site.btaProgramme Supporting Creative Industries to Be Launched by Year's End

Innovation and Growth Minister Milena Stoycheva Tuesday said a programme which sets the support and development of the creative industries as one of its priorities would be launched by the year's end. She held a working meeting with Varna Mayor Ivan Portnih, attended by Tourism Minister Zaritsa Dinkova and Deputy Culture Minister Viktor Stoyanov.

Intellectual capacity is concentrated in cultural institutes, which can help create innovations; therefore the development of cultural and creative industries should be prioritized, the Minister added.

One of the biggest policy changes is that the new wave of project funding will not be based on infrastructure but on human resources, Stoycheva said. Besides, whereas funding used to be mostly available to larger actors from certain sectors, now the idea is to support small and medium-sized beneficiaries, including start-ups and craftspeople who need equipment.

Stoycheva said the programme has a budget of BGN 117 million. It includes a measure that will finance projects in which municipalities and the business industry interact, she added, stressing that public-private partnership in Bulgaria needs a boost.

For the first time at national level, several ministries are working with local authorities to create a new product and brand Bulgaria as a destination linked not just to innovation but also to other key value-adding sectors, including the cultural and historical heritage and the cultural sector, Stoycheva added.