Round table “Creative industries in the urban environment”

A round table “Creative industries in the urban environment” within the international project “Joining creativity” and the 40th anniversary of the twinning relations between Petrozavodsk and Umeå was conducted on the 24th of November in Petrozavodsk. The event was attended by architects and designers of Petrozavodsk, representatives of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Karelia, Petrozavodsk City Administration, the National Youth Center, Tourist Information Centre, as well as by experts from Sweden, Finland, Arkhangelsk and St. Petersburg.

During the round table the improvement of coastal areas of the city of Petrozavodsk was discussed. Participants got acquainted with the experience of other cities along the rivers - St. Petersburg, Umeå, Joensuu. Moreover presentations on wooden buildings, park areas, urban sculptures were presented. The main purpose of land improvement is to make the city attractive for citizens, for a family holiday, walking, playing sports.  It is an opportunity to remain people in small cities.

In addition, social activists presented already implemented potential projects, including the creation of bicycle lanes in the city along the river and the rowing canal on the Lososinka. The chief architect of Petrozavodsk Evgeniy Frolov summed up that it is very important that there are active citizens with interesting ideas for the improvement of territories, and these ideas need to be implemented jointly with the city administration.

Conference “Social and cultural adaptation of migrants in St. Petersburg: a partnership of public authorities, local governments, national and non-governmental organizations”

On November 16, in St. Petersburg there was the conference “Social and cultural adaptation of migrants: a partnership of public authorities, local governments, national and non-governmental organizations”. Organizers of the event - “St. Petersburg House of Nationalities”, the Charity Fund of support and development of educational and social projects “PSP Fund”  supported by the Committee on Inter-Ethnic Relations and the implementation of the migration policy in St. Petersburg.

To share experience and to discuss topical issues the conference was attended by representatives of the relevant regional authorities, local authorities and public organizations from St. Petersburg, Leningrad Region, Arkhangelsk Region, Murmansk Region, the Republic of Karelia, as well as experts from other regions of Russia.

Participants were welcomed by the Head of the implementation department of the migration policy, the rule of law and inter-agency cooperation of the Committee on Inter-Ethnic Relations and the implementation of the migration policy in St. Petersburg S. Domnin, the Director of “St. Petersburg House of Nationalities” E. Kuznetsova, the Director of the Charity Fond of support and development educational and social projects “PSP Fund” B. Panich.

The conference raised issues such as the legal illiteracy of migrants, acute housing problem, and educational migration into Russian institutions of secondary vocational education. The director of the House of Nationalities E. Kuznetsova held a presentation of the institution, she spoke about the ongoing activities for migrants and cooperation with NGOs. The director of “PSP Fund” B. Panich noted that NGOs act as “the bridge” between migrants and government agencies.

The representative of the St. Petersburg Catholic charitable public organization “Maltese Aid Service” told about how they help migrants who have lost their documents. St. Petersburg Project Co-ordinator of the NGO “Children of St. Petersburg” Yu. Alimova shared experience of socio-cultural adaptation of migrant children in St. Petersburg. She spoke about  the Russian language and school preparation courses for children of preschool and early school age with the participation of volunteers. The conference was attended by the representatives of national-cultural autonomies, societies and diasporas.

Also the director of “Karelian Resource Center of NGO’s” N. Oskin delivered a presentation “Experience and prospects of Centres of Inter-Ethnic Relations in the Republic of Karelia” and the head of Kondopoga Center of socio-cultural adaptation of migrants N. Tsykareva took part in the conference..

After the speeches, the speakers held a lively discussion. All participants thanked each other for the exchange of invaluable experience and agreed on further cooperation.

Round table “Music, mass media and new technologies as creative industries: challenges and opportunities” 14th of November, Reykjavik

In July, at the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (NArFU) the first round table within the project “Joining creativity” was conducted. It was attended by the representatives of Arkhangelsk, Karelia, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. During the event participants exchanged ideas, experiences and best practices in the development of creative industries and established new contacts. This discussion of the problems faced by creative industries and the opportunities for the territory development continued a few months later in Reykjavik. In Arkhangelsk crafts and museum business were in the focus of attention, but in Reykjavik the organizers chose such areas of the creative sector as music, mass media and new technologies.

The round table was organized by the project partner: the Centre “Innovation Iceland”. It aims to increase the competitiveness of companies through the introduction of new technologies, as well as the dissemination of information and support for entrepreneurs. The round table was attended by partners and experts from Finland, Sweden, Iceland, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk and Karelia. The director of the Center “Innovation Iceland” Professor Thorsteinn Sigfusson opened the event by welcoming the guests and wished them fruitful work.

