These are activities that transform creative ideas into goods and services. They generate over 177.000 million annual dollars in the region.

Do books, music, theatre, carnivals, videogames, design, radio, art and television have an economic power? They do, but most people are unfamiliar with their potential for economic development.

For a while we have been talking about the orange economy concept to refer to the group of activities that enable creative ideas become goods and services with a high added value. Together they generate above 177.000 million dollars a year in Latin America and provide jobs for over 10 million people, many of them youngsters. In Buenos Aires alone one out of 10 jobs and 9 out of 100 pesos are generated by companies of this sector. In Argentina there are 550.000 people that, due to their creativity and effort contribute with the 3, 8% of national GDP.

Nowadays we talk about an Orange Economy because we know that many of these companies have a great opportunity to develop several open knowledge initiatives that explore new uses of technology and we know that there are still many who do not know the concept well. Here I shall provide you with some resources to understand the dimensions of Orange Economy.

Government information

The size, dimension and dynamic of orange economy may be better understood by paying attention to satellite culture accounts of different countries, from the Colombian pioneer work, passing through the work of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay, to the adoption of these experiences by the United States. These tools allow us to inform the design of policies, evaluate development programs and adjust business models in an effective way.

In addition, there are tools that go from statistic information analysis developed by some observatories of cultural industries and policies may be consulted, such as the Observatory of Creative Industries in Buenos Aires, to multilateral efforts for author property rights, such as the Latin American Observatory of Author Property rights (ODAI), passing through others specialized in public policy, such as the Observatory of Cultural Policy in Chile and the Observatory of Culture and Economy in Bogota.

Information websites

There are some websites specialised in cultural industries that provide news and information, such as Santiago Creativo, an initiative generated by the Regional Government, the Chilean Association of Technological Enterprises and the Corporation of Production promotion. It aims to promote the export of goods and services of creative entrepreneurs of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago. Another example is MICSUR, a space for the creation of a South American market of cultural industries, inspired by the Argentinian experience of MICA.

Spaces for creation

There are projects been started in some cities to support and stimulate public-private collaboration in the area of design and creation. The work developed in the Metropolitan Centre of Design of Buenos Aires is part of the Ministry of Economic Development and has five training schools on crafts linked to the industries mentioned, plus R&D laboratories, 3D printers and design incubators. Simultaneously, it offer an annual schedule of events related to design and creative industries. It is a regional and international example, along with initiatives such as the Torpedo Factory in Washington, DC, the Lighthouse in Glasgow, and, what seems it will be the biggest Latin American bet to put contents in the centre of the economic development till this day: the Creative Digital City in Guadalajara.

Programs for inclusion through culture

Creative entrepreneurship goes beyond markets and their immense opportunities. It is also the inspiration to dream about a better world and new chances for those who are less lucky. Such is the case of Galpao Aplauso, in Brazil, a project recently acknowledge by the State Department of the United States as a worldwide example of reconciliation. Or the Recycled Instruments Orchestra Cateura in Paraguay, an object of admiration and international acknowledgement to the point it has been the supporting orchestra of seven Metallica concerts during its most recent tour in South America. Other cases are the Circo Ciudad in Bogota and the Tarumba in Peru.

These are some examples of the great potential open knowledge has when added to young people’s creativity. In the hackaton of Mar del Plata we will have a great opportunity to see how cultural industries are related to open knowledge. If you happen to be in Mar del Plata, see you at the Torreón del Monje on Friday 22^nd!

For those of you who cannot come, we will be transmitting in streaming a debate with other experts on innovation, entrepreneurship and open data.

What other projects do you know? We encourage you to share them with other readers.

Text written in collaboration with Abierto al Público, the blog of Open Knowledge of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Felipe Buitrago is a consultant of the Cultural Affairs, Solidarity and Creativity Division of the IADB. He worked in the development of the orange economy in different sectors, such as the Ministry of Culture in Colombia, the British Council and the Latin American Observatory of Author Property Right (ODAI). He has worked as an independent consultant and university professor. His experience in more than 12 countries includes research, international negotiation, design and evaluation of policies and development programs.

This article was originally published in El País, Madrid. http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/08/20/planeta_futuro/1408528197_688200.html