The ‘creative economy’ from Tashkent to the world

Two thousand participants from 80 countries attended the fourth edition of the international platform that brings together creatives, entrepreneurs and political authorities for dialogue, problem solving and the search for new development possibilities for a global creative economy, an initiative that was first proposed in Indonesia in 2018.

Tashkent (AsiaNews) - The 4th International Conference for the ‘creative economy’ (World Conference on Creative Economy , Wcce) gathered in Tashkent, with two thousand participants from 80 different countries, a sector that according to the director of the Centre for the Creative Economy of Russia, Ekaterina Čerkes-Zade, is able to ‘sell everything else in the economy’. The theme of the meeting was ‘Inclusive Creativity: a Changing Reality’, and the venue was Uzbekistan's CAEx trade fair complex.

Guests at the event included representatives from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Qatar Museums, the Aga Khan Fund, the Uffizi Gallery, the Solomon Guggenheim Museum and other major cultural institutions. Special guests were former model Naomi Campbell, the author of the book ‘The Creative Economy: How to Turn Ideas into Money’, John Howkins, and architect and researcher Carlo Ratti, curator of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2025.

Present at the opening ceremony were the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, President's aide and daughter Saida Mirziyoyeva, Senate Leader Tanzila Narbaeva, Qatari Sheikh Hamad Al-Tani, Secretary General of the UNCstad (the UN Conference on Trade and Development) Rebeca Grynspan and many other dignitaries. The Wcce is an international platform that brings together creatives, entrepreneurs and political authorities for dialogue, problem solving and the search for new development possibilities for a global creative economy, an initiative that was first proposed in Indonesia in 2018.

At the last meeting in Dubai in 2021, the theme of ‘inclusive creativity’ was proposed, which was also dwelt on two years later in Bali, and was thus entrusted this year to the efforts of Uzbekistan, through the Taškent Fund for the Development of Culture and Art. The main partners of the Uzbeks were the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, Uncstad and Wipo. The chosen topic focused on assessing the social and economic problems caused by the increasingly rapid development of technology, and the use of artificial intelligence.

They discussed what the cities of the future will look like, which will have to be more and more liveable and welcoming, how to channel investments into the creative industry, and what problems arise with respect to intellectual property in the age of AI, all of which can be found on the Uzbekistan Fund's YouTube channel. Čerkes-Zade reiterated that ‘we understand each country through gastronomy, fashion, music, cinema, and from these impressions we make decisions about visiting it as tourists or opening a business, investing money, what we call the soft powereffect’. Based on these principles, experts met with many entrepreneurs from the creative industry, which ‘cannot live in a vacuum’.

The CreatiVillage, a complex of specialised exhibitions showcasing the many projects and services of state and private organisations from Uzbekistan and other participating countries, could be visited at the fair. The Kazakhstan delegation presented a stand prepared by the Creative Innovation Institute together with the Almaty Museum of Arts, the first private museum of contemporary art in Central Asia, which will be opened in spring 2025, thanks to the initiative of collector and patron Nurlan Smagulov. At the conclusion of the Wcce assembly, the Parliament of Uzbekistan approved a ‘Concept for the Development of the Creative Economy’ until 2030, with government programmes to be implemented in the two-year period 2025-2026.