PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Directorate of Culture (DoC) held an event on Tuesday that celebrated creativity and entrepreneurship in respect to local arts and crafts.
The event was organised by DoC Creative Economy Unit and was attended by artisans, academia and entrepreneurs. The agenda for the event included, challenges being faced by cultural industry, current worth and contribution of cultural industries, opportunities in the field of culture, market pressures and academic research conducted into culture.
While formally opening the event, DoC Deputy Director Shahbaz Khan said that the main aspect of culture was creativity which helped it evolve with time. He said that culture and the creative industry were the primary forces behind cultivating social inclusion and encourage human development through entrepreneurial activities.
The deputy director further said that the DoC was fully aware of the strong relationship that existed between cultural and entrepreneurial activities, while adding that enhancing cultural entrepreneurship was very important to ensure development and growth in the country.
Talking about the agenda of the event, the participants identified areas of strengths and opportunities in the cultural and creative industries. They said that there were many challenges that artisans were made aware of including, systemic branding, market accessibility and utilisation of latest media resources to create awareness about authentic handmade products.
Valued suggestions in this regard included, formulating a strategic plan, systemic branding, market accessibility, fair price and social uplift of artisans and local craftsmen.
Speaking on the occasion, participants belonging to academia suggested that there was a need to introduce systemic research in the higher studies related to cultural and creative sectors.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs pledged to promote authentic local cultural products on fair prices, while also promising to promote and sell products made by local artisans.
The aim of this and many other initiatives undertaken by the provincial culture department was to highlight the quality of craft practiced by local artisans/artists that had been passed from one generation to another. It also aimed to introduce artisans to new world practices and market approaches in an effort to help them market their products in a better way.
It is important to mention here that the KP government had been working on a policy that would integrate cultural activities into development pursuits, in order to reap the benefits of the culture and creative sectors, while also analysing its contributions to the economy.
