A ny capable manager, any firm trying to break into or improve its position on a competitive market, would give simple advice: it is not enough simply to mas- ter what the competition is already doing; you’re al- ready running behind. You need to be bold, to go further. That’s how you hit the spotlight. That’s how you become a leader. The situation is the same when it comes to po- sitioning Serbia, which metaphorically speaking is a start-up brand in the field of the global creative in- dustries. Competition is fierce and fast-moving, with technological advances visible and measurable on a daily basis. Even the United Nations has proclaimed 2021 the year of the creative economy. In Serbia, unfortunately, the creative industries are still unfairly regarded as something of an elitist pursuit – despite them contributing as much as 4.5% to Serbia’s GDP and employing more than 115,000 people – more than 70 per cent of whom are highly educated, and many of whom are women. Over the last four years, the exports of Serbia’s creative indus- tries have increased by as much as 46.7%! These inspirational statistics are the reason why Prime Minister Ana Brnabić founded the Creative In- dustries Council and the national platform Serbia Cre-
of the National Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as the Vranje The- atre, which burned down seven years ago. We brought together more than 400 of the most tal- ented people from our diaspora, with whom we have established continuous cooperation, at two annual conferences in Belgrade. We have started remodelling a beautiful building in London into a hub for Serbian creatives and entrepreneurs, and we will renovate the old Lozionica (Turning Yard) in Belgrade into a multi-purpose centre of creativity and culture. We have actively promot- ed Serbia as a film shooting destination and now entire seasons of American TV series are being fully produced in the country. And last autumn saw the BBC declare Bel- grade one of the five most creative cities in the world! Erich Fromm said that creativity arises when a person abandons their comfort zone, and that’s exactly what we do. This year we are launching new, ambitious and audacious cre- ative projects that nobody has previously had the courage to attempt. We’ve stepped out of our comfort zone. And Serbia is already creating. Why not join us?
ates. The goal of Serbia Creates is twofold: first to support and enhance the work of institutions and individuals involved in the creative indus- tries in Serbia, in order to boost their global com- petitiveness. This includes promoting the best and most talented people we have. The fore- most among them are the Creative Ambassa- dors of the Serbia Creates platform, who include world-famous and widely respected artists, sci- entists, innovators etc. The second goal of Serbia Creates is to promote the notion that innovation, creativ- ity and inventiveness are rooted deep within Serbia’s DNA. During the first year of work, our Serbia Creates projects have included the retrospec- tive exhibition of Marina Abramović in Bel- grade, which made Serbia the topic of an in- ternational media buzz and a cultural debate that was precisely the intention of our plat- form. Our team also oversaw the re-opening
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