Creativity gives economy competitive edge

Creative industries make a significant contribution to the Northern Ireland economy, providing 9,000 jobs and generating £900 million each year, Culture, Arts and Leisure Minister, Angela Smith, said today.

The Minister was speaking at W5 in Belfast, where she was opening the ‘Creativity Thirst’ conference, organised by the Workers’ Educational Association, to identify ways to link creativity with profit and entrepreneurship.

Ms Smith said: “I believe that creativity is central to all aspects of work, learning and leisure and transcends boundaries including technology, science, language and physical activity.

“Creativity underpins our ability to innovate, to create and exploit new economic opportunities and to compete more effectively. If Northern Ireland is to be a competitive force in the international marketplace, we must use our creative skills to the full in producing good design and innovative products and services.”

The Minister said she believed that the conference would not only inspire and support those who were thinking of getting involved in the creative industries but would encourage those whose creativity was latent and unexpressed.

The ‘Unlocking Creativity’ initiative has been embraced by Workers’ Educational Association, the Education and Library Boards, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.

(MB/SP)