- The first step to transform the sector and aid talented creatives in their quest for personal and national growth is by anchoring solutions in policies and national plans.
- The policy provides a framework to guide skills development, also harnessing talents and other abilities outside of what is considered conventional skills, benefiting the creatives.
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
Last week, a truck branded ‘investing in creativity isn’t double maths,’ by Saatchi and Saatchi a leading global communication and advertising network known for its impactful creative ideas that generate powerful emotional connections between consumers and brands rolled down Downing Street the official residence of the UK PM.
The truck then circled Parliament Square to prompt UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and members of the House of Commons to turbocharge creativity in schools alluding to the fact that the creative industry is estimated to generate 115 billion pounds for the UK economy annually.
The UK prides itself in a rich history of creative arts stemming back to the 16th Century, the days of William Shakespeare, the Bard of Evon who wrote and staged plays at the Globe Theatre at the banks of the mighty Thames.
So integral is the creative arts to the British culture that even today London is awash with some incredible street performances to marvel at.
As you stroll through Trafalgar Square, the South Bank, the Underground, Covent Garden and James Street you will encounter acrobats, portrait painters, magicians, dance performances and singers.
Street performers are part of London’s traditions and a great way to soak up some culture and crown your day with entertainment.
On either side of the Thames, there are always long queues in the evenings leading to amphitheatres, a clear sign that the legacy of Shakespeare lives on.
Needless to say, the UK is a thousand strides ahead of Kenya in staging, hosting and promoting the creative industry. But despite all these successes, here is a reputable global player priding in clients ranging from HSBC, P&G, Toyota, Visa and GSK thirsting for more.
What Saatchi & Saatchi is petitioning the PM and House of Commons is essentially what Eric Omondi has been petitioning the Kenyan Parliament to focus on the local content in the creative industry albeit with some lousy acrobatics.
There has been tremendous growth in the creative industry.
In all major roundabouts across the city, you are likely to encounter acrobats performing for a few seconds until traffic proceeds and starts again when it stops.
Over the December holidays, there have been numerous concerts and festivals even in the most remote places across the country with Governor Sakaja staging the inaugural Nairobi festival attracting thousands.
Photography has also tremendously evolved among the trending arts, plausibly because of the accessible and affordable smartphones.
Photo freaks clad in the latest fashion taking pictures in the lawns of Uhuru Park, City Park, Jevanjee or the meticulously laid cabro pavings and creatively done graffiti walls along Koinange, Muindi Mbingu and Loita streets have become a constant feature in Nairobi.
Thanks to social media, content creators are the new influencers of products and events, a sector where Kenya has done exceedingly well.
So huge is the industry that some of us got updates and intrigues of the just concluded World Cup in Qatar from content creators that got sponsorship from leading brands to attend and cover the tournament.
However, the giant question mark is on how to turn the creative industry into an income-generating venture in Kenya.
The first step to transform the sector and aid talented creatives in their quest for personal and national growth is by anchoring solutions in policies and national plans.
Maybe, just like what Saatchi & Saatchi is proposing in the UK, Kenya needs to start this by first introducing creative arts in the curriculum at the elementary level and fashion it with a dose of entrepreneurship at the advanced levels.
Secondly, President Ruto’s administration needs to be deliberate in the implementation of the National Skills Development Policy that I was part of the drafters of.
The policy provides a framework to guide skills development, also harnessing talents and other abilities outside of what is considered conventional skills, benefiting the creatives.
In implementing the policy, the national skills development system will be aligned to regional and international obligations and benchmarks thereby ensuring that our creatives can compete on the global stage.
Thirdly, the Hustler Fund needs a special vote dedicated to the creative industry buttressed by business incubation centres at the ward level.
Each one of the 1,450 wards in the 47 counties needs a one-stop centre, where the creatives can be trained in financial literacy and business development skills and access government tenders and contracts, besides getting financing for their ventures.
I look forward to a day when our creatives will be transformed from earners of wages to owners of capital.
Alex Matere is a Youth Policy Expert and Director at KBC