A far-reaching
webinar called Creative Thursday was held in Russia for the first time. It took
place in eight time zones and lasted a record 24 hours. The event was organized
by Innosocium — the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation, the Agency
for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), and the Russian Culture Centre, which are
actively working together to encourage creative practices in Russia. Creative
industry leaders organized sessions and presentations for the Creative Thursday
online meeting as part of the project activities conducted by a working group
of the ASI that has been tasked with developing creative industries and
providing support for projects related to cultural and historical heritage.
Advisor to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov underscored the
importance of these kinds of activities for the development of human capital
and improvements to people’s quality of life in Russia: «The universal solution for strengthening creative industries in Russia
is to create a regulatory framework that governs support by the state and
business as well as to have successful cases of creative clusters being built
in the regions. The event today was attended by over 250 representatives of
creative industries from 20 cities in Russia and abroad. The key to developing creative industries in the
regions could be the symbiosis of a regional identity as opposed to the
dissemination of global templates. The problems that have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic require
the preparation of proposals on support measures and models for managing and
developing the ecosystems of creative industries that are equally effective for
various regions of the Russian Federation, and they should be comprehensive rather than local, at
the level of individual projects or regions. The conclusions reached during the discussions will be
taken into account during preparations for the new major creative industry
event — the Russian Creativity Week Festival.»
«The book industry is an important
part of creative industries. We understand the importance of the systematic
development of creative industries in Russia at the federal level better than
anyone else, and this is what our colleagues discussed at the plenary meeting
of Creative Thursday. I am also glad that a project has been developed that is
supported by the Presidential Grants Fund and the social platform of the
Roscongress Foundation — Innosocium thanks to the consolidation and joint work
of the Russian Book Union and the Russian Culture Centre federal state budget-funded
institution, so the festival team is now incredibly strong. I am certain that
together we can organize a significant festival for creative industries in
Russia at September this year», Russian
Book Union President Sergey Stepashin
said.
Russian Creativity
Week will take place in Moscow’s Gorky Park in September. The festival will be
organized by the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation — Innosocium,
the Russian Culture Centre, and the Russian Book Union with the support of the
Presidential Grants Fund.
During the online meeting,
representatives of the creative sector discussed ways to support creative
industries in Russia as well as joint steps to create infrastructure in the
regions.
The participants agreed that the
government’s policy in creative industries should prioritize creating
conditions for the development of creative businesses in the regions. Teodor
Currentzis shared his own experience. «We
had a unique chance to create the perfect creative space at our new home in the
House of Radio in St. Petersburg. We are building a unique creative institution
that appeals to representatives of different arts. It should be fully
operational by the beginning of 2021, which the UN has declared the
International Year of Creative Economy. We have developed a flexible
educational programme that allows for bringing music closer to each person and
showing how music can combine other types of art at all levels: in a city,
country, or the world. We offer young people the opportunity to unleash their
potential. We are creating a space here for a never-ending quest and unimpeded
interaction, a creative laboratory where new cultural and aesthetic values
emerge. We would like to present the best projects created here in other
Russian cities. It’s crucial that people as well as people in the regions get
involved in the most modern creative practices and experiments. By developing
together with our audience, we will gain the momentum that will help us change
ourselves and achieve changes around the world. It has become clear today that
humans and their creative potential should be at the centre of the world of
artificial intelligence and robots. That is why attention to creative
industries is so important», the Greek conductor said.
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District — Yugra
Governor Natalya Komarova pointed out to experts that shaping a creative
culture and developing competencies in this industry are among the top
priorities of trilateral cooperation between Innosocium Foundation — the social
platform of the Roscongress Foundation, her region, and the Russian Culture
Centre. «Russia does not have a clear
development programme or authorized regulator for creative industries. I
believe that the initiative by Yugra residents to create a new type of special
economic zones that take into account the specific features of the creative
industry will give a clear signal to investors that the state is ready to
develop new rapidly growing sectors of the economy,» Komarova said.
The plenary session can be viewed on
the website of the Roscongress
Foundation, the Creative
Thursday online meet-up, the Roscongress-TV YouTube
channel, and the official Facebook accounts of the Roscongress
Foundation and the Innosocium
Foundation — the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation.
Another highlight of Creative Thursday was a lecture
titled ‘Key Trends in Russian Animation and Its Promotion on the Global
Market’, which was given by Ilya Popov,
the founder and general producer of the Riki Group of Companies, president of
the Russian Animated Film Association, and co-author of the idea of the Smeshariki series. «It’s hard to believe, but Smeshariki is almost 20 years old! The project has become an integral part of
Russian pop culture, has grown to a gigantic scale, and has even gone beyond
animation. Our other animated projects are just as good as Smeshariki. For example, The Fixies has bolstered Russia’s prestige abroad. The
Russian animation market is growing right in front of my eyes. In 2011, I was
one of the initiators of the creation of the Animated Films Association, which
has brought together almost all the major and medium-sized animation studios
across the country. We are actively carrying out systematic work with our
colleagues. I am certain that we have a lot of interesting things ahead,» Popov
said. The full recording of the lecture can be viewed here.
The Creative Thursday programme also included the
sessions ‘Legal Support for the Activities of Creative Industries and Creative
Clusters: Why Do We Need to Change Anything?’ and ‘Creative Clusters: A Place
of Power and an Incubator for the Development of Creative Entrepreneurs’. These
online meetings can be viewed on the official Facebook page of the Roscongress Foundation’s social
platform.
