Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – Althoughcreative industries remain modest in Vietnam, there are certain localadvantages for them to develop in the country, according to a specialist fromVietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, Director of the Research Centre forFemale Labour and Gender under MOLISA’s Institute of Labour Science and SocialAffairs, was speaking at the workshop “Unlocking potential, creating style –APEC GIFTS (Gendered Innovation for Technology and Science) for Women in thecreative industry”, which was hosted by the Department of Gender Equality ofChinese Taipei in Hue city, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, onSeptember 26.

Thuy said “creative industry” refers to a range of economicactivities that are concerned with the generation and commercialisation ofcreativity, ideas, knowledge and information. 

There are 12 sub-sectors under the term “creative industry”,including advertising, architecture, interactive leisure software, the art andantiques market, design, film and video, publishing, music, the performingarts, television and radio, software and computer games, and cultural tourism.

She noted that the creative industry generates about 2.2trillion USD in revenue or 3.3 percent the global GDP. Its revenue evensurpasses the entire GDP of India, 1.9 trillion USD.

The creative industries generated 29.5 million jobs, equivalentto 1 percent of the world’s active population. They also employ more peoplethan the automotive industry in the US, Europe and Japan combined.

She said Vietnam has not made the best use of intellectualproperty and local small- and medium-sized enterprises spend onlyabout 0.2 – 0.3 percent of their turnover on technological renovation.

The number of Vietnamese inventions proposed to the WorldIntellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) for recognition equal to 1/1,000 of Chinaand 1/5,000 of Japan. While the country’s software industry productivity isworth some 10,000 USD per person each year, the figure is 14,000 – 18,000 USDin China and 140,000 USD in the US.

However, Thuy also recognised certain advantages of Vietnam, includingthe large domestic market. The country has a young population with “commercial”sensitivity and a high level of digital technology, in addition to the richnessand diversity of regions and culture. Another advantage is that many newmanufacturing industries in the supply chain of the creative industries haveemerged.

Suggesting solutions to developing the creative industries, Thuy said it isnecessary to set up a specialised state management agency along with a numberof creative centres. She also highlighted the need for human resourcestraining, a supportive infrastructure system, a favourable legal system, andthe capacity to enforce intellectual property and copyright protection.

The workshop “Unlocking potential, creating style – APEC GIFTS forWomen in the creative industry” was a side event of the ongoing 2017 APEC Womenand the Economy Forum in Hue city.

Established in 1989, APECcomprises 21 economies which account for 39 percent of the world population, 57percent of the world GDP and 47 percent of the global trade, according tostatistics in 2014.

The APEC Year 2017 is takingplace in Vietnam under the theme “Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a SharedFuture”. The country used to host APEC events in 2006.-VNA