Creative and cultural industries are now widely acknowledged as dynamic sectors of the world economy offering high growth opportunities. Based on the premise that culture can be a driver of economic growth, governments in Asia and Europe, in consultation with the arts sector and international institutions, are directing investment towards these sectors and developing tailor-made national and local policies. Further, there are growing debates around the development dimension of the creative economy.

This topic is also high on the political agenda of Ministers of Culture in Asia and Europe, who meet biennially in the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The 6th Asia-Europe Culture Ministers’ Meeting (19-21 October 2014, Rotterdam, Netherlands) focused specifically on the topic of the creative industries.

These ongoing discussions call for a deeper analysis of existing policies shaping the creative economy and their particular potential for innovatively addressing development challenges.

In this context, ASEF co-organised the 6th ASEF Experts’ Meeting & Public Forum on Creative Economy in Asia and Europe: Emerging Pillar of Economic Growth & Development, which addressed these very issues and encouraged the sharing of experiences and good practices from both regions.

The meeting was organised in partnership with the  International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Viet Nam; and, with the support of the British Council, Viet Nam and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands.

Meeting report

The report of this meeting is now available for download in the Documents section of this page.

Follow up activities in 2014

• 7th ASEF Public Forum on Creative Industries in Asia and Europe: Enabling Crossovers (18 October 2014, Amsterdam) was organised as an official side-event of the 6th Asia-Europe Culture Ministers’ Meeting, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Netherlands and Het Nieuwe Instituut, Netherlands and with the support of the European Cultural Foundation.
• Enabling Crossovers: Good Practices in the Creative Industries, a compilation of 36 cases from 33 countries in Asia and Europe was launched in June 2014.

The 6th ASEF Experts’ Meeting and Public Forum is part of a long-running dialogue series on policy issues of mutual interest and common relevance for Asia and Europe. Past Experts’ Meetings and Public Forums have taken place in Yangon, Myanmar (2013), Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2012), Melbourne, Australia (2011), Seoul, Korea (2011) and Amsterdam, Netherlands (2010).