"Ideas change the world. The power of a new
idea is the engine that transforms the way we live and think. …"
The Power of Ideas
IDEAS CAN MAKE YOU!
Whether you were watching or not, the world moved from the INDUSTRIAL
ECONOMY to the CREATIVE ECONOMY. And the crucial driver of this Economy is
simply IDEAS; good IDEAS constitute investment capital and raw material for the
creative economy.
Let us reflect on the growing power, potency and economic
value of ideas.
There is a book I wish I had written. Somebody else did. But
I am happy the book was written. Dr Richard Florida, a lecturer and columnist,
wrote The Rise of the Creative Class
in 2002. Now there is a key statement inside the book which excites me more
than anything else. Dr. Florida wrote:
"...human creativity is the ultimate economic
resource" (Florida
2002, p. xiii)
This blog affirms this statement. Based on the premise that
human creativity is the ultimate economic resource, it means we do not wait for
Nigeria (and Africa) to industrialise in order to achieve tangible economic
development. If we do not achieve the so-called technological leap many hope
fervently for, I can bet that it would be much easier to achieve a CREATIVE
LEAP.
This means that your creative idea can make you build wealth;
your creative idea can make you rich.
At the
Eleventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) XI High Level Panel on Creative Industries and Development which held
in São Paulo, Brazil on 13th –18th June 2004 stated that:
The core industries or
areas of activity that make up the "creative industries" include the
recording industry; music and theatre production; the motion picture industry;
music publishing; book, journal and newspaper publishing; the computer software
industry; photography; commercial art; and the radio, television and cable
broadcasting industries.
It is estimated that the
global market value of creative industries will increase to US$ 1.3 trillion in
2005 (from $831 billion in 2000), an annual compound growth rate of over 7 per
cent. Creativity is deeply embedded in a country's cultural context. As such it
is a ubiquitous asset, present in all countries, and its effective nurturing
and use can provide new opportunities for developing countries to
"leap-frog" into new areas of wealth creation, consistent with wider
trends in the global economy.
The creative industries refer to a range of economic
activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge
and information. The creative industries include the following advertising;
architecture; arts and antique markets; crafts; design; designer fashion; film,
video and photography; software; computer games and electronic publishing;
music and the visual and performing arts; publishing; television; and radio.
A key driver of interest in creative industries and
development is the acknowledgement that the value of creative production
resides in ideas and individual creativity, and developing countries have rich
cultural traditions and pools of creative talent which lay a basic foundation
for creative enterprises.
IDEAS ARE DIRECTLY CENTRAL TO PROPAGATING THE CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES. YOU DO NOT NEED SOPHISTICATED ENGINEERING TO COME UP WITH EFFECTIVE
IDEAS.
The turn of the millennium is a turn from
hamburgers to software. Software is an idea; hamburger is a cow. There will
still be hamburger makers in the 21st century, of course, but the power,
prestige, and money will flow to the companies with indispensable intellectual
property.
Now the Industrial Economy is giving way to
the Creative Economy, and corporations are at another crossroads. Attributes
that made them ideal for the 20th century could cripple them in the 21st. So
they will have to change, dramatically.
In the Creative Economy, the most important
intellectual property isn't software or music or movies. It's the stuff inside
employees' heads.
The 21st Century Corporation - The Creative Economy
Bloomberg BusinessWeek Magazine
August 2000 Double Issue
It would
be handy to use the example of Nollywood, euphemism for Nigeria’s movie
industry, and its rise to prove that Nigeria is indeed already reaping the
potential benefits of the creative industries.
According
to a BGL Research publication Nollywood grosses US$200m-US$300m a year in
revenues, with little or no government help. Quoting based on figures from
Media Facts 2011, BGL Research compared revenues from Nollywood (Nigeria),
Bollywood (India) and Hollywood (USA). They found that Nollywood annual revenue
is about US$0.25 Billion compared to US$51 Billion for Hollywood and US$ 1.75
Billion for Bollywood. In terms of number of people employed Nollywood employs
up to 1,000,000 workers while Hollywood employs 1,969,000. Clearly, the
potential is there and as the research report noted:
…Nollywood has been punching above its weight. The numbers are quite
inspiring but the potentials are even more impressive. According to the
Nigerian Film and Videos Censors Board (NFVCB), filmmaking employs about a
million people in Nigeria, split equally between production and distribution,
making it the country's biggest employer after agriculture.
See full report: http://research.bglgroupng.com/Documents/EconomicNote/ECONOMIC%20NOTE%20-The%20Nigerian%20Entertainment%20Industry.pdf
ONE GOOD IDEA YOU COME UP WITH AND DEVELOP CAN TURN YOUR YEAR AND FUTURE AROUND POSITIVELY.
WHAT CREATIVE IDEAS DO YOU HAVE? WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO WITH IT?
2014 IS ALREADY COUNTING . . . TICK! TOCK!
