Orange Economy: From Vision to Action to Stimulate the Creative Industry
ORANJESTAD - The Orange Economy Symposium that addressed the challenges in the commercial creative world in Aruba recently took place. It also recognized the unlimited creative possibilities of our local artists.
Orange Economy includes the creative industry, which is considered an economic pillar. Entrepreneurs need to be empowered to exercise their creativity as a commercial activity to achieve it. Various stakeholders shared their experiences and provided feedback on personal challenges, highlighting the active people in the creative industry, whether in art, music, dance, design, or more. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Communication, and Sustainable Development will create an Action Plan for the Creative Industry and ensure its implementation.
The main challenge for local artists to commercialize their creativity is financing. Minister of Economic Affairs, Communication, and Sustainable Development Geoffrey Wever indicated that the successful AgriFund model, which has been successful for the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors, can be replicated to provide financial support to this sector.
The government intends to classify San Nicolas as a UNESCO Creative City - placing the creative industry at the center of its development plan. It will require a joint effort, for which the symposium was a small but significant step. The government will use the feedback to develop methods to stimulate and empower our local artists to exercise their creativity commercially and further develop the industry.