Meaning-intensive production and creative economy are emerging as crucial assets in international competition.

Many countries revised their cultural exportation strategies in the 1990s, adopting the creative economy sector as a key strategy in international competitiveness.

The strengths of Finnish cultural exports are our large creative capital, high-standard education in the creative fields, strong technological know-how, good domestic infrastructure in culture, well-functioning domestic market and high-quality creative production. Our cultural production is highly valued internationally, and we cannot meet the international demand for Finnish culture.

The weak points in our cultural exports are leakage points in the value chain, information, marketing, promotion, and lack of a strategy and coordination in cultural exportation. The structure of the cultural industry is not competitive. What is needed is more entrepreneurship and business know-how and the management of immaterial rights. Another weakness is the lack of capital and inadequate support for cultural exports.

The largest input is needed to raise the Finnish creative economy into an internationally competitive branch, alongside ICT and biotechnology, by creating an extensive CREAFIN cluster of creative economy and by devising a development programme for the creative economy and cultural exports for 2005–2010 in support of it. It is proposed that Finnish cultural production and exports be developed as a core area of the CREAFIN cluster.

The proposed measures concern both the promotion of cultural exports and the creation of favourable conditions for cultural exports. Especially the measures for promoting cultural exportation require urgent input.

I. With a view to promoting cultural exports: 1. To establish CREAFIN - creative economy cluster in Finland. 2. To set up President's Award for Cultural Export. 3. To develop strategic cooperation in cultural exportation. 4. To launch a programme for developing the creative economy and cultural exports 2005-2010. 5. To promote cultural entrepreneurship and capital creation in the cultural economy. 6. To launch a programme for professional and expert exchanges in cultural exports 2006-2010. 7. To create a network for disseminating information about cultural exports.

II. Prerequisites for cultural production: 1. Education and research: multiprofessional knowledge and know-how, a strong knowledge base 2. Product development: a holistic view, an innovation chain, concept development, cross-branding 3. Preconditions for creativity: artists' working conditions, an infrastructure, the domestic market 4. Protection of intellectual property: copyright, protection of designs, patents, brands

The measures and input proposed in this report and in the cultural exportation development programme 2005-2010 make for concrete cultural, ethical, social, employment and economic results. As an attractive area of creative economy, Finland will draw top doers, whose input will generate creative capital - a positive circle or vortex of creativity.