"Russian Creative Week" will define a new agenda for the development of the creative economy of the Russian Federation

On July 17-18, the VII "Russian Creative Week" will announce a new agenda that determines the further development of Russia's creative economy. The economics of values will be the central theme of the forum and will determine the content of the key discussions of the business program. The organizers outlined the new agenda in a program video message published on the eve of the festival-forum. It sets out the main questions that the participants will discuss at the Russian Creative Week: what role the creative economy plays in the development of the country and why the creative economy today increasingly relies on national meanings and cultural code.

In recent years, the development of the creative economy has become one of the priorities of government policy. On behalf of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the legislative framework of the industry has been formed, a Strategy for the development of the Creative Economy until 2036 is being prepared for approval, and a federal project for the development of creative industries is being developed. Their goal is to create conditions for further growth of the industry and increase its contribution to Russia's GDP from 4.2% in 2025 to 6% by 2030 and 7.7% by 2036. This work is already producing an economic effect: by the end of 2025, the volume of the creative economy has reached 8.26 trillion rubles.

Today, the industry is gaining momentum: from awareness of its role to scaling and the search for new growth points. These tasks set the tone for the program of the VII Russian Creative Week, where discussions will turn into concrete solutions and new partnerships that will change the landscape of the country's creative economy.

"A few years ago, we had to explain what creative industries are and why they are important for economic development. Today, this stage has already been passed. Creative clusters are being created in the regions, a new environment is developing, and projects in the fields of design, fashion, gastronomy, cinema, animation, architecture, IT, and other areas are emerging," says Sergey Novikov, Head of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Public Projects.

According to him, the Russian Creative Week plays a special role, which over the years has become a platform for shaping the industry agenda: "It was on the site of the Creative Week that a community of people was formed who promoted the idea of developing the creative economy. Today, this work has been continued in practice: laws, regional support programs, and new development tools are emerging."

Marina Mongush, President of ANO Creative Economy and director of the Russian Creative Week Forum, continues this thought. In her video message, she emphasizes: "A few years ago, the creative industries were perceived primarily as a sphere of creativity, culture and entertainment. Today we see a fundamentally different scale: it is a full-fledged sector of the modern economy that creates jobs, forms new markets, develops regions and becomes one of the instruments of the country's international competitiveness."

A special emphasis in the video message is placed on the role of man in the creative economy. Talent, professional competencies, and the ability to create new ideas and meanings become her main resource. "When we talk about culture, it is important to remember its deep nature. The very origin of this word is connected with the idea of processing, development and the result of what we put into this process. Culture begins with human efforts and strives for the heights of human achievement. The creative economy is not just about numbers, indicators, and plans. It is always based on a person, his talent, the ability to create new things and convey through creativity the meanings that become part of the cultural heritage," said Maria Zakharova, official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

In the video message, special attention is paid to the creation of modern products based on cultural identity and traditional Russian values. "Today, one of the important tasks is to create projects filled with meanings and reflecting traditional Russian spiritual and moral values. It is precisely such initiatives that make it possible to preserve the cultural code and at the same time create modern, in—demand products," said Roman Karmanov, General Director of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives, in an address to the participants of the Russian Creative Week.

National identity is becoming one of the sources of competitive advantages: brands, films, design, digital products, games and other creative projects are increasingly turning to their own cultural code, offering the audience not only a product, but also a system of images and meanings. Russia's space heritage is becoming one of the directions for unlocking this potential. In his address to the participants of the festival-forum, Dmitry Bakanov, Director General of the Roscosmos State Corporation, stressed that the development of creative industries opens up new opportunities for space exploration: "Cinema, design, gastronomy, architecture are an opportunity to talk about space through new images, stories and meanings. The task that we set for ourselves, together with the creative industries, is to find a new support for national identity in space, facing not only the past, but also the future."

The topics outlined in the program video message will form the basis of the business program of the VII "Russian Creative Week".

The main plenary session "Creative Economy: Values uniting the world" will set the strategic direction of the forum. The discussion focuses on the value economy as one of the key resources for developing the creative economy, achieving national goals and strengthening Russia's competitiveness.

The business program of the forum is united around three semantic tracks:

1. "Global creanomics. Uniting according to values." The track is dedicated to the formation of new principles of global competition for technology, meanings and talents. The central topic of the discussion will be the plenary session "Technologies, values and meanings as the foundation of global competition." The agenda includes things that will determine the balance of power for the years to come: the development of domestic digital platforms, the formation of regional metabrends, the promotion of Russian creative products in foreign markets, and the potential of the Arctic and outer space.
2. Creanomics of Russia: the power of diversity lies in unity." The second thematic vector of the business program addresses the Russian context and offers a new perspective on territorial development that goes beyond the traditional regional agenda. The plenary session "The Common Space of Meanings: the Multinational Landscape as the basis of Russia's Creative Economy" is devoted to rethinking cultural diversity as a strategic asset — a source of authentic solutions for various sectors of the economy. The main focus of the track will be the presentation of a future new textbook that will define the terminology field for regulators, businesses and regions.
3. "A creative person and an image of the future." For the first time, the Russian Creative Week sets the agenda for a person as the author of the creative economy and formulates one of the key challenges: his place and role in the new world. The key event of the track is the plenary session "Creative industries as a tool for social transformation. The balance of economic and non-material effects". The agenda includes the concept of a "shimmering creative class" and the change in the labor market by 2030, the alpha generation as co—authors of the new economy, the formation of social optimism, digital and AI literacy of schoolchildren, financial culture, scenarios for the development of single-industry towns, the communication strategy "Strong Family" and demography.

The program of the festival-forum includes more than 60 events with the participation of over 350 speakers from more than 25 countries, including representatives of the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. Among the participants are representatives of government authorities, development institutions, businesses, state corporations, media holdings and the expert community.

Special projects will be presented at the forum site: expositions and collaborations of the forum's partners, including special projects of the participating regions. Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Chelyabinsk regions, and the Republic of Bashkortostan will present their art objects.

As part of the Russian Creative Week program, the Music Director of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives will hold events dedicated to the role of music in shaping values and cultural unity. On July 18, industry representatives, public figures and artists will discuss the impact of music on young people, the preservation of traditional values and the support of talented performers at the Gorky Central Music Park. The program will end with a concert with the participation of artists.

As part of the festival-forum, the organizers will also announce the launch of the All-Russian movement "Creative Generation".