Cultural, creative industries thriving and maturing: CEPD

During the first phase of the development project from 2002 through 2007, the accumulated business turnover of cultural and creative industries posted a 45 percent increase to reach NT$632.9 billion (US$19.18 billion), which translated into 3.18 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) , the CEPD said in a press statement.

The number of people working in the sector also surged from 160,000 to 210,000 during the six-year period, marking a 30 percent rise, the statement said.

With the rise of emerging economies, Taiwan has gradually lost its competitive edge in the manufacturing sector, the CEPD said.

Against this backdrop, the government has picked cultural and creative industries as one of the six industrial sectors that should be given priority in development, it noted.

As part of its efforts to upgrade the national image to facilitate the development of cultural and creative industries, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has successfully secured the right for Taiwan to host the 2011 World Design Congress which is expected to bring together elite designers from around the world to exchange ideas and innovative concepts for future development.

The cultural and creative industries promotion project entered its second phase last year. Under the project, the Cabinet-level Council for Cultural Affairs has offered subsidies for the establishment of four incubation centers which now host a total of 32 cultural and creative industry operators.

A special Web site has also been created to serve as a platform for the exchange of ideas and for striking business deals. The Web site has so far received 31,588 creative entries.

In addition, the CEPD statement said, the Executive Yuan formed an inter-ministerial task force in March to further boost the sector's development and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan has promised to earmark more funds next year to finance relevant development projects.

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