The Trinidad and Tobago Copyright Organisation (TTCO) welcomes the recent strides made toward quantifying the economic impact of copyright-based and creative industries across the Caribbean.
Despite the cultural and economic significance of festivals, music, and artistic expression throughout the region, reliable data on their true financial contribution has remained limited or outdated. A new regional initiative, however, aims to change that.
Led by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of St. Lucia, in partnership with the Caribbean Development Bank’s Cultural and Creative Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF), the Intellectual Property Data Collection Accelerator Project spanned four countries: Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The project was spearheaded by Deputy Director of Statistics Richard Harris and brought together prominent regional experts, including Dr. Vanus James, a respected Trinidadian economist and IP researcher, and Dr. Marsha Cadogan, a Jamaican IP legal specialist, as project manager.
Dr. James’ earlier studies, including a landmark 2012 report, provided baseline measurements of copyright-based industries’ GDP contributions. This new project builds on his work by updating those reports with current economic and statistical data while also expanding capacity in the region’s data-collection agencies.
Harris explained that although more Caribbean countries are recognising the economic value of creative industries, many national statistical systems still under-represent this sector in GDP and employment figures.
“This project seeks to build capacity in the area of copyright and creative industries statistics that have traditionally not been very well represented in our national accounts… even though we know that this activity is an important economic driver,” said Harris.
As part of the initiative, a training programme was launched in mid-2022, targeting government officers in statistical offices, ministries of finance and planning, and other stakeholders involved in economic policy and creative sector development.
Harris praised the CIIF’s support through grant funding, noting the project is equipping Caribbean nations with the tools to generate better data on employment, gender equity, poverty reduction, and GDP contributions linked to the creative economy.
“The value of contributions of copyright-based industries is generally untapped because we have focused so much on traditional sectors,” Harris added.
“What is needed now is strong, empirical data to back our assertions and guide economic planning.”
The updated reports, authored by Dr. James, are expected to provide vital insights into the economic power of cultural industries in the Caribbean, particularly in youth employment, entrepreneurship, and community investment.
TTCO views this development as a timely and necessary step toward the integration of creative sector metrics into national development agendas. It reinforces the call for improved policy, stronger investment, and institutional support for artists and creators in Trinidad and Tobago and across the region.
Source:
Adapted from: Caribbean Development Bank. “Validating Creative Industries Research and New Data for the Region.”
Original article available here. https://www.caribank.org/newsroom/news-and-events/validating-creative-industries-research-and-new-data-region
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