The Dark side of the 4th Industrial revolution: Why the Creative Industry is Southern Africa’s Last Line of Defense

N.J.K - Chirau

America was not giving 'health care' money for nothing to Zimbabwe. Behind the grants and the funding lies a deeper hunger: a quest for the region’s human bio-data. I have raised this point repeatedly, including to Pat Sam during our creative industry meet-ups in Namibia, but the urgency has yet to sink in.

If we do not examine the Nagoya Protocol through the lens of the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI), we are doomed. We are currently witnessing a massive oversight in policy a gap where creative voices should be, but aren't.

The Missing Element: Creative Advocacy

Creatives are at the absolute forefront of human understanding. We see the patterns of culture and humanity before they become data points. This is why creative advocacy is the missing link in our current policy frameworks in SADC member state. 

For 10 years, I have advocated for the inclusion of "Copyleft" occupations within these policies. In Namibia and the SADC region we need a system that prioritizes open sharing and the protection of cultural integrity over the cold extraction of data. It is easy to dismiss a creative’s perspective as "abstract," but history has a way of vindicating the artist.

The Cycle of "Non-Essential" Spending

The truth usually reveals itself during a crisis. When the next state of emergency hits, watch how quickly these creative and cultural policies after millions have been spent on them suddenly stop being "essential." We then find ourselves trapped in a loop: millions spent, a crisis hits, the policy is discarded, and we return to the "review" phase.

This cycle is a failure of foresight.

Productivity’s Cradle

The bottom line is this: The Creative and Cultural Industries have the power to save society from the dark side of this Industrial Revolution. Why? Because creativity is the cradle of productivity.

When you hear an artist speaking up, understand that they are not just ranting to sound intelligent. Sometimes, they are the early warning system a voice crying out against intelligence that has gone on a rampage.