Regional Integration and the Creative Economies of ASEAN: Assessing the Potential for a Single ASEAN Creative Economy

Abstract

The prestige of creative hubs such as the Silicon Valley in California is testament of the force that creative economies have in shaping the development of local communities, nations, and even whole regions. The term “creative economies” surfaced into the global zeitgeist around the turn of the millennia. The early understanding of creative economies was greatly influenced by the United Kingdom’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s (UKDCMS) the Creative Industries Mapping Document published in 1998. The document demarcated a local creative economy consisting of several interconnected industries that are based on individual creativity, skill, and talent, which contribute significantly to national wealth and employment by producing outputs and services that are often under the protection of intellectual property laws (UKDCMS, 1998). The industries that form this economy were found to operate at intersections of culture, creativity, and innovation, including the following (UKDCMS, 1998):

• • advertising and marketing;

• • architecture;

• • crafts;

• • product, graphic and fashion design;

• • film, television, video, radio, and photography;

• • music, performing and visual arts;

• • museums, galleries, and libraries;

• • publishing; and

• • IT, software, and computer services.