In our previous editions this section has been dedicated to key highlights from our recent reports with a view to providing insights on some of the main issues facing the cultural and creative industries (CCIs). For this edition we have taken a different route and chose to put a spotlight on the upcoming 4th SACO International Conference. This is with the hope of encouraging readers to participate in the conference - an international platform that promises participants meaningful engagements on various hot topics facing the industry.
Following a four-year hiatus, the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO), in partnership with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture will host the 4th SACO International Conference 2022 on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 November 2022 at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria, Tshwane. To maximize participation and encourage diverse perspectives from both local and international industry stakeholders, the conference will be hosted in a hybrid format allowing for physical in-person and online participation. The Observatory has previously hosted three successful international conferences but has not done so since 2018.
The conference is intended to bring together local and international thinkers, academics, key industry stakeholders, including funders (current and potential), cultural practitioners and artists to share experiences and insights about what and how the industry can rebuild, consolidate and innovate in order to grow and support sustainable livelihoods of the cultural practitioners and the South African creative sector.
Organised under the theme “Creative economy reset: Structuring the creative and cultural industries for a sustainable and inclusive future”, the conference will discuss key industry issues against the background of challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It takes place amid trying times for all nations and people, as the impact and after-effects of Covid-19, climate change, heightened international conflict, disrupted supply chains, and mounting inflation collide to produce severe uncertainty for the world economy. For developing economies and the most vulnerable – including many creative workers who have been forced to live precarious conditions – these crises amount to an ambush on global and local ambitions for the sustainable growth of nascent creative economies and work. Yet they are just symptomatic of an increasingly uncertain future of shocks for which we need to prepare.
These constant threats are complex and painful and present a significant challenge for policy makers, big and small business, civil society leaders and organizations, for value and supply chains, and the creative producer, maker, and worker. Sadly, the crises came at a time when the creative economy and the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) and sectors had gained mounting recognition as a potential growth engine for economic, inclusive and sustainable development. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside heightened global recognition, more investment was also flowing toward the CCIs from both public and private sources. The impetus for more funding, investment, and support is greater than ever as the world seeks to rebalance after Covid-19, while harnessing the moment to deal with embedded inequalities, protecting livelihoods, and maximizing the opportunities that technology and digital transformation brings.
While crises abound, new technologies and digital spaces are opening up markets and providing tools for global reach for creators, artists and those generating creative intellectual property.
The impact of disruptions from artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IoT), big data, blockchain, 5G, 3D printing, robotics, drones, gene editing, and nanotechnology are a critical part of the creative economy discussions. In addition, big digital platforms (FAANGs/MANAMA) are radically affecting creative sector consumption and production.
These debates and others are not just about the advent of technologies but broader human challenges as well. For that reason, it is important that the underpinnings and workings of the creative economy, now and into the future, are addressed. These should include the critical question of cultural rights, participation, livelihoods, climate and human survival; and consider the rethinking of cultural policy, processes and production in a changing world.
Right now, it is important for the agents and agencies working in the CCIs, global and local, to maintain the gains, leverage the opportunities but also critically assess and, where relevant, redress the trends. This conference aims to do so considering South Africa, the African continent, and the global creative community. In support of the major theme and to provide guiding framework to enable these conversations, papers, presentations and panel discussions were invited within the following broad thematic areas.
Macro-themes and guiding sub-themes
1. Dealing with disruption: New trends, developments and responses - global perspectives on the creative economy.
2. The cartography of the contemporary creative economy: Constructing, categorizing and revaluing the creative economy.
3. International trade and creative markets.
4. Cultural policy in transition.
5. Innovation, adaptation, entrepreneurship: From theory to lived experience.
6. Creative work and human capital.
7. Cultural participation and consumption.
8. The digital creative economy and digital transformation.
9. Funding, financing and investing in the creative economy.
The South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) is proud to announce that preparations are well underway for the highly anticipated 5th SACO International Conference, set to take place on the 5th and 6th of November 2025 in the beautiful town of Stellenbosch, and the registration and abstract submissions for the upcoming conference are now officially open!
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