British-Sri Lanka partnership in developing creative industries fortified

• UK/SL creative collaborations welcomed by British Minister of State Hugo Swire, British High Commission and British Council at AOD

From left: British Council SL Country Director Keith Davies, AOD Founder and Managing Director Linda Speldewinde, Great Britain Minister of State Hugo Swire, AOD Principal Karen MacLeod and British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka John Rankin

Creative industries and the UK economy Creative industries play an important part in underpinning the UK’s economy and as a powerful job creator; it is growing faster than any other UK industry at 9.4% p.a. and contributes £ 8 million per hour to the UK economy.     The world’s creative hub In 2014, the UK Creative Industries Council launched a new strategy for the creativity industries, to reinforce Great Britain’s position as a world leader, with ambitious plans for growth to 2020.     Hugo Swire speaking to AOD young designers   Creative industries and Sri Lanka Setting this phenomenal success and vision of Great Britain as a benchmark, Sri Lanka has nurtured a long-standing relationship with the UK as a mentor, in order to develop its own creative industries. Sri Lanka’s creative industries are young but hold great promise to become a major economic pillar for the nation and create thousands of new careers. Already the country’s multi-billion dollar fashion manufacturing industry is integrating creative intelligence to super-charge their pristine worldwide reputation while other areas like interior design, graphic design, contemporary craft and product design are going through speedy development. This UK-Sri Lanka relationship was further strengthened recently, when Hugo Swire, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Asia, visited AOD International Design Campus. British High Commissioner John Rankin and British Council Country Director Keith Davies were also present at the occasion.       AOD-British Council partnership in developing Sri Lanka’s creative industries The modern UK economy based on innovation and sustainability is one of the largest creative industries in the European Union and even the world. As part of UK’s global initiative to support developing creative industries, the British authorities, diplomatic missions and cultural institutes like the British Council strive to connect the next generation of design professionals with bigger and better opportunities and creative education from the UK. In 2009, the YCE (Young Creative Entrepreneur) program by the British Council became a great resource to learn about the creative industries from the UK and it paved the way for Sri Lankan entrepreneur and founder of AOD, Linda Speldewinde to work towards elevating design in Sri Lanka with the help of the UK. The YCE award helped establish connections with a wide network design pioneers in Britain; taking the initiative to share this opportunity and exposure with the rest of Sri Lanka, Speldewinde then partnered with the prestigious British design educator Northumbria University to offer UK design degrees in Colombo and also launched the first ever Sri Lanka Design Festival. Sri Lanka Design Festival annually becomes the largest national platform for creative industries and upcoming designers, introducing their capabilities to the world. Today, AOD and Sri Lanka Design Festival are pioneering design education, new knowledge and opportunities for local designers and emerging creative industries. Simultaneously, AOD has also given rise to new initiatives like ‘Island Craft’ that connects designers trained under British design education at AOD, to traditional artisans, helping them create contemporary products demanded by international markets; this has led over 600 artisans to secure livelihoods and new markets with higher income.   Further, the Sri Lanka Fashion and Apparel Awards held by AOD in partnership with the British Council was launched two years ago as the first major initiative in the country to recognise the efforts of a creative led industry. Swire spoke to several young AOD/Northumbria designers at AOD Colombo campus and welcomed growing UK-Sri Lanka creative collaboration. He said, “This is a fantastic collaboration between one of the top British design departments and a pioneering Sri Lankan academy. I am very impressed with the creative talents of the students I met, and am sure they have bright futures ahead of them.” Linda Speldewinde, Founder and Managing Director of AOD and Sri Lanka Design Festival, underlined the importance of solid international relationships that benefit nations. She said, “The close relationship we maintain with the world design capital UK is very important for AOD as a pioneering creative industry catalyst within South Asia. We see the UK as a fitting benchmark and a priceless knowledge resource for Sri Lanka in our journey to establish design as a major supporting power for our industries and hence, the economy. “During the early years of AOD, the support I got as an YCE winner of British Council took us a long way and today we’re truly reaping the benefits of this wonderful international friendship; today, AOD extends world-class British design degrees right here in Sri Lanka with the prestigious Northumbria University UK while Sri Lanka Design Festival and Island Craft harness the power of design for Sri Lanka’s development. With the support of the Sri Lankan government, industries like apparel as well as entities like British Council and the British High Commission coming together, we can really see our country developing with design and innovation at its core.” For more information on UK-Sri Lanka creative collaborations, contact AOD International Design Campus at 29, Lauries Road, Colombo 4, 0115867772/3 or British Council Sri Lanka at 49 Alfred House Gardens, Colombo 00300, Sri Lanka, +94 11 7521521.