Within the last week, there have been two new "initiative launches" by the Welsh Government, no doubt timed with Brexit and designed to flag up the fact that Wales is seperate and different from the rest of the UK. So the intention is to sell Wales as "a place apart" and as a place to do business. So how successful will these initiatives be, given that they have gone largely unnoticed by the media? (Actually that was pretty inevitable, given that everything at the moment is drowned out by Brexit -- that might have been predicted.......)
First, the launch of Creative Wales, which has actually been around for a while, although its Board has not yet been appointed.
============================
https://gov.wales/written-statement-priorities-creative-industries-sector-wales
"Today I will formally launch Creative Wales, to champion the creative industries in Wales.
Creative Wales will offer a streamlined, dynamic and innovative service to the creative industries sector, aligned to the needs of the industry. It will look to capitalise on the benefits that the sector brings from two directions – economic and cultural.
My priorities for Creative Wales have been set out in a priorities document. These include maintaining growth in the screen industry, enhancing and extending our support to other sub sectors such as music, digital and publishing and more flexible routes to funding. There will also be an increased focus on nurturing key skills and talent development, promoting diversity and inclusion and raising standards in the industry.
Wales is a place of inspiration and ambition. I want to ensure creative talent can continue to flourish here and creative ideas can be turned into economic success.
In launching Creative Wales this week the government is fulfilling an important manifesto commitment made in 2016 and we are positioning Wales as the place for creative businesses to thrive."
https://www.wales.com/sites/default/files/2020-01/WG38981%20Creative%20Industries%20Document%20E.pdf
Priorities for the Creative Industries Sector in Wales
My vision for Creative Wales is for an organisation that will take the existing successes in the screen industry and build on these to drive growth across the whole sector; developing a skills base that is world class, expanding support to other parts of the sector and positioning Wales as the place to locate your creative business.
Extract:
The creative industries sector is already a Welsh success story and its direct contribution to the Welsh economy is signi cant. For example, in 2018-19 alone, film and TV productions made here spent over £55M on Wales based suppliers of goods and services. The impact of these successes extends beyond the industry into all parts of our economy; hospitality, tourism, construction and transportation all benefit from the presence of a successful creative industries sector.
(A comment on that £55 million figure. Where did it come from? It refers just to "spend"in Wales -- but how much of that is inward investment? I suspect it's very little. How much of the £55 million is just cash already circulating in the economy? OK -- that is a sort of measure of economic activity, but it is no substitute for invested cash coming in from outside. And how much of that money was actually spent by the Welsh Government in the form of subsidies and grants? In that case, we are referring to taxpayers money, and the sheer fact that it has been "spent" tells us nothing about whether the expenditures were smart or foolish, profit-generating or loss-making. If the past records of the "support monies" paid over to film and TV productions in Wales are anything to go by, and of money down the drain, some questions might be in order.........)
Extract:
"The creative industries in Wales are a good vehicle to promote Wales in the world – not only as a centre for creative excellence, but also as a great place to visit, live and work. Locations are showcased through film and television productions made here, and our global talent across the sector generates interest in Wales as a country of rich cultural value.”
Extract:
"The creative industries in Wales are a good vehicle to promote Wales in the world – not only as a centre for creative excellence, but also as a great place to visit, live and work. Locations are showcased through film and television productions made here, and our global talent across the sector generates interest in Wales as a country of rich cultural value.”
( ???!!!!!! I find this statement quite extraordinary, given the flood of articles in the media in recent years about the "representation of Wales" in film and TV. If any man in Wales knows the story of Wales and its cultural place in the World, it is Lord Dafydd, and yet here we have a statement which says, in effect, that Wales has no story worth telling. The lack of confidence is revealing, and mortifying. Wales is being promoted here as a good place for the telling of other people's stories, a nice place to live, a country with clever technicians and creative people, and with some pretty landscapes. Is that the best the Welsh Government can do? Do we really have no unique narrative, no story worth telling, to the rest of the world? I'm sorry to have to say so, but Wales deserves better than this.)
-------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
Then to the launch by Eluned Morgan the Minister for International Affairs. This one has been through a consultation process, last year, and this is presumably the document and the strategy devised following the consideration of responses from interested parties. It is all pretty vague, as these documents tend to be, but strong on aspirations.
