Creative Central Asia Bishkek Forum 2021
Creative Central Asia 2021

Creative Central Asia Background

Launched by the British Council in 2017, Creative Central Asia (CCA) series of conference was designed to stimulate a new type of leadership conversation between the UK and Central Asia, focused on the creative and cultural economy. It aimed to build an influential and engaged leadership network through a series of international events, taking place annually in Central Asia in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Objectives for CCA:

  • To promote creative economy and engage with policymakers (government bodies and intermediate agencies) and private businesses in Central Asia and show them the potential of creative economy in the region.
  • To incorporate new types of tailored programming and grow a digital community.
  • To engage with the UK sector and open-up new potential partnerships, collaborations and exchange of knowledge and practices.
  • To raise awareness about creative economy and share the best success stories in the region.

The 4th edition of CCA (Bishkek Forum) took place online in March 2021. It was organised by the Creative Central Asia Network (CCAN) in partnership with ololo group of companies (Kyrgyzstan), and supported by the British Council. Please follow the link to watch video of the presentations from the Forum.

The year 2021 was declared International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development by UNESCO. To contribute to this year’s agenda the following Sustainable Development Goals were included in the discussions and open-calls:

  • Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
  • Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
  • Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
  • Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
  • Goal 17: Revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

In February–March 2021 a working group consisting of specialists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, with the advice of British expert John Newbigin, created a model road map for the development of a creative economy, which is relevant primarily for post-Soviet countries of Central Asia. The road map was presented on 30 March 2021 during the final day of the Creative Central Asia Forum.

You can find more information about the previous events here:

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