How a strong creative industry helps economies thrive | Mehret Mandefro

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2021

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

When global leaders think about which industries can fuel economic growth, the arts are often overlooked. But filmmaker Mehret Mandefro says the creative sector actually has the power to grow economies -- while also helping safeguard democracy. In this captivating talk, she shares a behind-the-scenes look at how she's putting culture back on the economic agenda in Ethiopia, and explains why other countries would benefit from doing the same.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to TED Talks Daily. I'm Elise Hugh. Dr. Turned filmmaker Merret Mandefro uses the visual arts to help reduce poverty and grow economies. Born in Ethiopia, today she's an advocate for the arts, the creative sector, and its power to share ideas. In her 2020 talk from TED at BCG, she makes a case
0:22.7	for how culture can make huge impacts in the developing world's economic and democratic growth.
0:30.6	I started making movies 15 years ago during my internal medicine residency, as one does.
0:37.3	I was doing HIV disparities research
0:39.7	amongst black women, and that work turned into a documentary, and I've been making movies
0:44.0	ever since. I like to think of the movies and shows I create as a kind of visual medicine.
0:50.7	By that, I mean, I try to put stories on the screen that address large social barriers,
0:55.8	like racism in America, gender inequities in Ethiopia, and global health disparities.
1:01.6	And it's always my hope that audiences leave inspired to take actions that will help people hurdle those barriers.
1:08.9	Visual medicine.
1:14.7	Most of the time, I live and work in Ethiopia, the country I was born, and currently I sit on the advisory council of the Ethiopian government's job creations
1:20.3	commission. Now I'm sure you're wondering what a doctor turned filmmaker, not economist,
1:26.7	is doing working with the Job Creations Commission.
1:29.9	Well, I believe the creative industries, like film and theater, design, and even fashion,
1:36.0	can promote economic growth and democratic ideals in any country. I've seen it happen. I've
1:42.0	helped it happen, and I'm here to tell you a little bit more.
1:45.3	But first, some context. Over the past 15 years, Ethiopia has had amongst the fastest growing
1:51.2	economies in the world. This growth has led to a reduction in poverty, but according to 2018
1:57.7	numbers, unemployment rates in urban areas is around 19 percent, with higher unemployment
2:03.9	rates amongst youth ages 15 to 29.
2:07.7	No surprise, those numbers are even higher among young women.
2:11.5	Like the rest of Africa, Ethiopia's population is young, which means as the urban labor market
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