Before the COVID-19 crisis, the creative economy, broadly encompassing knowledge-based economic activities underpinning the creative and cultural sectors and bridging art, culture, technology, and business, was on pace to account for 10% of global GDP by 2030. In recognition of its economic and social significance as a driver of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations in 2019 declared 2021 the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. However, the creative economy, and the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the informal workers that drive it, have been especially hard hit by pandemic lockdowns.

Reviving the creative economy, facilitated by the digital marketplace, will be critical to realizing an inclusive recovery that boosts MSMEs and employment for women and youth in the region’s rural and urban areas, as reflected in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recovery framework. The Group of 20 (G20) is also exploring how the creative economy, along with culture and tourism, could contribute to a more inclusive global recovery. This includes hosting the first G20 culture ministers meeting in 2021, to examine the links between responsible consumption and investment, social inclusion, gender equality, and the value of tangible and intangible heritage.

Cohosted by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), ASEAN Secretariat, University of Indonesia’s Institute for Economic and Social Research, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, and British Council, this conference featured new policy papers on creative economy development and its role in delivering a robust and inclusive post-pandemic recovery in developing Asia and the Pacific. It also explored how the post-COVID-19 revival of the creative economy could advance the realization of the SDGs, setting the stage for possible action during Indonesia’s G20 presidency in 2022.

See more about this ADBI event.