RCN-2025 Forum-festival starts in Moscow

Three days later, on September 25-27, the Russian Creative Week Forum-Festival, the main event in the field of the creative economy of Russia, will start in Moscow at the Rossiya National Center. This is a visionary platform where laws are born, trends are formed and strategies for the years ahead are written.

The creative economy consists of 16 branches stipulated by law: IT, design, architecture, advertising, gastronomy, fashion, cinema, music, literature. They all have one thing in common: their product is not raw materials, but intelligence. These industries are growing four times faster. By 2030, the goal is that creative should account for 6% of each region's GRP. This is a strategy that is being formed in the Government, approved by order and implemented locally.

This year, the Russian Creative Week has become even bigger. The Forum has expanded its geography — now it takes place in two capitals: Moscow, and then on September 28-29 in St. Petersburg.

The main plenary session "The Visionary State: a New Philosophy of Intellectual and Creative Leadership in Russia" will be the central event of the Forum. The plenary session will lay out the philosophy of the new Russian model: an economy in which the main capital is meanings and the main resource is talent anywhere in the country. We will discuss how creativity becomes the basis of sovereign development, and the creative class becomes partners of the state in building a future based on our values, our rules, and our territories. This is not a trend, but a strategy for decades to come.

More than 80 events, 550 speakers from 7 countries are all part of the momentum that is launching new trends and shaping strategies. The program is divided into three key blocks:

1. Value-based economy until 2035. It discusses not just business models, but a new development philosophy. How to introduce creativity into the industry? How to make the city comfortable not only for living, but also for creativity? The sessions will discuss Russian industrial design, integrated regional production, and the synergy of creative industries with the SCO. The main session "Integrated production of regions: value-based approaches in regional development strategies" will be held as part of the track. The speakers will discuss mechanisms for integrating creative industries into regional policy: from potential analysis and strategy formation to the implementation of projects that increase the attractiveness of territories, the trust of citizens and the quality of life. Special attention will be paid to the tools of interaction between government, business and the creative community as a key condition for sustainable and value-oriented growth in Russia's regions.

2. Spatial development: from megalopolis to small town. Architecture, urbanism, visual art — all this is becoming a tool for the transformation of territories. Participants will discuss how to reboot rural areas with the help of creative industries, why small towns can become centers of attraction, and how high-speed transport arteries become drivers of creative growth.

3. A creative person is the foundation of the economy of the future. It's about staff training, education in the age of AI, and new roles as a creative producer. What skills will be in demand in 2035? How does the symbiosis of tradition and technology create a new cultural code? These questions will be answered by the session speakers.

The center of attraction of the EXPO exhibition is a conceptual space where the regions of Russia will show how creative industries are changing cities, economies and people's lives. 22 exhibitors from 9 regions will present their achievements at more than 80 art objects.

In the EXPO center there is a four—meter-high "Seed", a symbol of the National Award in the field of creative industries. This art object will become not just a decoration, but a living embodiment of the great path of creanomics: from ideas to real changes. The "seed" is a metaphor for growth, potential, and the beginning of a new stage of development.

One of the most important elements will be the pulse situation center of the Russian Creative Week — 12 screens, more than 250 analytical data, and the creative economy in figures and facts. It's not just statistics. This is a live map of creative Russia, where each figure is a story about people, projects and regions.

And finally, Creative Entrepreneurship Day is a special program for those who want to start or develop their business in the creative field. The program includes 5 sessions, 20 speakers, as well as a market for young entrepreneurs. This is a place where aspiring entrepreneurs can find investors and like-minded people.