Reliable data on the effect of handicrafts exports on Caribbean economies is key to increasing the sector’s potential in the region, concluded participants of a seminar for Caribbean creative industry exporters. The event, which took place in Santa Lucia in April, exporters participated, was organized by ITC.
Following the seminar, the participants and other stakeholders in the creative industries sector will make a joint request to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for technical assistance. The group will request assistance specifically to improve data collection in the creative industries.
The request came out of a strategy meeting held on the second day of the event and was attended by representatives from ITC, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the WTO, CARICOM Secretariat, the Caribbean Committee of Caribbean Statisticians, and the Creative Industries Exchange programme of the University of the West Indies (UWI). St. Lucia’s Minister for Commerce, Industry and Consumer Affairs; Tessa Mangal and her Jamaica counterpart, Karl Samuda, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce also attended the meeting.
Andres Aeroe, ITC Director of the Division of Market Development, said, “It’s a common feature in many countries all over the world that the so-called creative industries are not very well captured statistically. The creative industries play an important and growing role in many countries but only few countries capture the contribution the creative industries make to exports and to the countries' economies at large. Without this data it becomes challenging to develop and implement good policies to further support the growth of the creative industries - and their contribution to exports and wealth creation as well as to the related employment and entrepreneurial opportunities."
The Caribbean representatives put forward two additional proposals during the strategy meeting. One would develop a regional long-term project to address, in a comprehensive and sustainable manner, the challenges faced by the region’s statistical bureaus. The other asks that the development partners make a joint presentation before the Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on the relevance of data on the Creative Industries Sector.