Creative Crossroads: Well-being and Sustainability in the Creative Industries
The growth and vitality of the creative industries in Wales has led Welsh Government to identify them as one of three priority sectors for growth, with success stories in the film and gaming industries hailed as evidence of a thriving Welsh creativity. The creative industries, which include sectors as diverse as games, music, film and television and publishing, reported a turnover of ‘£1.7 billion in 2021, an increase of 14% from 2017’.
But while ‘Made in Wales’ projects of major scale have been significant contributors to the economy, persisting issues impact the sector. Precarity, with an overreliance on funding, demanding working conditions and temporary contracts, still affects a large portion of its freelance workforce. Sustainability rears its head as another challenge for the sector, as the imperatives of net zero have led the creative industries to find innovative solutions to reduce carbon footprint. The creation of Creative Wales to administer funding to the sector and the Senedd’s recent inquiry into the challenges facing the sector both offer encouraging signs, but there appears to be no single answer to the questions facing a part of the economy characterised by its variety.
This event will be an opportunity for policymakers, employers, freelancers and practitioners to crowdsource solutions to the shared challenges of well-being and sustainability in the creative industries. The discussions will aim to celebrate innovations native to the sector, and highlight success stories that might yield transferable and transformative benefits in other areas.
Croesffyrdd Creadigol: Lles a Chynaliadwyedd yn y Diwydiannau Creadigol
Mae twf a bywiogrwydd y diwydiannau creadigol yng Nghymru wedi arwain at Lywodraeth Cymru yn eu nodi fel un o dri sector blaenoriaeth ar gyfer twf, gyda straeon llwyddiant yn y diwydiannau ffilm a gemau yn cael eu galw’n dystiolaeth o greadigrwydd Cymreig ffyniannus. Adroddodd y diwydiannau creadigol, sy’n cynnwys sectorau mor amrywiol â gemau, cerddoriaeth, ffilm a theledu a chyhoeddi, drosiant o ‘£1.7 biliwn yn 2021, sef cynnydd o 14% o gymharu â 2017’.
Ond er bod prosiectau ‘Gwnaed yng Nghymru’ ar raddfa fawr wedi cyfrannu’n sylweddol at yr economi, mae problemau parhaus yn effeithio ar y sector. Mae anwadalrwydd, gyda gorddibyniaeth ar gyllido, amodau gwaith heriol a chontractau dros dro, yn dal i effeithio ar gyfran fawr o’i weithlu llawrydd. Mae cynaliadwyedd yn codi ei ben fel her arall i’r sector, gan fod gofynion sero net wedi arwain y diwydiannau creadigol i ddod o hyd i atebion arloesol er mwyn lleihau eu hôl troed carbon. Mae creu Cymru Greadigol i weinyddu cyllid i’r sector ac ymchwiliad diweddar y Senedd i’r heriau sy’n wynebu’r sector yn cynnig arwyddion calonogol, ond ymddengys nad oes un ateb unigol i’r cwestiynau sy’n wynebu rhan o’r economi a nodweddir gan ei hamrywiaeth.
Bydd y digwyddiad hwn yn gyfle i lunwyr polisi, cyflogwyr, gweithwyr llawrydd ac ymarferwyr ddod ynghyd i ganfod atebion i heriau cyffredin lles a chynaliadwyedd yn y diwydiannau creadigol. Nod y trafodaethau fydd dathlu datblygiadau arloesol sy’n gynhenid i’r sector, a thynnu sylw at straeon llwyddiant a allai esgor ar fuddion trosglwyddadwy a thrawsnewidiol mewn meysydd eraill.
