Photo/Zhang Jian

On October 16-17, the 2023 World Conference on Cultural Cities was held in Chengdu, which was hosted by the Chengdu Municipal Government and the World Cities Culture Forum, supported by the China Cultural Industry Association, co-hosted by Taihe Think Tank and the Zhongguancun Digital Cultural Industry Alliance.

At the "International Creative Design Industry Salon", a special event of the conference held at the Chengdu International Urban Design Industry Center on the afternoon of October 17, John Howkins, the "father of the world's creative economy" and a well-known British expert in creative cultural industries, delivered a speech and accepted NBD's interview after the meeting.

"I was surprised to see that the scale of Chengdu's creative industries, the number of companies in the industry, and the number of people working in the creative economy in Chengdu are all much larger than I imagined, even more so than when I came here last time," said John.

When I came here five years ago, I saw some very creative works. These works are very competitive in the global market. Although Chengdu is not as well-known as Shanghai, Beijing, or Guangzhou in the international arena, it is clearly not inferior to these cities. It is a vibrant city with a lot of young people and a lot of freedom. I think it is a vibrant, exciting, ambitious, and highly creative city.

When asked about the development of the global creative economy, Howkins said "The world has just recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a profound impact on the trends of the global creative economy." Howkins believes that the pandemic has driven the rapid growth of the online industry, creating a boom. He also pointed out that the global online industry is still growing even after the pandemic.

Howkins believes that one of the biggest challenges facing the creative economy and creative industries, which are committed to product development and rapid growth, is to recognize new social and environmental changes. This is partly dependent on the sustainability of transportation and heating, and it is also to enable countries and societies to adapt to climate change quickly and reduce emissions.