First of all, the participants talked about their companies and shared their experience. Then there were several detailed presentations. Tatyana Melikova, the deputy head of the concert part of the Small Hall named after A.K. Glazunov, spoke about the bright and famous annual festival – “International Conservatory Week”, held in St. Petersburg. Emilia Shӧlund, manager of the project “Krenova” from the Swedish town Skellefteå, described the tools used to support business start-ups with interesting ideas. Anna Solovyova, the professor of NArFU, spoke about the creative industries of the Arkhangelsk region, especially about musical projects. The co-founder of the company “Novomatic Lottery Solutions”, which provides software for online games, Ólafur Ragnarsson made a presentation on the development of computer games and the advanced technologies in Iceland. After the presentations there was a panel discussion on the topic of identifying challenges faced by the creative industries and their solutions. The main problem is that the “creative industries” is a very broad concept with unclear meaning. In addition, each industry has its own problems, which confirms the need for a common approach to the definition and specialized to each particular direction. It was noted that sufficient government support exists: for example in Sweden there is a national strategy for support of the creative cultural industries, and each region makes its own proposals, and in Finland there is a document which is devoted to 100 years of independence, where the support of the creative sector is mentioned.

After the round table there was a meeting of the expert group of the project, where partners discussed issues related to the completion of the project and the ideas of its continuation.

In addition, the round table participants had the opportunity to see the innovative technology of Iceland. They had visits to the “CCP Game Company” - one of the most popular in Iceland company which produce video games based on virtual reality. They also visited Innovation house, where there are companies which elaborate the Internet browser and computer games.

Thanks to the project “Joining creativity” experts and representatives of the creative industries from the Northwest Russia and the Nordic countries convinced that Iceland is an amazing country that can surprise not only by its nature and football, but also by its high level of development.

Round table “Creative industries as a business area” within the “Youth Economic Forum”

The VIII Youth Economic Forum “Investments - the resource of the future: new economy - new opportunities” was conducted in Petrozavodsk on the 12th of November. This year the forum gathered together 350 participants from six countries - Russia, Finland, Belarus, Poland, Canada, Estonia. About 1 000 people participated in the meetings.

Different plenary and breakout sessions, lectures, seminars, round tables and workshops were conducted in the capital of Karelia November 9-12. Participants discussed theoretical and practical aspects of regional development in the global economic environment. They paid particular attention to the investments as a resource of the future. During the forum there were three sections: science, education, and youth entrepreneurship.

As part of the section “Youth Entrepreneurship” a round table “Creative industries as a business area” was conducted. During this round table different areas such as handicrafts, photography, theater, museum were discussed. The coordinator of the project “Joining creativity” Ksenia Chumak told about the major activities and achievements of the project.

The organizer of the Youth Economic Forum is The Institute of Economics of the Karelian Research Centre of RAS with the support of the Government of the Republic of Karelia. Co-organizers are Petrozavodsk State University, Karelian branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. The general sponsor of the Youth Economic Forum this year is “Russian Agricultural Bank”

Autonomous Noncommercial Organization “The Center for promotion of the territories” together with the “Karelian Recourse Center of NGO’s” in 2016 continued the sociological research within the project “Civil society of the multi-ethnic region”, which was a continuation of the project initiative in 2015 – “Public potential of NGOs”.

These initiatives are supported by the Ministry of the Republic of Karelia for National Politics, Relations with Public and Religious Associations at the expense of the federal budget subsidies to the Republic of Karelia within the subprogram “Support for socially oriented noncommercial organizations in the Republic of Karelia” for 2014-2020 and the government program of the Republic of Karelia “The development of the civil society institutions and the development of local self-government, protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen” for 2014-2020.

The research showed that the civil society of the Republic of Karelia is developing dynamically in line with the social policy and in the context of the current challenges facing the country. The noncommercial sector, acting as the institutional foundation of civil society grows gradually and takes its place in the structure of the economy and employment as well as in the system of social services. The most important resource to enhance the activity of noncommercial organizations is the activity of citizens. The updating the organizations with staff and volunteers are based not on their desire to make money, but on the desire of people to realize their creativity and their ideas to participate in public life and gain social significance.

An information website of the NCO of the Republic of Karelia was developed and launched within the project (www.nko-karelia.ru). The site is designed to exchange information and cooperation among NGOs, government agencies and local governments.

Another result of the project was the launch of the booklet “Instruction booklet for public figure” (http://nko-karelia.ru/file/522). It contains the most urgent issues of support NGO activities in Karelia.

Further development of the project is in the maintenance and development of the research part and monitoring the formation of civil society in the Republic of Karelia, development and active use of the website and the formation of recommendations for executive bodies and local authorities to improve the work with NGOs and increase their role in socio-economic development of the region.

Study trip for representatives of creative industries

One of the main objectives of the project “Joining creativity” is the establishment of contacts among representatives of creative industries in Northwest Russia and the Nordic countries. On the 16-21 of October a study trip to Finland and Sweden for representatives of the creative industries was organized. During this trip the participants got acquainted with the creative industries and shared experiences, as well as looked for new and interesting ideas and useful contacts.

Representatives of the Republic of Karelia, St. Petersburg and Arkhangelsk took place in the trip. During the six-day trip they visited several universities, incubators and business centers, large and small enterprises, as well as workshops in Helsinki, Umeå, Skellefteå and Joensuu.

