Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie has pledged the government’s commitment to building a creative arts industry that is economically viable, globally competitive and capable of providing sustainable livelihoods for practitioners.
Speaking at a high-level stakeholder engagement with creative industry practitioners in Accra on Tuesday, August 25, the Minister said the government’s ambition was to place the creative arts sector at the heart of its resetting agenda while strengthening Ghana’s position on the global creative economy.
She said government recognised the creative sector’s contribution to national development through music, film, theatre, dance, fashion, visual arts, publishing and other emerging creative disciplines.
The minister said achieving a thriving creative industry would require “deliberate investment, strong institutions and an enabling environment.”
The Minister cited the establishment and implementation of the Creative Arts Fund and the National Film Authority Fund among measures being pursued to provide support to practitioners.
She added that the Ministry was strengthening international partnerships and skills development while working to improve infrastructure and opportunities for the production, distribution and export of Ghanaian creative products.
However, the minister stressed that government’s approach would not be to impose policies on practitioners but to develop them in consultation with the industry.
“Today, however, it is not primarily about government speaking to you. It is about me wanting to listen to you,” she said.
She acknowledged that creative practitioners often had a better understanding of the sector’s challenges and opportunities than government officials.
“We want to hear your ideas and proposals. We want to understand what is working, what is not working, and what more government can do to unlock the full potential of the sector,” she added.
Ms Gomashie said the Ministry and its agencies were committed to working **with** practitioners rather than simply working for them.
“My job is to create the policies with you, for you and for all of us,” she said.
She called on stakeholders to use the engagement to identify practical solutions to longstanding challenges in the industry and strengthen collaboration between government, the private sector and development partners.
Ms Gomashie said the ultimate goal was to build a creative arts industry that is “economically viable, globally competitive, professionally organised and capable of providing sustainable livelihoods.”
The engagement, organised by the Creative Arts Agency, brought together stakeholders from across Ghana’s creative arts ecosystem to discuss the government’s policy direction, implementation priorities and opportunities within the creative economy.
