| 07 Dec 2010 |
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British Council Calls for Support of Creative Entrepreneurs in the UAE
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UAE's Creative Sector Crucial to Economic Growth, According to British Council Director of Projects
At the heart of the cultural economy are the creative industries that lie at the crossroads of arts, culture, business and technology. What unifies these activities is the fact that they all trade with creative assets in the form of intellectual property - the framework through which creativity translates into economic value.
According to a recent report by the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE are the backbone of the nation's economy due to their dominance of between 85 percent and 95 percent of the total businesses sector. Equally, the UK has the largest creative sector of the European Union and the UK government has taken a lead role in developing the creative economy agenda, with mapping exercises in 1998 and 2001 as well as further policy strategies and interventions in subsequent years.
The UAE has a strong existing framework that promotes and supports creative industries for example the many festivals, fairs, biennials and conferences. These include the Dubai International Film Festival, Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature, Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, Dubai Jazz Festival, Abu Dhabi Festival, WOMAD, Sharjah Biennial, The March Meeting, Art Dubai, Abu Dhabi Art, which all form and contribute to a great scene around various creative sectors.
"What needs to develop are the initiatives of local individuals, or SMEs, to keep the creative scene continuous and vibrant, throughout the year, and not necessarily around those major activities focusing on one sector, and that are mainly supported by the Government and the Authorities, or other private but big not-in-creative-industries market players," said Michel Bechara, Director of Projects, British Council, UAE.
Creative Entrepreneurs provide a bridge between artists and markets. For that reason, the main essential next step is to create a climate where young talents stay in the country. Then to promote the UAE as a creative country, rather than a country that simply hosts those international venues.
"Government support, art education, copyright laws, protection and support of locally-produced 'creative' goods, are some of many long-term strategic steps to be taken in order to make the UAE a more attractive place for SMEs in the creative business," continued Bechara.
The main difficulty faced by SMEs in the UAE include the high cost of starting up and running a business. Creative or commercial, the business in any sector is not differentiated, and hence not provided with any exceptional support. In addition, and for many SMEs in the creative sectors in the UAE, there are major challenges that are not easy to overcome in the shorter term. Fashion entrepreneurs, for example, do have a very small chance to compete in the strong presence and exclusive dominance of the big international brands, occupying all the strategic and massive spaces in all the shopping malls in the UAE, leaving very little, if any chance for start-ups and SMEs in fashion to exist.
The awards are designed to recognise and celebrate those who make a significant contribution to creative industries and who are able to break through into international markets in the areas of fashion, communications, screen, performing arts, music, interactive, visual arts and publishing.
In 2007, the British Council introduced the first YCE award in the UAE, for entrepreneurs in the fashion industry. The aim of that award, and of the ones we launched in the following years, has been to celebrate the achievements of young creative talents from the UAE.
The UAE has had a rich record in various International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) awards, with participation of successful entrepreneurs including Rami Farook, fashion designer Rabia Z., visual arts winner Khalil Abdul Wahid, and winner in the publishing category; Suhaila Al-Awadhi. Most recently, UAE filmmaker and producer, Nayla Al Khaja, was announced as the international winner of the Young Screen Entrepreneur Award 2010.
British Council is continuously developing a process which is intended to allow us to bring together young creative entrepreneurs for various activities, including an Awareness Raising to Network Building programme. This programme helps to build understanding of entrepreneurship in the creative sector and build interest in the concept and an engagement with creative entrepreneurs locally, through the awards. One principal vehicle in this case would be through programmed visits for established UK creative entrepreneurs to the UAE.
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The British Council is the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We work in over 100 countries worldwide to build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people. We work in the arts, education, English, science, sport and governance and last year we engaged face to face with 18.4 million people and reached 652 million. We are a non-political organisation which operates at arm's length from government. Our total turnover in 2009/10 was £705 million, of which our grant-in-aid from the British government was £211 million. For every £1 of government grant we receive, we earn £2.50 from other sources. For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org/me
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© Press Release 2010
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