Five Bills presented to the House of Assembly will encourage those in the Orange Economy to legally protect their work in The Bahamas as well as on international distribution platforms, said Member of Parliament for Pineridge and Minister for Grand Bahama in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

During her contribution to the Copyright Bill 2024, Patents Bill 2024, Trade Marks Bill 2024, Registrar of Companies Bill 2024, and Registrar of Records Bill 2024, the Minister described them as revolutionary and impactful all over the country.

Referencing the “Blueprint for Change”, she said the Bills help protect, and support the work of creative Bahamians, something that has been agitated for.

“According to estimates from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and UNESCO 3.1% percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 6.2% of employment worldwide is produced by the cultural or creative industries.

“This ‘orange economy’, as it is called, creates a high rate of GDP growth, added value to the economies, and is an important job creator. The IDB says the orange economy, also known as the creative economy encompasses the raw materials from creativity, arts and culture.  It involves an immense wealth of talent, intellectual property, interconnectedness, and cultural heritage.  It covers a range of opportunities across the arts, heritage, media, and creative services, and operates directly as a creative value chain.  The creative economy embraces the visual arts and is a significantly growing contributor to the GDP, and to business and employment in the countries.”

The recent ‘WelComing Home and 51st Anniversary of Independence’ series of events on Grand Bahama is an example of creatives on full display during the cultural events.

Listing those involved she said music artists and producers, visual artists, graphic and fashion designers, DJs, makeup artists, song writers, costume producers, artisans, videographers, photographers, brand developers, choreographers, dancers, story-tellers, hosts and MCs, marketers, PR professionals, product developers, sound engineers, audio visual, poets, actors, models, culinary artists, media professionals, theatre technicians, web designers, writers and publishers were all engaged.

“The Orange Economy has been a key focus of the Ministry for Grand Bahama the foundation for which several of the initiatives were launched such as: the Empower Grand Bahama Micro Grant Program for Orange Economy Practitioners; the Annual WelComing Home series of events, including the well-received Song Competition for Music Artists/Songwriters from Grand Bahama; and the soon-to-be-launched ‘Creative Business Center’ at the Innovate242 Incubator at the former Royal Palm Resort on The Mall Drive, Freeport, spearheaded by the Tourism Development Corporation. This incubator is designed to develop, brand and grow businesses from concept to launch to success. And this involves the full gamut of resources offered by creative professionals, from writing a business plan, to branding your business not just a logo, to your own brand and photoshoot, and marketing strategies, just to name a few.”

To empower the creatives in the orange economy, she continued, “as the Member for the Exumas and Ragged Island referenced earlier, Innovate242 of which I chair, to propel The Bahamas as the Center of Innovation for the Caribbean and for Grand Bahama as the Center for Sustainability, we will herald in a new era for the creative industry with digital nomads, innovation hubs, incubators, and an innovation fund.”

The Innovate242 Incubator for Grand Bahama will not only drive research and development for inventions in climate change, resiliency, and other areas, but also serve as the Creative Business Center.

“This”, she said, “will lay the foundation of fulfilling another pledge in our Blueprint for Change: ‘to Consolidate all institutions providing service and funding to small businesses, improving service, removing bureaucracy, reducing administration costs, getting more of the allocated budget in the hands of business owners.’ “

Adding that the passing of Copyright Bill 2024 will replace the Copyright Act, it will provide an avenue for Bahamian creatives to protect and be compensated for their work.