From the press:
On 22 January Eluned Morgan launched the new Wales “International Strategy” with this statement:
https://businessnewswales.com/a-new-international-strategy-for-wales/
A New International Strategy for Wales
WELSH GOVERNMENT, 23rd JANUARY 2020
International Relations Minister Eluned Morgan has launched Wales’ first International Strategy, promoting the country as an outward-looking nation ready to work and trade with the rest of the world. The strategy will build on Wales’ growing international reputation for sustainability and global responsibility and establish links with the Welsh diaspora on all continents.
It is being launched as the UK prepares to leave the EU and negotiate a new relationship with the European Union and trade deals with international partners around the world.
Eluned Morgan said:
“A strong international presence has never been more relevant for Wales.
“Following the EU referendum in 2016 and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the UK’s future relationship with Europe, Wales will pursue its place on the international stage with renewed vigour.”
The International Strategy has three core ambitions over the next five years:
• Raise Wales’ profile on the international stage
• Grow the economy by increasing exports and attracting inward investment
Establish Wales as a globally responsible nation
It is the start of a new approach to how the Welsh Government promotes Wales internationally, identifies Wales’ key global markets in a post-Brexit landscape and highlights three sectors where Wales is recognised as a world leader – cyber security, compound-semiconductors and the creative industries. This will project a new dynamic and vibrant image of Wales as a modern, confident, high-tech, creative and sustainable nation.
Speaking ahead of the launch at Econotherm, a Bridgend based export company which has achieved year-on-year growth and was recently recognised in the Wales Fast Growth 50, the Minister said:
“As Wales’ first Minister for International Relations, it was important to bring the achievements of the last 20 years together and use these as a foundation to set out Wales’ future approach to its international work.
“For a small, smart nation, Wales enjoys a reputation, which stretches far beyond its borders. The strategy will build on this reputation and showcase Wales as a nation that will be known for its creativity, its expertise in technology and its commitment to sustainability.”
On 22 January Eluned Morgan launched the new Wales “International Strategy” with this statement:
https://businessnewswales.com/a-new-international-strategy-for-wales/
A New International Strategy for Wales
WELSH GOVERNMENT, 23rd JANUARY 2020
International Relations Minister Eluned Morgan has launched Wales’ first International Strategy, promoting the country as an outward-looking nation ready to work and trade with the rest of the world. The strategy will build on Wales’ growing international reputation for sustainability and global responsibility and establish links with the Welsh diaspora on all continents.
It is being launched as the UK prepares to leave the EU and negotiate a new relationship with the European Union and trade deals with international partners around the world.
Eluned Morgan said:
“A strong international presence has never been more relevant for Wales.
“Following the EU referendum in 2016 and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the UK’s future relationship with Europe, Wales will pursue its place on the international stage with renewed vigour.”
The International Strategy has three core ambitions over the next five years:
• Raise Wales’ profile on the international stage
• Grow the economy by increasing exports and attracting inward investment
Establish Wales as a globally responsible nation
It is the start of a new approach to how the Welsh Government promotes Wales internationally, identifies Wales’ key global markets in a post-Brexit landscape and highlights three sectors where Wales is recognised as a world leader – cyber security, compound-semiconductors and the creative industries. This will project a new dynamic and vibrant image of Wales as a modern, confident, high-tech, creative and sustainable nation.
Speaking ahead of the launch at Econotherm, a Bridgend based export company which has achieved year-on-year growth and was recently recognised in the Wales Fast Growth 50, the Minister said:
“As Wales’ first Minister for International Relations, it was important to bring the achievements of the last 20 years together and use these as a foundation to set out Wales’ future approach to its international work.
“For a small, smart nation, Wales enjoys a reputation, which stretches far beyond its borders. The strategy will build on this reputation and showcase Wales as a nation that will be known for its creativity, its expertise in technology and its commitment to sustainability.”
(Again, here we see an opportunity missed. The message is that Wales is a jolly fine place -- in fact it is even more jolly fine than everywhere else. That's jolly fine, but that is of course exactly the same marketing strategy used by every other unimaginative country and region in the world -- we get no sense at all of Wales as a UNIQUE country with a character, a culture, a language, and a story quite unlike any other. This whole exercise seems like something straight out of a civil service training manual -- has any body over there in the Welsh civil service heard about this thing called the USP?)
No comments:
Post a Comment