Vietnam has advantages for creative industries to develop: specialist hinh anh 1Participants at the workshop (Source: VNA)

Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – Although creative industries remain modest in Vietnam, there are certain local advantages for them to develop in the country, according to a specialist from Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, Director of the Research Centre for Female Labour and Gender under MOLISA’s Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs, was speaking at the workshop “Unlocking potential, creating style – APEC GIFTS (Gendered Innovation for Technology and Science) for Women in the creative industry”, which was hosted by the Department of Gender Equality of Chinese Taipei in Hue city, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, on September 26.

Thuy said “creative industry” refers to a range of economic activities that are concerned with the generation and commercialisation of creativity, ideas, knowledge and information. 

There are 12 sub-sectors under the term “creative industry”, including advertising, architecture, interactive leisure software, the art and antiques market, design, film and video, publishing, music, the performing arts, television and radio, software and computer games, and cultural tourism.

She noted that the creative industry generates about 2.2 trillion USD in revenue or 3.3 percent the global GDP. Its revenue even surpasses the entire GDP of India, 1.9 trillion USD.

The creative industries generated 29.5 million jobs, equivalent to 1 percent of the world’s active population. They also employ more people than the automotive industry in the US, Europe and Japan combined.

She said Vietnam has not made the best use of intellectual property and local small- and medium-sized enterprises spend only about 0.2 – 0.3 percent of their turnover on technological renovation.

The number of Vietnamese inventions proposed to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) for recognition equal to 1/1,000 of China and 1/5,000 of Japan. While the country’s software industry productivity is worth some 10,000 USD per person each year, the figure is 14,000 – 18,000 USD in China and 140,000 USD in the US.

However, Thuy also recognised certain advantages of Vietnam, including the large domestic market. The country has a young population with “commercial” sensitivity and a high level of digital technology, in addition to the richness and diversity of regions and culture. Another advantage is that many new manufacturing industries in the supply chain of the creative industries have emerged.

Suggesting solutions to developing the creative industries, Thuy said it is necessary to set up a specialised state management agency along with a number of creative centres. She also highlighted the need for human resources training, a supportive infrastructure system, a favourable legal system, and the capacity to enforce intellectual property and copyright protection.

The workshop “Unlocking potential, creating style – APEC GIFTS for Women in the creative industry” was a side event of the ongoing 2017 APEC Women and the Economy Forum in Hue city.

Established in 1989, APEC comprises 21 economies which account for 39 percent of the world population, 57 percent of the world GDP and 47 percent of the global trade, according to statistics in 2014.

The APEC Year 2017 is taking place in Vietnam under the theme “Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future”. The country used to host APEC events in 2006.-VNA



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