Minister of Culture Haifaa Najjar Tuesday led the opening ceremony of the 2023 Creative Industries Forum, entitled: “Promotion of Arab Creativity”, which is organized by the Beirut-based United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
During the ceremony, which was attended by ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti and Director General of the National Library Department Nidal Ayasra, Najjar said her ministry tries to emphasize through its programs “creative cultural industries”, based on the perception that culture is closely related to the economy.
The world is heading towards digital and electronic transformation as “we talk about electronic creative industries and artificial intelligence”, she said, pointing out that culture should be the main engine in education.
She stressed that the ministry does not seek to “commodify” culture, but rather culture should be a lever for the economy, noting the role of a Jordanian intellectual as key to raising national income.
Addressing the forum, Dashti said the two-day forum is a result of the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit which was held in Amman in October and creative industries featuring in one of its sessions, adding that Arab societies are abundant with creativity with an annual value of $58 million in the Arab countries.
She referred to the role of creative industries in economies and digital technology, pointing out that ESCWA will work to establish an Arab platform to highlight the creative industries of young people, which will help market their products globally.
Source: Jordan News Agency