What Will 2021 Mark?

Hopefully, safe and effective vaccines against COVID, a fair, equitable and swift distribution of the same, and life back to normal!

It will also mark, as decided by the international community, several other things:

World Health Organization has appropriately designated 2021 as the International Year of Health and Care Workers in recognition of the dedication and sacrifice of the millions of health and care workers at the forefront of the Covid-19 pandemic, unanimously

United Nations (UN) has, through various resolutions, decided that 2021 shall be marked as:

• International Year of Peace and Trust
• International Year of Fruits and Vegetables  
• International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour
• International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development 

The first three are self-evident, and much needed, especially in the post-Covid world. But I was not familiar with the fourth—i.e., what is a Creative Economy?

Well, it seems that Creative Economy is not easy to define, and there are about 27 definitions floating around. Apparently the term was introduced by Peter Coy in 2000, and at its crux, it is an economy driven by “the growing power of ideas.”  John Howkins was the next to define it, and referred to it as ‘a new way of thinking and doing that revitalizes manufacturing, services, retailing, and entertainment industries.’ Ana Carla Fonseca  says that creative economy is about ‘products and services that rely on creativity to generate innovation, added value and differentiation”.  According to UNESCO and Ernst and Young, as of 2015, about 3% of the world’s GDP (more than US$ 2.25 trillion in revenue) pertained to creative economy.

As per a fairly accepted classification, there are four major sectors of the creative economy:

Media

– Editorial (books, magazines and digital content)

– Audiovisual (video content, television schedule and broadcast in general)

Consumption

– Architecture (building, landscape and environmental design, space planning)

– Design (products and visual and multimedia content)

– Fashion (clothing design)

– Advertising (creation of publicity pieces, marketing, market research and event organization)

Culture

– Arts and Cultural Heritage (museology, cultural production and heritage sites)

– Music (recording, edition, creation and music interpretation)

– Performing arts (acting, production and direction of shows)

– Cultural expressions (handcraft, folklore, cuisine and festivals)

Technology

– Research and Development (academic research)

– Biotechnology (bioengineering and lab research)

– Information technology (software, systems development and robotics).

Well, I suppose that doing a blog is a creative enterprise. So I shall count myself as a part of the creative economy (though sadly this one adds nothing to the GDP nor our personal bank accounts, so I wonder if it is an economic activity!).

And on a more serious note, this blog shall do its best and its bit to mark the other themes– Peace and Trust; Fruits and Vegetables; Elimination of Child Labour; and Health and Care Workers.

Happy 2021. May it be Peaceful and Healthy!

–Meena