I recently returned to the UK from a Caribbean Trade Mission covering 3 countries – Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica – over a 2 week period. As a Jamaican national resident overseas in the UK for almost 2 decades it was a good opportunity to see first hand what is happening in the region from a business perspective. Since my migration to the UK in the 1980’s I have returned at least once annually to Jamaica and indeed have visited other parts of the Caribbean but this has predominantly been in “vacation” mode.
Our group of 15 London businesses met with the UK Trade and Invest counterparts in each country – e-Teck, Invest Barbados and Jamaica Trade and Invest. My area of primary interest was the creative industries and the electronic media. I was encouraged with developments in the region and my British colleagues were very impressed by what they found in all the countries – most visiting the region for the first time.
We met with the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and subsequently I have read in the Observer about the JCC’s President Mark Myers recommendations for a Free Zone area for Kingston and other plans to jump-start the economy in their National Summit held with Jamaican Government officials.
Although I agree with the vision and the need to make our capital city an ENGINE for the country’s economy the same way London is for the UK and New York is for the USA I think we should not overlook the Creative Industry and Media Sectors in this exercise.
Jamaica’s competitive advantages have historically been regional strategic positioning (so yes an integrated regional/global distribution and logistical hub in Kingston is KEY as part of its developmental strategy), service based industries (tourism, hospitality, sports and leisure etc) and what was previously called the “entertainment” industries.
We must capitalise on the revolution occurring in audio visual digital productions which require creative, cultural, heritage, recreational and other forms of “human expression” content – of which Jamaica and the Caribbean region have in considerable quantities.
We need to make our cities – either Kingston or Mobay, or both – Centres where we have the facilities to convert this creative capital of our people into services and products for the global marketplace.
This will involve investment in film studios, equipment for production and post-production and so on. There will be synergies with the ICT industry as these technologies increasingly converge and a local digital video production industry can capitalise on the distribution infrastructure that has for the most part been laid with FLOW and FibreLink’s cabling, with great foresight, linking the Caribbean region and the USA together.
The digital production industry is highly human labour-intensive as the credits at the end of every film etc demonstrate with long lists of labour input into a production.
It brings together many other key industry sub-sectors such as modelling, fashion, literary arts, theatrical arts, hair and beauty, music etc. and provides greater opportunities for these related sectors to flourish and develop through international networks. It would have a multiplier effect on crime reduction, social regeneration, job employment and engage local communities in these cities where investment in such facilities should be located.
Prices of video digital productions are tumbling and the technology, as it converges and becomes more integrated, is becoming more accessible. Concurrently there is a proliferation of digital channel outputs, worldwide. These channels will need content – interesting, stimulating, original and diverse content. More Jamaican and Caribbean content - films, documentaries, animation, shorts, reality shows, series....
The monopoly of the Hollywood Big Box Office companies is within sight of being broken and the advent of IPTV (Internet Protocol TV – again with links to ICT sectors) will transform the economics of this industry to make smaller economies of scale, for say a Caribbean digital video production industry, more feasible. Jamaica, traditionally a leader in the Caribbean (and world) of culture and creative content should position itself to lead in this area as well.
Of the 3 countries we visited Jamaica’s business environment seemed the most economically disadvantaged yet the most vibrant.
Yes, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Jamaica at all levels and in all communities – uptown and downtown.
The new Jamaican Government can facilitate this entrepreneurial spirit and the tremendous creative talent of our people through RADICAL initiatives and rapid successful implementation of pilots demonstrating innovative synergistic strategies which can add 1 and 1 together to give 11 (and not 2)!!
Yes, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Jamaica at all levels and in all communities – uptown and downtown.
The new Jamaican Government can facilitate this entrepreneurial spirit and the tremendous creative talent of our people through RADICAL initiatives and rapid successful implementation of pilots demonstrating innovative synergistic strategies which can add 1 and 1 together to give 11 (and not 2)!!
Only then will Jamaica get beyond very challenging current day circumstances to a brighter, more hopeful tomorrow.
We the Jamaican Diaspora in London stand ready to assist and share our experiences from the Creative and Media Industries here in the UK with the Government of Jamaica should the National Summit be ”internationalised” to include us.
