Global Creative Economy Leaders Recognise Kyrgyzstan’s Experience as a Leading Model for the World,On 23 October 2026, during the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) in Jakarta, a delegation of the Kyrgyz Republic led by Deputy Minister Bena,Global Creative Economy Leaders Recognise Kyrgyzstan’s Experience as a Leading Model for the World,

On 23 October 2026, during the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) in Jakarta, a delegation of the Kyrgyz Republic led by Deputy Minister Benazir Nurlanova and members of the Supervisory Board of Kyrgyzstan’s Creative Industries Park held an important meeting with leading international experts who helped lay the foundations of creative economy theory.

During the meeting, the Kyrgyz side presented comprehensive information on the current state and development trends of the Kyrgyz Republic’s creative sector. The Deputy Minister provided a detailed account of institutional reforms, noting that the Creative Industries Park has become an effective mechanism for fostering a favourable environment for developing new business models, attracting investment, creating jobs and exporting national creative products without geographical restrictions.

The Kyrgyz delegation met with members of the Global Council for the Creative Economy, who shape global policy in this field. They included:

John Newbigin, OBE — the Mayor of London’s Ambassador for the Creative Industries, a co-founder of Creative UK and an internationally recognised thought leader who coined the term “creative economy”. He helped lay the foundations for government recognition of this industry in the United Kingdom, which is now a global leader in the sector.

Martin Smith — an international expert, a researcher at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a leading consultant in the cultural industries.

Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg — a distinguished international expert and economist, and the founder and head of the Creative Economy Programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She played a key role in integrating the creative economy into the United Nations’ global agenda and is a leading international adviser on the development of government strategies for the creative sector.

Ricky Pesik — a prominent Indonesian expert in marketing and the creative economy, and one of the principal organisers of the first WCCE.

Dwinita Larasati — a respected Indonesian researcher and a lecturer in the Industrial Design programme at the Bandung Institute of Technology (FSRD ITB).

In assessing the Kyrgyz Republic’s achievements, the international experts agreed that the country’s experience demonstrates the successful implementation of a fundamentally new approach. They noted that the impetus for development comes from the grassroots, through local initiatives, while the state swiftly creates the conditions for scaling them up.

John Newbigin and Ricky Pesik, co-chairs of the conference, praised the reforms in the republic. John Newbigin stressed that WCCE’s greatest asset is the diversity of case studies presented at the conference from around the world. As his first and most striking example of successful creative policy implementation, he cited the Creative Industries Park of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Martin Smith also praised Kyrgyzstan’s experience, admitting that just six years earlier he would not have believed that a country such as Kyrgyzstan would seriously commit to developing the creative economy. He emphasised that Kyrgyzstan’s Creative Industries Park is now a remarkable example of how fiscal measures are used effectively to stimulate the creative sector. According to Smith, this unique experience should be studied and its practices adopted by all countries around the world.

Recognition of Kyrgyzstan’s experience at the highest international level confirms the significance of the country’s chosen policy course towards developing the creative economy.

The Kyrgyz Republic’s participation in the global creative forum helps strengthen the country’s image as a progressive centre of innovation, while also opening up major opportunities for knowledge exchange, international cooperation and the promotion of the republic’s creative economy in new markets.

For reference: The World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) is an international platform for discussing the role of creative industries in economic development, shaping public policy and strengthening cooperation between countries. At the global creative forum in Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan was presented as an outstanding example of creative economy development in a small country where initiatives originate within creative communities themselves and the state provides unprecedented institutional conditions for their growth.