Arab countries were today urged to unleash the creative talent of their citizens by investing in creativity and offering transparency and a competitive environment.

Opening the Arab Media Summit in Abu Dhabi, Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and CEO of News Corporation, said: “While oil is undeniably vital to our world, the untapped creativity in this region represents a resource infinitely more precious.  In this bright new century, the most advanced societies will be those that are most creative.  Creativity is a resource that excites the imagination … expands jobs and opportunity … and improves our quality of life.

“It is clean, and it is high-value. Most of all, because it is rooted in the human mind, creativity is the one economic resource that is truly inexhaustible,” said Murdoch.

“These days our homes and offices are cluttered with the latest electronic devices. Amid the digital dazzle, we risk missing the magic: the creative content that brings these devices to life. Without creative content, these electronic devices are merely expensive playthings.

Arab citizens “should be free to take full advantage of human creativity wherever they find it.  But they also deserve the opportunity to add their own creative contributions to our vast and growing media world,” said Murdoch.

These creative talents remain constrained by arbitrary boundaries.  To make this talent bloom, businesses must invest in creativity, to nurture talent, and to build audiences that will buy and enjoy the fruits of this enterprise.

“By unlocking the creativity of your people, you can diversify your economy … provide millions of jobs for a rising generation … and give the Arab people a global voice and influence commensurate with your importance,” he said.

“Right now the world does not think of the Middle East when it thinks of creative content.  Even your own citizens often look elsewhere for a film or television show or news site.  As a result, many of your own citizens prefer Hollywood movies or American television shows to local production.

“You can change this,” he said citing the example of Indonesia.

In Indonesia, the creative sector now accounts for more than 5.4 million jobs and 6 per cent of the economy – and it is the country’s fifth largest source of exports. The government has set a target that would nearly double the contribution to GDP by 2025. 

“Now think what a growing creative sector would mean here.  A recent Arab Human Development Report suggests that this region must create 50 million new jobs in the next ten years.  A thriving creative industry would contribute many of these jobs – most of them environmentally friendly, well paying, and contributing to a better quality of life for all.”

He said high-quality content is expensive and if one wants quality content, there is a need to encourage a marketplace where money flows to those who invest in and create that content.

Another critical ingredient for a vibrant creative sector is global competition. Creative protectionism is as destructive as other types of protectionism, he said.

Speaking about freedom and regulation, he said in face of an inconvenient story, it can be tempting to resort to censorship or civil or criminal laws to try to bury it. “But in the long run, this is counterproductive. Markets that distort their media end up promoting the very panic and distrust that they had hoped to control.

“Certainly each nation and culture has the right to insist that the people they allow into their countries to do business respect their national values and traditions. This is best administered, however, with a gentle touch.  Human creativity flourishes in freedom.  By making the decision for greater openness, you will signal the importance you have assigned to creativity in your plans for the future – and declare your confidence in your people,” he said.

“Your people are eager, talented, and young.  They have aspirations in common with their peers in other parts of the world – yet they hold fast to the traditions that make them unique.  Give them a society that rewards creativity. When you do, you will breathe life into your blueprints – and build a future worthy of your grand boulevards and glistening skyscrapers,” said Murdoch. –TradeArabia News Service