Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), a new office dedicated to promoting the development of creative industries in Hong Kong, was officially set up on June 1. Applications for funding support under the newly established HK$300 million (US$38.46 million) CreateSmart Initiative (CSI) are also invited from June 1.
“Creative industries are important economic drivers for Hong Kong. They help to increase the innovation capacity of the economy and can be a powerhouse for future economic growth,” the Deputy Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology) and acting Head of CreateHK, Mr. Alan Siu, said today at a press briefing. “If they can be supported and nurtured effectively, the potential of the creative economy is substantial. It has been our policy to drive their development,” he said.
According to the latest statistics, Hong Kong has around 32,000 creative industry-related establishments, with more than 170,000 practitioners engaged, and creating an added value to Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than HK$60 billion (US$7.69 billion) annually, representing around 4% of the GDP.
Established under the Communications and Technology Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), CreateHK will provide one-stop services and better support for the industries. It will pool together existing resources and various supporting schemes under various departments of the CEDB family.
“With a clear vision to build Hong Kong into a regional creative capital and a mission to foster a conducive environment to facilitate creative industries development, CreateHK will have a better focus on industries’ need and develop initiatives as well as spearhead Government’s measures that best suit them.
“It will be tasked to co-ordinate efforts of different parties within the Government and to establish an effective mechanism to more actively engage industry representatives,” Mr. Siu said.
The office will adopt a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to implement a development strategy for the industries covering the following areas:
• Nurturing a pool of creative human capital which will form the backbone of HK’s creative economy;
• Facilitating start-ups and the development of creative establishments;
• Generating demand for innovation and creativity and expanding local market size for creative industries;
• Promoting creative industries on the Mainland and overseas to help explore outside markets;
• Fostering a creative atmosphere with the community;
• Developing creative clusters in the territory to generate synergy and facilitate exchanges;
• Promoting Hong Kong as Asia’s creative hub.
The office will be led by the Head of CreateHK with about 40 staff. In addition to managing the Film Development Fund (FDF), the Design Smart Initiative (DSI) and the Film Guarantee Fund (FGF), the dedicated office will be responsible for administering the CreateSmart Initiative.
The CSI aims to provide financial support in the coming three years to initiatives that are conducive to the development of the industries but not covered by the FDF, DSI and FGF. Applications to the CSI will be assessed by an independent vetting committee comprising members from the different creative industries as well as representatives from relevant professions, quasi-Government and non-Government organizations, the academia and the private sector. CreateHK will serve as the secretariat of the vetting committee. The CSI is open for applications from June 1, and application forms and guidelines are available on the CreateHK website.
