Innovation is critical for unlocking the country’s economic potential, and innovation, creativity and mass entrepreneurship can provide new impetus for economic growth and job creation.

This was said by Faustina Caley, Deputy Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, during the capital’s commemoration of World Creativity and Innovation Day on Thursday.

The goal of the day is to raise awareness about the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving in order to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The commemoration focused on Namibian fashion, providing an opportunity for Namibians to embrace the idea that innovation is essential for harnessing the country’s economic potential.

Caley said Namibian fashion is diverse due to the country’s various cultural groups, each with their own distinct way of expressing themselves through fashion.

She added that this diversity, on its own, provides a fertile breeding ground for creativity and innovation of numerous and diverse contemporary Namibian fashion products with the potential for a wider reach into regional and international markets, particularly with the recently enforced African Continental Free Trade Area, which is a flagship of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 aimed at boosting inter-continental trade.

“Creativity and innovation are inextricably linked, and they are part of our daily lives. When we are confronted with problems, we become creative and as a result, innovate to find solutions. The outcomes of this creativity and innovation benefit an individual, a community, a country plus the world at large in spiritual, mental and/or material ways,” she stated.

Caley said in terms of legal frameworks and policies, Namibia has instruments and measures in place that support and protect the cultural and creative industries, such as the Namibia Arts, Culture and Heritage Policy 2021-2026, which aims to develop the country’s cultural and creative industries, with design as one of the key areas for development, and which provides for multiple opportunities for job creation and income generation.

“This as demonstrated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, creative economy reports showing design was Africa’s leading creative industry; additionally, the policy identifies various future interventions aimed at accelerating the growth of the design sector,” she explained.

On 27 April 2017, the United Nations resolved to include World Creativity and Innovation Day on 21 April as a Day of Observance to raise awareness among people about the importance of using their creativity in problem-solving for all issues that may be related to achieving the 2015 Sustainable Development

Source: The Namibian Press Agency