year.

The UNESCO site here will more erudite
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