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SPEECH BY HELEN ZILLE
MAYOR OF CAPE TOWN
OPENING FUNCTION FOR 2009 DESIGN INDABA
24 FEBRUARY 2009 – 17H20
THE BLUE TRAIN LOUNGE, OLD MARINE DRIVE
Protocol
MC Ravi Naidoo
City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Finance and Economic Development,
Ian Neilson
Executive Director for Social Development, Economic Development and Tourism,
Mansoor Mohamed
Local and international sponsors of the 2009 Design Indaba
Members of the international media
Ladies and Gentlemen
Speech Notes
Thank you for joining us at this function ahead of the 2009 Design Indaba Expo and
Conference.
To our guests from other parts of South Africa and the world, I wish you a very warm
welcome to Cape Town.
I hope that you will enjoy this evening’s trip through the winelands on the famous Blue
Train.
You can look forward to top wine, cuisine and spa treatment as part of your welcome to
Cape Town.
May this be the beginning of a very enjoyable stay in the mother city, and a very successful
conference and expo during the week ahead.
The City of Cape Town is proud to be involved in the 2009 Design Indaba.
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Since 1995, this event has grown to become an outstanding showcase and forum for local
design and creative products, recently winning the title Best Conference in the World at the
European Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition.
It connects our local creative industries with each other, with buyers, and with distributors.
It also provides an opportunity for small and medium enterprises to get a foothold into the
creative industry, and for our local industry to link with global design networks.
It is therefore very much aligned with our local government objective of promoting valueadded industries in Cape Town, in the interests of economic growth and job creation.
Greater product innovation, information sharing between complementary industries, and
cooperation between producers, marketers and retailers are the basis for boosting
productivity in most industries.
These are some of the essential principles of what economist Michael Porter describes as
industry ‘clusters’ in his groundbreaking work, The Competitive Advantage of Nations.
Other ingredients, which are also developing in Cape Town, are research and skill
development partnerships between the private sector and education institutions, and closer
synergy between government infrastructure provision and policy on the one hand, and the
needs of our main growth industries on the other.
Michael Porter sees effective industry clusters as the key to cities gaining an advantage in
the global arena, because clusters create greater quality and quantity at lower cost.
This kind of thinking is important for Cape Town in our present circumstances.
The world’s economic downturn is shrinking local and global markets, compelling industries
in most sectors to become more innovative, not only in the actual products they produce,
but also in how they produce them, distribute them, and market them.
I am glad to say that Cape Town’s private sector has been very pro-active about rising to
the challenge.
Joint business initiatives like Accelerate Cape Town, as well as the City’s partnership with
the Cape Higher Education Consortium, have started to build stronger linkages between
major institutions in our economy.
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Our higher education institutions have adapted quickly to cater for specific growth sectors in
our region. And some of our industries have already set up formal clusters.
We remain committed to stimulating our main growth industries, by supporting initiatives
like the Design Indaba, promoting industry clusters, and by fulfilling our mandates as a local
government.
This is especially the case with our focus on infrastructure investment, which has seen us
triple our spending on our city’s fixed assets over the past few years.
We are doing all that we can to build a solid platform of services and urban machinery to
facilitate economic activity, from establishing better public transport to building a new
broadband network.
Of course, we have to focus on sectors where we can compete, and adapt areas where we
can’t.
When it comes to mass production of basic products, for example, we cannot keep up with
the economies of scale of China, India, Malaysia and others.
In contrast, our creative industries have become a sector with great potential, and creative
adaptation is also going to be the deciding factor for the future survival of our existing
industries like textiles and clothing.
We are developing the reputation of being a global player in advertising, architecture, arts
and crafts, graphic design, product design, interior decorating, fashion, film, creative IT,
performing arts, publishing and many others.
In the interests of further promoting this reputation, and building Cape Town’s brand as a
creative hub in Africa, the City’s Economic Development Directorate is currently
investigating the feasibility of Cape Town seeking the title of ‘World Design Capital’ within
the global initiative of that name, which seeks to promote better urban living environments.
I am looking forward to the feasibility report.
I would like to thank Councillor Ian Neilson, Executive Director, Mr Mansoor Mohamed and
their team in the Economic Development Directorate for arranging tonight’s function, and
for their work in assisting the Design Indaba.
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And I would like to thank the sponsors and international media present this evening for your
central role in making this year’s expo and conference possible.
The confidence you have expressed in our city will help us build Cape Town’s profile as a
leading centre of creativity, and help us drive development through economic growth and
job creation.
I thank you.