A project management center for the development of creative industries proposed for the Far East

23 May 2022

A project management center for the development of creative industries proposed for the Far East

The development of the creative industry in the Far East and the creation of conditions to stimulate the industry were discussed at a roundtable at the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation. The event, which was organized in run up for the 7th Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held on 5–8 September 2022 in Vladivostok on the campus of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), brought together key experts on creative industries.

Under the conditions of large-scale changes in the economy of the Far East, when economic growth centres and major investment projects are being created, the migration outflow is decreasing, and the demand for a new quality of life and the creation of cultural centres and modern spaces has been formed, the potential for the development of creative industries is being formed. In accordance with the Concept for the Development of Creative Industries, adopted by the Government in late 2021, an action plan has been drawn up to create mechanisms for state support, new educational programmes, art residencies, and the identification of priority areas.

In order to effectively support creative industries, it is necessary to develop a methodology for studying and evaluating them. Evgeny Kutsenko, director of the Institute of Statistical Research and Knowledge Economy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, suggested the following method: “It is possible to capture such a complex object as the creative economy only through a set of measures. For example, in addition to traditional statistics, it is important to calculate the share of creative workers employed in traditional industries, including industry. Our estimates for Russia show that the size of such ‘hidden’ creative employment exceeds the number of those employed in the creative industries themselves. Support of such industry synergy at the level of specific territories and projects is a logical scenario for the state. One more thing: an effective system of monitoring should not so much aggregate past data as quickly identify promising brands, teams and projects throughout the territory, and orient policy measures towards scaling new business models with maximum economic effect. Finally, it is important to suggest to regions and cities their promising creative specialization and help build mutually beneficial interaction.”

Territorial development expert and head of the Polis Institute Tatyana Zhuravleva also emphasized: “When working out a concept for the development of creative industries in each region, it is necessary to take into account what they will be based on. Either they are based on being embedded in current industries that contribute to the region’s economy, as in Yakutia, or they are pure creativity, i.e. a subsidized thing that works exclusively for the region’s attractiveness and for local residents.”

At the same time, it was pointed out that the key principle when forming the legislative base should not be regulation but creation of conditions for the development of creative industries. “Today the government needs the law more than the industry to identify the creative industries and the possibility for providing benefits. The main task of the government is to understand thew needs of subjects of this sphere at every stage of development and to respond with adequate support measures – from improvement of existing legislation, elimination of barriers to creation of conditions that are no worse than those for industrial enterprises,” emphasized Maya Svistukhina, General Director of ‘Territory of Design’ Creative Lab, one of the participants of the working group that developed the proposed initiatives.

“To begin with, it is worth analyzing the business support measures already developed in the subject, the availability and features of local brands, as well as existing production facilities. It is necessary to highlight the specialization of regions in the creative industries. This will help create new economic chains within the country and points of production growth in the territories,” said Anna Afanasyeva, Deputy Director for Project Activities at Roskulttsentr Federal State Budgetary Institution.

Alisa Prudnikova, Head of Strategic Projects at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, added to the topic of identifying the local specifics of creative industries. In her opinion, the key concept should be connectedness: connectedness of artist and official, connectedness of internal and external positioning of the region, and the formation of a single creative environment and common context.

The idea of paying attention to the regional specialization of creative businesses was also supported by Mikhail Kuznetsov, General Director of Vostokgosplan: “The Far East is a gym for business. I propose to create a kind of creator’s path – a roadmap of how a creative person behaves. The first is living and creating a community, an environment. The second is learning and developing creative specialties, with the third one being specialized entertainment and leisure activities where people could socialize more.”

Victoria Boginskaya, managing partner of the YARUS Centre for Territorial and Spatial Development, stressed the importance of pre-project research of territories and taking into account climatic specifics of the region before designing typical spaces and creative centres in an attempt to copy successful creative clusters from central regions of Russia. In addition, in her opinion, it is important to include flexibility and multifunctionality in the design of the new centres to be created.

At the same time, experts agreed that professional training programmes need to be updated. “We are now ‘laying the foundation’ for the development of creative industries and should focus on those who will ‘build a house’ on it – young people aged 12–17. The key task is to incorporate into the special vocational education system the educational programmes demanded by employers and trainees, aimed at acquiring competences, skills and qualifications in the creative industries. To this end, we have initiated a corresponding project, Training for Creative Industries in the vocational training system, based on the Creative Industries College model, which is now being piloted in seven regions. Moreover, the list of training areas has been compiled based on the analysis of both industry representatives’ requests and teenagers’ wishes in each region,” said Ivan Klindukhov, Head of the Federal Centre for Development of Professional Education in Creative Industries at the Institute for Development of Professional Education of the Russian Ministry of Education. He also noted the integrated interdepartmental approach to the development of creative industries in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

An expert from the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation has put forward a proposal to ‘pilot’ them first in the Far East as part of the approved federal initiatives and measures to develop the creative industries in Russia. As part of the proposed government plan to create interdepartmental and interregional project offices, this would be the first specialized centre for project management and interaction between officials, experts, regional authorities and representatives of creative industries.”

“Creative industries have now outgrown creativity and are becoming a driver of business and territorial development. The FEDC sees this potential and is proposing the creation of a single centre of competence for shaping approaches to the development of the creative economy in the Far East. The centre will be a tool for developing effective support initiatives, introducing best practices, setting up educational programmes, and creating infrastructure for developing the creative industries,” commented Ilya Petrasov, Director of the Department of Territorial Development and the Far Eastern Mortgage Programme.

The 7th Eastern Economic Forum will be held on 5–8 September 2022 in Vladivostok on the campus of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU). It is organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

Go to official Forum accounts on social media for all the updates on EEF 2022.

Telegram: t.me/roscongress.

VK: Eastern Economic Forum (vk.com).

Official website of EEF: forumvostok.ru.

A project management center for the development of creative industries proposed for the Far East

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