In the framework of a support Programme for strengthening the creative industries in five selected African, Caribbean and Pacific countries through Employment and Trade Expansion funded by the European Union, policy efforts have conducted in Zambia.  Three main actions were conducted: a High-level Policy Dialogue, a research and policy analysis and an analytical assessment and a policy review of the status of the creative industries in Zambia. They have resulted in the policy-oriented study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) entitled Strengthening the Creative Industries for Development in Zambia.

A plan of action jointly prepared by UNCTAD, UNESCO and ILO defining activities for each agency was also prepared. The Action plan included proposals such as to establish an empowered ministerial body devoted to culture and the creative economy; to recommend to the government to provide a higher level of budgetary funds and to broaden the work of National Arts Council not only to the level of arts but also to other more technology-intensive and services-oriented creative industries, such as new media, design and creative services (advertising, web services, etc.); to open the registration to creative industries practitioners' non-members, with a view to facilitate the participation of practitioners in the informal to formal sector; to support university-level programmes in the arts and creative sectors and to create a Zambian Copyright society that has a broader approach- one that it is not only restricted to the music sector.

The project helped to put creative industries on the political agenda. It also helped to identify and strengthen the visibility and potential of the creative sector in Zambia for trade growth, employment creation, poverty alleviation and social inclusion. The UNCTAD project through the consultation process and the work with the Ministry of Community Development contributed to a mind shift in terms of the economic opportunities of the creative sector and its contribution to local development.