A creativity initiative to boost economy

November is a celebration of creativity across Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, when “Alsharqiya Gets Creative” dominates almost the entire month.

Now in its fifth year, the initiative led by The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Ithra, iinvites local entities to develop and offer creative programmes for the local community, which can involve local creatives  (poets, designers, chefs, filmmakers and more) sharing their talents. Public talks, exhibitions or hands-on workshops are also likely to be held as part of the initiative — to run from November 1-23 — at various venues across the province.

So far this year, 350 partner organisations across 10 cities are hosting over 1600 events. Ultimately, the aim is to enhance the creative culture of the Eastern Province, fostering a vibrant ecosystem for innovation where creativity flourishes.

Creativity can be hard to tie down. Most definitions emphasise novelty and originality while also factoring in some kind of usefulness. In short, creativity is developing “novel solutions that work.”, whether composing an original piece of art that moves its audience or designing a novel online app that fulfils a tangible need. It is precisely this broad concept of creativity that emphasises social good that Alsharqiya Gets Creative seeks to identify, promote and nurture.

For example, in previous years, the initiative has, among many other achievements, broadened access to creative activities for marginalised groups and helped fledgling creative industries get a foothold in the market.

Beyond the Saudi context, many other nations are also working hard to cultivate population-level creativity. The global creative economy, the intersection of human creativity and technology, is booming, and this creative sector can significantly boost economic development and job creation.

I recently witnessed this first-hand on a trip to South Korea while wandering through one of Seoul’s hippest neighbourhoods, Seongsu-dong. This is a district where traditional industries faded only to be revitalised by creative ones. Today, recording studios sit alongside concept coffee shops and avant-garde Korean fashion brands. Vibrant and chic, Seongsu-dong teems with trend-hungry tourists cheek-by-jowl with the cream of Korean creativity - the youth.

In recent decades, the South Korean government actively encouraged the flourishing of creative industries. This has given the world K-pop and K-drama, which continue to enjoy growing global popularity. For example, Squid Game, a K-drama, is Netflix’s most-watched series ever. Earlier this year, in August, BTS, a Korean K-pop band, became the first and only group to have 33 songs reach the No. 1 spot on the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart.

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A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) suggests that Korea’s creative sectors experienced growth of 4% to 5% and employed over 600,000 people, generating 12.4 billion (USD) in export revenue for 2021. Comparatively, the nation’s consumer electronic equipment exports – think Samsung and LG - generated 4.7 billion (USD). Creativity is good for the economy.

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