Hilary Robertson -Hickling

The creation of copyright-based industries is a possible solution to Jamaica's need for sustainable development, according to Dr. Kamil Idris, the director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. These industries have the capacity to generate billions of dollars.

The call has come at a time when the Caribbean Council for Science and Technology, supported by the Organisation of American States, is sponsoring a regional competition, 'Go Creative' for young entrepre-neurs across the region. The target audience is youngsters aged 11-25 years old.

I recently attended a meeting in Trinidad and Tobago with other coordinators of the competition and was excited to learn about the necessity for and the possibilities of encouraging innovation and invention in the young people of the region.

Jamaica's Scientific Council has been encouraging innovation and invention in Jamaica and will be managing the competition in Jamaica. The complex legal processes for securing intellectual property, patents, copyrights and trademarks have to be demystified to ensure that people reap the benefits of their efforts. The most advanced economies have devoted considerable resources to the processes of innovation and invention in their educational institutions, public and private organisations.

Plastic and performing arts

While we are now recognising the importance of the plastic and performing arts in our world we are lagging behind in our comprehension of the role of science and technology.

With the well-known weaknesses in mathematics and science in our educational system and population, we need to take urgent action if we are to make advances as a country. Our music, our science and technology hold important keys for the future. We are not clear about the significant importance of the intellect in the world of the knowledge economy.

Many years ago I tried to sell a thousand books written by Tony Sewell called Garvey's Children. I subsequently realised that many Jamaicans see books only as part of the educational process and are pleased to report that they have not read a book since they left school. "Yet we recognise that there is an industry crying out for development. If we do nor write our own story, we will be depending on others to tell us about ourselves through their eyes. Many of us easily photocopy whole books and burn CDs without recognising that we are stealing someone else's work. We may also be devaluing who we are and what we have to offer each other and the world so we leave ourselves open for plunder.

According to Dr. Idris, if we do not invent, we will perish. this is the basis of competition and trade. The issue of 'Made In Jamaica' will become a rarer occurrence if we do not provide incubators and engage people in innovation. It will not happen by chance and although the Buy Jamaican campaign was a good one, much more will have to be done. Whenever I travel, I like to take Jamaican goods as gifts. This Christmas I searched and found some locally made gifts. It is not easy to find high-quality local goods. Some of the designs are very outdated and improperly made. We need to make some giant steps in this direction.

Hilary Robertson-Hickling is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies at the University of the West Indies.