We have a creative industry, but we don’t really know what to do with it. We excel in software creation, in the publishing and advertising industry, but we do not have regulations that allow “creatives” to realize their potential.
Mădălina Oprişan , editor of AlTreileaSector.ro
Insufficient funding and lack of legislation are two of the biggest problems facing those working in the creative industries in Romania, whether they work for a non-governmental organization or a company. The “creatives” blame the authorities, whom they say prefer to promote, above all, “high culture.”
Creative industries generate 5.93% of Romania’s Gross Domestic Product (2009)
The phrase “creative industries” refers to: music and performing arts, art, film, photo-video, software and computer games, publishing, TV, fashion, design, crafts, radio and advertising
The situation in the country contrasts with what is happening at European level where the economy based on creative industries is constantly growing. For example, the European Union’s newest framework program for the cultural and creative industries will be called “Creative Europe” and will have a budget of € 1.8 billion.
The program will have three distinct funding lines: culture, media and a cross-cutting line dedicated to guaranteeing bank loans for the cultural and creative sectors and cooperation in the field of cultural policies. The “Creative Europe” initiative will be open to all legal entities in the cultural and creative sector: public institutions, non-governmental organizations and private companies. However, individuals and informal initiative groups will not be able to apply directly for funding.
“An NGO should know that in order to access the funds of the Creative Europe Program 2014-2020, it must propose a project with a European cooperation dimension, involving at least two other institutional partners from two other countries participating in this Community program”, says Bianca Floarea, an expert at the Center for Research and Consulting in the Field of Culture , an organization that will coordinate the program in Romania.
There is talk globallyabout a revolution of cultural and creative industries, based on technology, communication infrastructure, networks, but also on cultural traditions and events. Large global centers of creativity, such as New York and London, are characterized by clear regulations on copyright laws, impeccable education systems, strong transport nodes and support from local government. By comparison, in our country a political discourse on creativity is barely emerging and we still do not have a law to support the creative industries. “Bucharest has the potential to become a regional hub of creativity in Eastern Europe, if it is supported by the right cultural infrastructure: networks, equipment and workspaces that allow the capitalization of creative forces in the area,” said Andrew Senior, UNESCO , during the first National Forum of Cultural Industries , an event that took place at the end of October in Bucharest .
