Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has pledged government’s commitment to building a creative arts industry that is economically viable, globally competitive and capable of providing sustainable livelihoods for practitioners.
She said the government recognises the significant contribution of the creative sector to national development through music, film, theatre, dance, fashion, visual arts, publishing and other emerging creative disciplines.
Speaking at a high-level stakeholder engagement with creative industry practitioners in Accra on Tuesday, August 25, the Minister said government’s ambition was to position the creative arts sector at the heart of its resetting agenda and on the global stage.
She noted that the industry plays a critical role in telling Ghana’s story, projecting the country’s identity and culture, creating jobs and contributing to economic growth.
According to her, a thriving creative arts industry requires “deliberate investment, strong institutions and an enabling environment.”
She cited the establishment and implementation of the Creative Arts Fund and the National Film Authority Fund as some of the concrete measures being undertaken by government to support the sector.
The Ministry, she added, was also strengthening international partnerships and skills development while working to improve infrastructure and opportunities for the production, distribution and export of Ghanaian creative products.
However, the Minister stressed that the engagement was not intended to be another platform for government to dictate policies to practitioners.
“Today, however, it is not primarily about government speaking to you. It is about me wanting to listen to you,” she said.
She acknowledged that practitioners understood the opportunities and challenges confronting the industry better than government officials.
“We want to hear your ideas and proposals. We want to understand what is working, what is not working, and what more government can do to unlock the full potential of the sector,” she added.
Ms Gomashie assured stakeholders that the Ministry and its agencies were committed to working with practitioners rather than simply working for them.
She said government would continue engaging stakeholders, building partnerships with the private sector and development partners, and pursuing policies and programmes capable of creating opportunities across the creative value chain.
The Minister emphasised that the formulation of effective creative-sector policies must be driven by collaboration between government and industry practitioners.
“My job is to create the policies with you, for you and for all of us,” she said.
She called on stakeholders to use the engagement to identify practical solutions to the sector’s longstanding challenges and strengthen collaboration between government and industry.
Ms Gomashie said the ultimate goal was to establish a creative arts industry that was “economically viable, globally competitive, professionally organised and capable of providing sustainable livelihoods.”
She urged stakeholders to engage government frankly and constructively as efforts are made to unlock the sector’s full potential and establish Ghana as a vibrant creative destination.
The engagement, organised by the Creative Arts Agency, brought together stakeholders from across Ghana’s creative arts ecosystem to discuss government’s policy direction, implementation priorities and opportunities for the creative economy.