The study trip started with a visit to the Aalto University, where there are all conditions for students to develop at creative spheres. At the university there is a Media Factory (http://www.aalto.fi/en/about/for_media/) where the Fab lab situated. Fab lab is the laboratory or workshop for students and employees of the university, where they have the opportunity to use advanced equipment, as well as to receive consultation of professionals. In 2001, as part of social programs in the United States the first laboratory Fab Lab (abbreviation for fabrication or fabulous) was created in the MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms. It included such equipment as milling machines, which allows produce material, 3D printer for plastic parts, a tool for creating printed circuit boards, plotter for vinyl cutting and other similar equipment of production. This project was very successful and the network of laboratories Fab Lab has expanded all over the world - today there are more than one hundred of such laboratory-factories around the world. Moreover in the Media Factory of the Aalto University there are a Web studio, rental of video and photo equipment, classrooms and workshops.

At the Aalto University there is the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Within this school different programs in the field of design, digital media, fashion, audiovisual presentations, architecture, art education and visual culture are offered. Students have the opportunity to practice skills in many workshops situated at the University.

From Helsinki our group went to the Swedish city of Umeå, which is the sister city of Petrozavodsk, and the capital of Västerbotten region. For two days members of the group had an opportunity to plunge into the creative environment of Sweden. First stop was a family workshop (http://www.bildhuggarn.se/), where Monica and Erik Nilsson work with glass, wood, iron and stone. The hosts gave a tour over their work place and told how they work with different materials. They shared their experience about whether it is possible to provide for a family only working in creative industry.

Then the group visited the Centre “Sliperiet” (http://sliperiet.umu.se/en) at Umeå University, where we also found the possibilities which students and employees have to develop their skills. There is the Fab Lab laboratory in the Centre with plenty of work places and premises, where students can use the equipment and get expert advice.

After that the representatives of creative professions headed to the North - to the city of Skelleftea, which is called the “younger brother” of Umea. In Skelleftea there is a Center “The great northern” (http://krenova.se/), where companies and organizations from the sphere of the creative industries can get work place, access to advertising site of the Center, and most importantly - they can ask for advice from more experienced companies placed in the same building. Another advantage of such Center is a creative environment, where representatives of different fields can communicate, share experiences and ideas and support each other.

The study continued in the Finnish city of Joensuu, which is also the sister city of Petrozavodsk. The group was able to visit places such as the Centre for culture and crafts, office of the light artist Kari Kola (http://karikola.com), SF Sound Studio in the Finnish forest (http://www.sfsound.fi/eng/), and also Joensuu Science Park (http://www.tiedepuisto.fi/ru/frontpage), where there is an incubator for companies, for the development of computer games and the advenced technologies (http://processgenius.fi/index.php). Joensuu, so familiar to citizens of Petrozavodsk, was opened completely from the other side. It is the city where people keep the traditions alive and at the same time develop the new technology, where people can engage in crafts and create computer games, where all creative people gain support.

During the week representatives of the creative industries of the North-West of Russia got acquainted with the experience of Finland and Sweden. They were able  not only visit workshops, participate in workshops and ask questions directly to creative people, but also to learn how universities support students who have chosen the profession in the sphere of the creative industries, how a state provides support to the individual enterprises, and how different companies work together to help each other. This knowledge can be very useful both for the representatives of the universities and for entrepreneurs. In addition, during the trip direct contacts have been established, which is of prime importance to the project, because one of the main goals of the project is the help to internationalize the creative business.

Section “Creative industries as an important resource for the territory development” within the project “Joining creativity”

October 11, 2016 an Interregional Scientific and Practical Conference “ETHNO-CULTURAL COMPONENT AS A SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF MUNICIPALITIES” was conducted in the Karelian branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National economy and Public administration (RANEPA). It was held with the participation of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Karelia and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Karelia.

The conference was attended by 93 people. There were the representatives of municipal administrations, heads and deputies of the education and cultural institutions of the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk region, representatives of public organizations and others.

At the plenary session the spotlight reports were presented by Anna Tomchik (the Deputy Minister of culture of the Republic of Karelia), Elena Bogdanova (Vice-Rector of State Autonomous Institution of Continuing Professional Education of the Republic of Karelia “Karelian Institute of Education Development”), Irina Pavlova (Head of cultural and educational activities and external relations of the “Kizhi State Open Air Museum of History, Architecture and Ethnography”), Ksenia Chumak (Deputy Director General of The Karelian resource Center of NGO’s), Tatiana Sachuk (Doctor of Economics, Head of the Department of economy and Finance of the Karelian branch of RANEPA).

The section “Creative industries as an important resource for the territory development” was organized within the international project “Joining creativity”, which has been implemented by Karelian Resource Center of NGO’s since February 2016. Participants learned about the implementation process, heard 9 reports about the experience of the creative industries development in the Republic of Karelia, Arkhangelsk region, St. Petersburg, as well as Norway and Sweden. Speakers talked about the support programs of the creative industries in their regions and shared the most vital and successful examples, as well as identified existing problems.

After this meeting it can be said that today  the main problems is the lack of a unified approach to the definition of “creative industries” and a comprehensive statistical information on the companies and enterprises involved in this sector, as well as regulatory and legal support for the development of creative economy.

The collection of materials of the conference “Ethno-cultural component as a factor of socio-economic development of municipalities” will consist of reports presented at the conference, articles of absentee members, resolutions of each section and the speaker presentations.