Alex Gakuru Regional Co-coordinator Creative Commons talk on Online Presence of the creatives on the 21st/Nov/2013 during the East African Art Summit held in Nairobi Kenya.
APM Welcome, APM North West Network Conference, Synergies Across Sectors
Future of East Africa's Creative Ecology - Implications of Technology, Creativity and Innovation
1. Future of East Africa's Creative Ecology Implications of Technology, Creativity and
Innovation
Alex Gakuru
gakuru@creativecommons.org
2. DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed in this presentation are those of
the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views
of Creative Commons or any member of its staff nor
any other entity he is associated with.
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"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."
Brillat-Savarin (The Physiology of Taste, 1825)
Paraphrased, “the content we are consuming shall determine
East Africa's future.”
Game-changer is Digital Television revolution, DTv to change
literally every aspect of East Africans lives
Expect “pull” demand from hitherto “push” to sell creative
Unprecedented demand for local content - KICA, 2013
requires 45% local content (no longer a government policy
statement) -Trend in EAC
Global trade in creative goods and services hit a record US$
624 billion in 2011; More than doubled from 2002 to 2011; the
average annual growth was 8.8 per cent.
Growth in developing-country exports of creative goods was
even stronger, averaging 12.1 per cent annually over the
same period.
4. Intellectual Property Rights
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Article 11. (2) The State shall -(a) promote all forms of national and cultural expression
through literature, the arts, traditional celebrations,
science, communication, information, mass media,
publications, libraries and other cultural heritage;
(b) recognise the role of science and indigenous
technologies in the development of the nation; and
(c) promote the intellectual property rights of the people of
Kenya.
Article 40.(5)"The State shall support, promote and protect
the intellectual property rights of the people of Kenya."
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6. Knowledge Commons Future
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“Jobs” = outdated education system (Sugata Mitra)
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Reform education to speak to modern challenges
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Open Education Resources(OER) embrace Opens Access
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Resolving Universal Access to Education challenges
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Induction to prohibitive, costly proprietary technologies
(such as audiovisual editing software, 3D, game dev etc..)
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Embrace new technology instruments and tools
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Growing use of Free and Open Source Software
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And of Openly licensed content and CC licenses
7. Observations
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The best way to control people is by manipulating their tastes,
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Reality is dynamic - by predominant conversations voice(s),
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While on conversation “content is king,” really, context rules,
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Content dominance controls thinking (internet, mass media..)
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Who controls the content?(authors, distributors or consumers),
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Creators asserting their artistic rights regardless of the media,
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Consumers access more relevant, fulfilling, rewarding content,
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Estimated > 75% global financial transactions on the Internet,
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65% of Internet users search for information local to them,
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Future of East Africa's creative ecology tied to the Internet,
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Communication innovations without Internet scale constraints.
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9. Expanding Internet Presence
As of June 2011
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Africa contributed only two per cent of the global
webpages
(1.4% by South Africa – rest of Africa the remainder 0.6%)
Global average ratio stood at 90:1 people to one domain
name.
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Africa's ratio was 10,000:1 people per domain name
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Kenya's then ratio was 2,500:1 people per domain.
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Date: Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 3:20 PM During the month of
October, KeNIC registered 1,001 domains marking 14.7%
growth compared to September. We closed the month with
a total of 30,000 domains. (1,366:1 as of 31st Oct, 2013)
10. Presentation Brief
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East African Community Integration
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Increasing political awareness by regional citizens
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Oil, gas and mineral discoveries in the region
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Burgeoning youth population and unemployment;
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Urbanization; (Modernisation or Westernisation)
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A growing middle class;
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Infrastructural developments—mobile telephony, fibre-optic
installation, rail, road and ports;
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Rising East African innovators, etc.
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Implications of development in (mass) media technologies
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Intellectual Property Rights(&Creative Commons Licenses)
11. Scheduled to be launched
tomorrow 21 November 2013
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Rich in statistics
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Historical data
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Future projections
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Integration
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Minerals discoveries
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Youth / population
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Unemployment
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Infrastructure dev.
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http://www.sidint.net/docs/SoEAR2012_final.pdf
12. Thematic Areas
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Report examines the trends that have taken place in the
EAC region since 2006
Covers six main themes;
1. Population growth;
2. Natural resource base;
3. Human development;
4. Infrastructure;
5. Economy and
6. Politics and government.
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Projects futuristic growth based on past and current trends
13. Statistical Highlights
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Population is growing and urbanizing at a rapid pace;
In seven years, combined population of Tanzania, Kenya,
Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi expected to be240 million.
total area occupied by the five East African Community
member states 1.82 million sq km- means region should
brace for a major land scramble, already delicate matter.
Children and youth accounted for an overwhelming
majority (80 %), of the region's total population in 2010.
By 2030, region will have 178 million children and youth
out of a total population of 237 million
31 per cent (73 million) of them living in urban areas
14. Urbanisation
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Often confused with Westernisation and Modernisation
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Adds pressure on cities capacity to host urban migrants
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Housing, Water and Sanitation, Infrastructure, schools
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Traditional solution → build more formal edu city schools
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Rural farming labour abandonment, food insecurity, prices
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City joblessness increases urban crimes/insecurity
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Jobless != 'Workless' (blame deep-rooted 'job culture')
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Institutionalised “White Collar” jobs mentality
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Now changing attitude to creative sector(mostly informal)
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United Nations Creative Economy Report 2013 Special
Edition http://www.unesco.org/culture/pdf/creative-economy-report-2013.pdf
16. Thematic Areas
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evolving concepts and context of the creative economy
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fostering inclusive and sustainable creative economies.
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non-economic ways where creativity and culture contribute to
development
diverse forms of the creative economy in many different local
settings in Africa.
critical factors to consider when designing a policy or strategy
for local creative economy development.
investment in the development of the local creative economy
and indicators of effectiveness and success.
strategic and practical aspects of sustainable development
initiatives focusing on creativity and culture.
lessons learned and proposes recommendations for action.
17. Conclusions
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Supportive policy, legal and regulatory framework
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Spanning technology, creativity and innovation
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Opens vast untapped creative economy potential
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Boundless creative expression created by DTv
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New business models are needed for digital era
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Better Intellectual Property Rights management
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EAC Regional creative works trade growing fast
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Free movement of people opened new opportunities
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Needed supporting technological intermediaries
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Need improved investment/access to capital
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Real creative power is ability to shape society
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Build guilds and other support networks
