CREATIVE MEDITERRANEAN: A STORY OF TRANSMISSIBLE RESILIENCE

The EU-funded project “CreativeMed” is an innovative initiative aiming to develop integrated clusters in Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in the Southern Mediterranean that have the potential to contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Implemented by UNIDO and benefited from a financial contribution of the Italian Agency for Development, this project is undertaken within the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) Cooperation framework and is consistent with the socially-inclusive growth objectives of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).

CreativeMed seeks to capitalise the pathbreaking experiences of EU projects focusing on targeted Smart Specialisation in cultural and creative industries as a driving force for the creation of economic value in the countries of the Southern Mediterranean by leveraging territorial and cultural capital to co-design new service and business models that may favor the transformation of innovative and creative entrepreneurship ideas into economic well-being and prosperity.

Following a cluster development approach that started by initial mapping of existing clusters and value chains in the cultural and creative industries in the project’s target countries, the shortlisted innovation clusters benefitted from Technical support, Cluster-related business advisory services and new equipment grants preparing these pilot CCI centers of excellence to serve as knowledge repositories to increase national and regional expertise related to CCIs and cluster development.

The overwhelming success of this methodology gave impetus to national governments to replicate the project’s activities by training national public institutions in cluster policy development and creating linkages with financial institutions and other development partners that offer services and incentives to the creative sector actors.

Among the seven participating countries Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia, there was a diverse body of creative projects inspired by cultural heritage, modern influences and current geopolitical trends in the Mediterranean region. Notable examples were Bookrah jewels collection in Lebanon, JO! Women’s wear collection by creative Jordan and Djeann’s modern Berber Boucherouite carpet design in Morocco.

Specific policy insights gained from different regional experiences augurs the emergence of new socio-economic models related to Smart Specialisation involving aspects such as open network organizations, innovation mixes blending advanced technologies with traditional crafts, social learning, and shared values related to sustainability and equal opportunities that can maximise intraregional creativity, and enhance interregional knowledge spillovers for innovation.

Leveraging Clusters as catalyzers of the creative economy could represent a tremendous opportunity for inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) and job creation in Southern Mediterranean countries. Evidently, by nurturing creativity and fostering innovation that are rooted in each country’s respective cultural heritage, the region’s diversity could be strengthened and its economic performance could be enhanced.

Berber Women with their Rugs. © Linda Ridder.
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