More specifically, the objective of the project is to support the Egyptian aspirations to raise awareness on the importance of creative economy and to emphasize its social and economic role, as well as its role in achieving development, creating job opportunities, achieving economic returns and encouraging cooperation among local stakeholders. The project also provides a platform for exchanging information and expertise, for planning among stakeholders in Egypt and informing them about European experiences in the field. The project also seeks to support Egyptian leaders in the field to promote the creative economy sector as an integrated sector capable of contributing strongly to sustainable development plans.

The creative industries are recognised as a source of innovation, economic growth, personal wellbeing and community cohesion, but harnessing their potential can be a challenge. Digital technology means this sector is developing quickly, opening up new possibilities for creative experiences. Shifts in the global economy, technology and urbanisation are causing rising inequality alongside these new opportunities and governments, institutions and creative people all need to respond to these challenges.

Egypt has a long history as a leader in creative industries such as music, film and publishing, and is already building strategies for promoting and enhancing the wider cultural and creative industries such as handicrafts, heritage and software development.

Activities of the project

The project objective is to support the sector of creative industries, through:

• Raising awareness of the how the creative economy contributes to job and wealth creation.
• Increasing collaboration between Egyptian creative economy stakeholders.
• Creation of a forum for information exchange and action planning between Egyptian and European Union creative economy stakeholders.
• Support for leaders in planning for creative economy advocacy and policy-making.
• Consolidation of existing information on the Egyptian creative economy.
• Identifying new models of support for the creative economy in Egypt.
• Producing draft recommendations for a framework to support the stimulation of the creative economy in Egypt.
  Sharing insights with government and donors on areas of high potential in the creative economy in Egypt.

Testimonial from a participant

When I was invited to participate in the project a few months ago, I did not view the theater as "a creative industry," whether based on concepts established in practice or according to “cultural inheritance factors”. So, the meetings were inspiring for me, as I discovered that we could maximize the use of creative and financial resources without having to abandon the peculiarity of creativity or lose the social value, and that we could perhaps give the theater wings if we could free it from it from the idea that it is just a service and view it as a creative industry. We can then with a little planning and study of the market, to achieve a profit margin that ensures the theaters survival and freedom.
Rasha Abdel Moneim, Playwright and Participant in the Performing Arts Round Table Discussions

Outputs of the project

During 2018 and 2019, more than 250 representatives, artists, academics and practitioners of creative industries participated in more than 33 meetings and roundtables to discuss the general landscape of the creative economy sector, identify challenges and opportunities, development horizons and develop recommendations to support creative industries in Egypt.
The project focused on five creative industries: filmmaking, music, performing arts, publishing and design. Five working groups have been created for the five sectors. They have worked for two years and have produced ideas and recommendations that have been included in the outcomes of the project.

The key outputs of the project are:

• 12 project proposals covering five creative industries: filmmaking, music, performing arts, publishing and design.
• Occupational maps of the five sectors: filmmaking, music, performing arts, publishing and design.
• Sector map and a summary of government initiatives to support the Creative Industries Sector.
• Summary of discussions, round tables and recommendations.
• Publication “An Overview on the Reality and Future of Creative Industries in Egypt" by researchers, academics and active professionals in the field of creative industries in Egypt.