The British Council’s Creative Economy programme forges connections between the growing creative and cultural industries in the UK and Bangladesh.
The creative economy is an increasingly important part of the global economy, at the interface of culture, business and technology. Governments around the world have realised its importance and are now actively developing policies to support its development.
Our priority is exploring the areas around 'arts for development'. Over the next 5 years the British Council will use UK expertise and key cultural advisors from Bangladesh to help build the capacity of the Bangladesh creative economy. Our aim is to help identify, network and market untapped potential in Bangladesh and to increase the relevance of the creative industries as contributors to national GDP.
Recent research commissioned by the British Council highlighted the potential for the rapid growth of the creative industries in Bangladesh in the areas of Fashion and Design, Music, Film and Publishing. The report found that this could be realised through a focus on international marketing, investment in business development and entrepreneurship in small and medium enterprises, government awareness of this potential area for growth, and quality in training in fashion and design in educational institutions.
In March 2014 the British Council hosted a two-day policy dialogue and workshop titled ‘Creative Bangladesh’. As a follow-up to the event, we nominated four industry stakeholders from the cultural sectors and two officials from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs for a week-long exposure trip to the UK. The trip provided insight into how the Creative Employment programme in the UK has created thousands of work opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and we are now exploring how such an initiative could be adapted and realised in Bangladesh.