Católica Joins the Cultural and Creative Industries Cluster Association
The newly formed Cultural and Creative Industries Cluster Association, which already comprises 109 entities (including associations, cooperatives, companies, foundations, municipalities, and individuals), aims to promote a favourable environment for the development of cultural and creative industries. It will support the creation, production, and distribution of more creative, distinctive, and disruptive products and services with economic value through partnerships and networking between companies, public entities, academia, and civil society. The goal is to enhance competitive capacity to higher levels.
"Becoming a founding member of the Cultural and Creative Industries Cluster is a natural step for Universidade Católica Portuguesa, reinforcing the importance of cooperation among various stakeholders in this sector. This Cluster aims to foster an environment conducive to the development of industries within the Cultural and Creative sector, supporting the creation, production, and internationalization of high-value products and services. The university sees itself in the collective efficiency initiatives that help provide the national economy with a more global dimension," says Isabel Braga da Cruz, Pro-Rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
The initiative to create the new association was led by the Portuguese Entrepreneurial Association, Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AEP) (AEP) in collaboration with a group of organizations representing various sectors of Portuguese society. These include Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), the European Group of Territorial Cooperation Galicia-North of Portugal, Mota Engil, Livraria Lello, Alma Design, URBANMINT, Fundação de Serralves, Lusófona, Ocupideias, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, AGEAS Portugal, OPIUM, TMG, Invest Braga, and Santos Vaz and Trigo de Morais and Associates.
“AEP has always recognized the potential of cultural and creative industries in Portugal as a strategic factor for competitiveness, wealth creation, job generation, social inclusion, cultural diversity, and human development. Evidence of this is AEP’s role in the creation of the first cluster for creative industries in Portugal in 2008, the Agency for the Development of Industries (which ceased operations in 2018), and its participation since 2015 in the Sector Group European Cultural and Creative Industries, a group aligned with the new European industrial ecosystem defined by the European Commission in 2020 and updated in 2021, which includes more than 60 international partners," explains Luís Miguel Ribeiro, president of the board of directors of AEP.
“More than aligning with the new European industrial ecosystem for Cultural and Creative Industries, the establishment of the Cultural and Creative Industries Cluster Association aims to create an economically sustainable, diversified, and qualified ecosystem. This will enable these industries to be positioned as an economic engine in both Portugal and Europe,” concludes Luís Miguel Ribeiro.