Elaborating a Creative Economy Act to streamline Jamaica’s cultural policies and the administration of CCIs
Jamaica may not be a large country, but its culture, known especially for reggae music, is appreciated worldwide. Jamaica’s cultural and creative industries’ (CCIs) contribution to the country’s GDP is estimated to be 5.2%, generating revenues of 15 to 20 million USD annually, and accounting for 3% of total employment. The Jamaican government is determined to create the necessary regulatory frameworks to better support the further expansion of CCIs and creative actors. During this project, Jamaica will elaborate a Creative Economy Act that streamlines policies and the administration of CCIs. The project responds to the following needs and challenges identified by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport:
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The project will assist Jamaica in designing a Creative Economy Act. The Act will streamline various policies and strategies impacting CCIs, coordinate inter-ministerial cooperation mechanisms and outline the regulatory and support framework given to CCIs in Jamaica.
The project will also support Jamaica in creating a pool of funds for CCIs in a more efficient and targeted manner. The new system will allow creative actors to access the necessary funding to be able to materialize their endeavors.
- December 2021: Project launch.
- December 2021: First national stakeholder meeting in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports of Jamaica.
- December 2021 to February 2022: A diagnostic phase which identified the following challenges: a general consultation fatigue, a fragmented industry and the fact that there are very urgent needs (as a result of the COVID-19 crisis).
- January 2022: Division of the national team in subcommittees: the research committee, engagement committee, and the drafting committee.
- March 2022: Peer-to-Peer exhanges with Namibia.
- May 2022: Capacity building in: data and insights for decision making, investing in the creative industries workshop, building a stronger sector ecosystem, and digital innovation and the CCIs.
- July 2022: Virtual peer-to-peer exhanges with Barbados and Ghana.
Spin-off activities:
- In this project, Jamaica also took the opportunity to simultaneously review the national Cultural and Creative Industries Policy to respond to the vulnerabilities that were identified as part of the COVID-19 crisis.