Discussion organized with creative industry representatives

Creative and cultural industries, which combine economy, culture, advanced technology and innovation, are developing dynamically around the world. Composed of literature, design, music and theater, architecture, fashion and fine arts, film, video and photography, advertising, etc., the creative industry is also a business field. The development and business opportunities of this field are also wide in Azerbaijan.

A public discussion on “Challenges and business opportunities in creative industries” was organized today in order to discuss the development of creative industry in our country, business support in this field, organization of creative persons and business subjects, expansion of relations between the state and private sector in the relevant sector.

The event was organized by Social Council under SME Development Agency and Azerbaijan Creative Industries Federation with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Copyright Agency, and Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBIA), and the event was attended by the representatives of the relevant government agencies and entrepreneurs in creative sector.

Farhad Garashov, the chairman of the Social Council under SME Development Agency, pointed out that the event was organized for the purpose of discussing the business potential in the field of creative industry, listening to the difficulties faced by business entities operating in this field, and strengthening public-private cooperation.

Anar Karimov, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, said that the creative industry, which is a branch of the economy, is developing rapidly on a global scale and has become one of the priority sectors, and there is great interest in this field. It was noted that the activity of the ministry in the direction of the development of the creative industry is multifaceted. Improvement of the legislation in this field, study of good practice and problems of the sector in this field, creation of sales platforms and other areas are being carried out together with Azerbaijan Creative Industries Federation.

Kamran Imanov, Chairman of the Board of the Copyright Agency, who joined the event online, gave information about the activities of the Agency in the relevant field, and pointed out that the concepts of intellectual property and creativity are in close contact, and the share of the creative industry and copyright-based areas in the GDP is increasing.

The Chairman of the Board of SME Development Agency (KOBIA), Orkhan Mammadov, noted that the creative industry, as one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, generates an average of more than 2 trillion US dollars in annual income and provides 30 million jobs. Emphasizing that there is a wide potential for the development of the creative industry in Azerbaijan, the chairman of KOBIA voiced proposals for forming a register of creative entrepreneurs, expanding the direction of creative tourism, creating creative clusters, providing creative people with the necessary support to start their entrepreneurial activities, and increasing the export potential of the sector.

Vasif Eyvazzade, Chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan Creative Industries Federation, noted that it is necessary to develop the creative industry in three principal directions. These are directions for improvement of legal, institutional and financial mechanisms. At the same time, expanding the relationship between the government, non-government and private sectors in the field of creative industries will help to strengthen the economic content of the sector.

At the event, the modern business challenges of the creative industry, the development of public-private cooperation in this field, increasing the knowledge and skills of creative people related to entrepreneurial activity, effective field organization, and other issues related to the problems and development of the sector were discussed, and opinions and proposals were voiced on making concessions, supporting exhibitions and advertising.

In the event, the representatives of the relevant institutions answered the questions of interest to the business subjects.