EUNIC delivers creative economy maps for Egypt after a two-year project

CAIRO – 16 January 2020: The European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC) celebrated on Saturday, January 2020, the completion of a two-year project, implemented by the British Council in Egypt, titled “Towards a Creative Economy Framework”, the first EUNIC project in Egypt to be funded by the EU delegation in Egypt.

The conference was attended by a number of EUNIC Egypt members, government representatives, civil society networks, and artists.

The conference included many panel discussions around the educational needs, policy and information challenges, and potential partnerships between government and non-government sectors that can help the creative economy thrive.

Many prominent figures attended this huge event as the head of the cultural development fund, Fathy Abdel Wahab, and former ministers of culture Emad Abou Ghazy and Shaker Abdel Hamid.




“The vision of EUNIC is to define and implement European policy on culture and cultural relations. EUNIC in Egypt specifically wishes to strengthen EU-Egyptian relations in the field of culture and to encourage the exchange of knowledge and experiences through activities and initiatives such as today’s. The British Council is proud to work with our colleagues in Egypt as members of EUNIC,” Elizabeth White, British Council Country Director said.

Through the collaboration with the ministries of culture, social solidarity, environment, and trade and industry, and after 30 roundtables that brought together representatives from government, civil society organizations, artists and the private sector, the project delivered a creative economy map for Egypt that has identified the jobs, skills and education needed within five key sectors where Egypt has a rich history: cinema, music, publishing, design, and the performing arts.

Additionally, 12 projects within these sectors were proposed through the roundtable discussions and will be pitched to the EU for seed funding. Selected projects will be completed and presented to the public by the end of this year.

The maps provide information on the numbers employed, industry trends, job titles and roles needed, to be able to create jobs and deliver exportable products that can contribute strongly to economic growth. It is a result of extensive work after strong collaboration between government and non-government representatives and organizations for the purpose of fostering creative industries in Egypt.

Towards a Creative Economy Framework project comes in line with the 2030 sustainable development strategy, which sets clear goals, a professional strategy for measurement, and clear implementation mechanics, to foster a strong cultural identity, protect intellectual heritage, and create economic empowerment for women, people with disabilities and those living outside the main cities of Egypt.

Cathy Costain, head of the arts programme at the British Council said: “In the UK, the creative economy, as a concept, has been around for almost 20 years. It contributes over GBP 100 billion to its GDP annually and is something the British Council wants to share and experience with its Egyptian counterparts. We also have the Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies (DICE) programme, which we launched two years ago, that is working on institutional, policy and individual levels, to foster the creative economy and social enterprise in five countries, including Egypt.”

So far, DICE has secured partnerships with several ministries and government organizations, delivered training to over 250 government stakeholders, and supported 9 organizations to implement 11 promising projects in 14 governorates from Delta to Upper Egypt. A total of 1400 individuals and 160 social and 80 creative enterprises are receiving direct training through the programme.