BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awg Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah, yesterday said that the Creative Industries Festival 2012 aims to promote innovative methods in producing and marketing creative products, Borneo Bulletin reported.
At the same time, the event also exhibits various creative industries research clusters that comprise new ideas, including creative products and services that have the potential to be further developed.
Applauding the initiative made by the Creative Industries Research Cluster (CIRC) of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) in organising the festival, he also called on the involvement of bodies such as AITI and BEDB that can greatly contribute by providing support mechanism and protection, as art creations could lead to entrepreneurship and benefit the economy.
The involvement of government and NG0s, added Pehin Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Hazair, could in fact assist in the development and continuity of the nation’s creative industry
Such a scenario shows the importance of building a network between the government, the private sector and the general public as well as UBD.
The creative industry covers a wide field where, according to the Department of Culture, Media and Sports, UK, the industry is made strong by various individuals’ creativity skills and talents, with the potential of generating wealth and jobs through the production and exploitation of intellectual properties.
The potential contribution of the industry towards generating the nation’s economy was discussed at the National Creative Industry Policy Forum, where it was stressed that education and the creative industry are the keys to developing the 21st Century economy
This is also in line with the opinions of the world’s economy specialists who have predicted that the new world economy will transform from the manufacturing sector to the service sector and from the knowledge economy to the creative economy.
Here in Brunei, stressed the minister, creative individuals should be encouraged and motivated to ensure that their talents could be developed in accordance with the vision and mission of the industry.
Creative talents can not only produce creative products but also build a brand that can be enjoyed by consumers.
In an effort to develop the creative industry there is also the need to identify niche areas and marketing opportunities, while it is also vital to add value on existing fields of the creative industry to secure its continuous growth and standing in the market.
In line with the National Creative Industry Policy Forum Resolution, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) is currently working to make much needed amendments to the National Creative Industry Policy.
MCYS has also taken other courses of action and implementation steps, namely producing a financial assistance scheme especially for the creative industry as well as, among others, rebranding the Youth Center to accommodate cooperation activities in the creative field.
Additionally the old customs wharf building at the BSB Waterfront area has also been developed to create a welcoming environment that can hopefully spark cooperation between artists and creative individuals.