Ministry inaugurates interim council for creative arts industry

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has  inaugurated a 32-member interim council to steer the affairs of the creative arts  industry.

The council is made up of  industry players in the  visual arts, performing arts, writers and publishers.

The council members are to assist the ministry to facilitate the passage of the creative industry bill into law.

According to Mrs Ofosu-Adjare, after the passage of the bill into law, a properly constituted and legally mandated creative industry council would be established.

She added that they would put in place appropriate structures for the implementation of creative industry policies promulgated by the ministry. 

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said the interim council would also help the ministry to facilitate the establishment and management of the creative industry scheme which would be strengthened by the law. 

“This interim council has been constituted in collaboration with the culture forum, and its membership reflects the entire industry. Its terms of reference are based on its core functions,” she said.

Interventions 

She further stated that the sector had chalked up successes over the years.

According to her, total exports of Ghanaian handicrafts  increased from US$2.78 million in 2010 to $ 4.099 million in 2012.

She  attributed the success to the various interventions  initiated by the ministry to promote the sector.

 Mrs Ofosu-Adjare named some of the interventions as strengthening the institutional framework of the sector and  the provision of an appropriate legal and regulatory framework for promoting the creative areas and for protecting intellectual property right.

In addition, she said the ministry had coordinated with key municipal and district assemblies to develop the industry.

Background

To ensure a holistic and integrated approach towards developing the creative arts sector, the ministry established a nine-member committee and tasked it to develop the appropriate legal and regulatory framework to promote the creative industry.

A draft creative arts legal and regulatory framework has since been developed. 

The minister said 10 regional stakeholder sensitisation workshops had been organised to present the document to industry players and stakeholders to incorporate their ideas into the final document which was currently being put together by the Attorney-General’s Department.