The European Cultural and Creative Industries have an annual turnover of 700 billion euros, around 5% of European GDP.
At the initiative of European Parliament Members Christian Ehler and Pervenche Berès, a high-level conference was organised in Brussels under the title “Cultural and creative industries: employment, development, and Europe’s digital future”.
The Chairman of Círculo Fortuny, Carlos Falcó, Marqués de Griñón, representing ECCIA (European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance) highlighted the luxury industry’s commitment towards enhancing professional training as a strategy for fostering entrepreneurship and employment among young people.
“Our ability to continue growing depends on the presence of skilled labour that can preserve our traditional know-how. Young people need to be aware of the career opportunities and the stable, fulfilling, and well-paid jobs that the sector has to offer”.
The ECCIA spokesman, Círculo Fortuny’s Chairman, announced the initiative to design a European Master Craftsman diploma that places value on creative craftspeople, thereby attracting new and future talent to craft trades.
“Collaboration between the education sector and the CCI will help to bridge the gap between CCI employment needs and the availability of skilled labour”.
Círculo Fortuny forms part of the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance (ECCIA), whose members include the other four leading organisations in the European luxury sector: Comité Colbert in France, Fondazione Altagamma in Italy, Walpole British Luxury in the United Kingdom and Meisterkreis in Germany.
They represent the interests of approximately 400 companies, mainly SMEs, and cultural institutions, which employ 1.7 million people between them and act as ambassadors for European values such as quality, excellence, innovation, and craftsmanship.
About the CCI
The Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) occupy a key position in the new economic growth pattern, where there is a growing appreciation for unique qualities.
This is the fruit of a process of creativity and artisanal production in which innovation plays a fundamental role.
CCI companies have huge potential in terms of responding to the challenges laid down by current European Union industrial policy. These industries are becoming a strategic sector in the development of production, competitiveness and employment, as well as the preservation of traditions and cultural diversity.
During the conference, which focused on employment and economic development in the digital era, the luxury industries were highlighted as pioneers of a new business model with the internet at its core, in line with the objectives set out in the ‘Common Digital Market’ strategy.
About Creativity Works!
Creativity Works! brings together organisations, federations, and associations related to the European cultural and creative sectors.
CW! was created in the spring of 2013 and was formally unveiled in October 2013. Its objective is to establish open dialogue with European Union politicians about the economic and cultural contribution made by creative people and the cultural and creative sectors in the digital era.
About the Cultural and Creative Industries in Europe intergroup
At the beginning of the current legislative period, Christian Ehler MEP and Pervenche Berès MEP created the parliamentary intergroup “Cultural and Creative Industries in Europe”.
The European creative industry now occupies a prominent position in terms of EU policy, which is why Members of the European Parliament decided to create a forum for a wide-ranging debate.
This intergroup brings together members of the most prominent committees: the Committee on Culture, the Committee on the Internal Market, the Committee on Legal Affairs, and members of the Commission on Industry.
Its objectives include discussion on:
- Regulatory frameworks on copyright in the European Union and its effects on the creative industries
- Access to finance by SMEs in the sector
- Meaningful EU funding for programmes such as “Horizon 2020” and “Creative Europe”
- Promoting Cultural Diversity in Europe.
- Developing a industrial growth strategy for creative industries in Europe
- Creating a Single Digital Market
- EU Trade Policy