Forum on the Adoption of the United Nations International Year on Creative Economy for Sustainable Development 2021

UNCTAD will participate at the online Forum jointly organized by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia of Malaysia (MCMC), UNDP Malaysia and MyCreative Ventures on Monday, 26 October 2020. The meeting will be opened by the UN Resident Coordinator in Malaysia Mr. Stefan Priesner followed by a keynote by Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, Minister of Communications and Multimedia of Malaysia (MCMM), UNCTAD and UNESCO. The objective of the live forum is to celebrate the UN resolution on Creative Economy and brainstorm about Malaysia’s policy options and action on creative industries and share best practices and experiences as well as address the challenges faced by the COVID-19.

The forum features a panel discussion on global trends in supporting the Creative Economy followed by a ‘Lightning Talks’ session. The panelists are: Marisa Henderson, Chief of Creative Economy Programme (UNCTAD); Moe Chiba, Head of Unit Culture (UNESCO; and Keiko Hagihara Bang, producer and CEO of Bang Singapore. The ‘Lightning Talks’ session was led by speakers Niloy Banerjee, UNDP Resident Representative for Malaysia; Eddin Khoo, Director and founder of PUSAKA; Nizam Razak, the CEO of Animonsta Studios; and Jo Kukathas, Director of The Instant Cafe Theatre.

The Creative Economy is the most rapidly growing sector in the world economy and also deserves merit for creating people-centred value and fostering sustainable urban development. It has been given recognition by the United Nations in line with the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

According to Stefan Priesner, United Nation’s Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, “The creative economy is key, because creativity stimulates innovation. And innovation is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals. Malaysia, as a hot pot of culture and creativity, has the potential to further develop the creative economy as a high growth sector – with a clear and concise national strategy that will boost positioning, employment, productivity, and sustainable growth.” Minister of Communications and Multimedia, YB Dato Saifuddin Abdullah said, “Malaysia will adopt the United Nations’ International Year on Creative Economy for Sustainable Development 2021 and finds the United Nations’ appeal to be very much in line with Malaysia’s vision of fostering a thriving and sustainable Creative Economy."

The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia will be working closely with the United Nations, its agencies such as UNDP, UNCTAD and UNESCO and all relevant stakeholders to promote the global effort.