The final event of the project ‘Development of cultural and creative industries as part of a sustainable economic sector in Montenegro’ was held today at the Ministry of Culture. The project was implemented by the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (IEED) in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and with the support of the UNESCO International Fund for Cultural Diversity.

Through this project, the fields of cultural and creative industries have been identified for the first time through the mapping process. Based on international best practice, 11 sectors, 40 industries and 57 occupations belonging to the cultural and creative industries have been identified. For the first time, their contribution to the economic growth and development of Montenegro has been calculated, saying that: the gross added value created by the cultural and creative industries in Montenegro tends to grow – from 2014 to 2018, it increased from 38.2 to 58.5 million Euros, accounting for an average of 1.5% of total GVA. The number of employees also increased during this period, amounting to 7,252 at the end of 2018 and is 28% higher than the number of employees in the cultural and creative industries at the end of 2014.

Evaluating the project results as very successful and useful for future activities in the field of public policy of creative industries, State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture Drazen Blazic emphasized that the creative and cultural industries sector in Montenegro should be a strong growth generator and a generous resource for economic development.

‘We need to put the creative potential of our artists in the function of economic development, and the Ministry of Culture will be a reliable partner in this direction. We will be committed to working to create the conditions to vaporize all the resources of the actors in this field, and some of them are already recognized not at the local and national, but also at the global level’, Blazic said.

Explaining mechanisms for supporting actors in the creative sector, he pointed out that the Ministry of Culture’s priority is to support actors through non-repayable financial instruments and through the provision of ‘hard’ infrastructure.

‘We will continue to provide financial support to actors in the cultural and creative industries. The success of the participants of previous Creative Montenegro competitions is especially encouraging, who have earned prestigious international awards. In addition, we have efforts to put into operation four creative hubs that will be synergies of the creative potential of artists and the skills of our valuable entrepreneurs’, Blazic said.

CEO of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (IEED) Dragana Radevic said that the project ‘Development of cultural and creative industries as part of a sustainable economic sector in Montenegro’ was a big challenge from the very beginning.

‘The fact that it received the attention of the UNESCO Fund for Cultural Diversity and the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which supported the project in December 2017 in Paris, has made us committed to a maximum commitment and professional approach.

Support from the UNESCO Fund for Cultural Diversity meant not only that the project was well conceived, but also that the development of cultural and creative industries in Montenegro was important’, Radevic said.

Based on previously conducted research, within this project, trainings were organized for the development of the missing entrepreneurial skills, which were attended by established creatives, as well as those on the way to turn their hobby into something more. Nine two-day trainings on topics of greatest interest (how to create a brand, promotion on social networks, customer psychology, public relations, etc.) were carried out, attended by 210 participants mainly from the private sector but also from public institutions.

The participants shared their impressions and benefits of this project with all who were present.

The certificates of appreciation were also given to the mentors and trainer for their work, dedication and contribution to the successful realization of the project.