New Creative Industries Council and innovation program: groundbreaking impetus for the future of the creative industries

On September 4, 2024, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economic Affairs (BMAW) invited guests to the Ars Electronica Center in Linz to present the new "Innovation Program for Creative Industries 2030" of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economic Affairs (BMAW) and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), the new Creative Industries Council of the BMAW and the current figures of the Creative Industries Report 2024 of the Creative Industries Austria (KAT) as part of the Ars Electronica Festival at the event "Connecting the Dots - Innovative Creative Industries 2030".

 

The new innovation program for the creative industries 2030 builds on the creative industries strategy for Austria from 2016, three quarters of which had been successfully implemented by the end of 2023 and is considered a best-practice example throughout Europe. In light of the multiple crises of our time, the drive and motives for innovation have changed. The focus is no longer solely on increasing competitiveness, employment and prosperity, but innovation has become a key component for the goal of systemic transformation. The innovative strength of the creative industries is indispensable for this and the sector is ideally suited to this task due to its specific skills and its way of thinking and working. For these reasons, a new basic paper has been created.

 

"The creative industries are an important economic and innovation factor for Austria, especially when it comes to shaping the triple transition - the green, digital and social transformation - and meeting current challenges with innovative solutions. The industry is characterized by innovative strength and the ability to develop imaginative solutions with creative approaches. With the new innovation program, we want to further strengthen the creative industries as active co-creators of the ecological, social and digital transformation and support them in making a contribution to positive change in the economy and society. The new Creative Industries Council accompanies and advises the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economic Affairs on this path",

says Minister of Labor and Economic Affairs Martin Kocher.

 

The BMAW works together with Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft GmbH (aws) and KAT to implement the goals and fields of action of the Creative Industries 2030 innovation program for the creative industries in Austria. Monetary funding is awarded by aws through the aws Preseed - Innovative Solutions and aws Seedfinancing - Innovative Solutions programs, which are also open to projects in the creative industries. KAT, a working group based in the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, supports the creative industries with innovation services and open innovation formats, financed with funds from the BMAW, among others.

 

KAT reaches out to the creative industries on a broad scale with low-threshold offers and creates an offer for those companies that want to realize their innovation potential in the triple transition. The measures are aimed at those players in the creative industries in Austria who are already working in a highly innovative and impact-oriented manner, as well as those who want to develop their innovation potential and thus achieve added value for the economy and society. It also addresses companies that want to develop further and drive innovation in collaboration with the creative industries.

 

"The future of the economy will be shaped by innovative approaches. The creative industries play a decisive role in this because, as the driving force behind the digital transformation, they generate pioneering applications and business models based on new technologies. This opens up considerable potential for economic growth and progress. She is also a courageous pioneer when it comes to developing new, unusual and disruptive ideas and bringing completely new approaches to our economy. She combines passion, courage and creative power to shape a new vision of shared economic activity, strengthen Austria's competitiveness and ignite the turbo for growth and innovation",

says Mariana Kühnel, Deputy Secretary General of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.

 

The BMAW's new Creative Industries Council was presented at the event. This replaces the previous Creative Industries Council of the BMAW. The members of the council are Christopher Lindinger (Chair), Stephanie Meisl (Deputy Chair), Markus Schmeiduch, Gerhard Abel, Julia Körner-Al-Rawi, Martin Filipp, Irina Nalis and Sabrina Oswald. The new committee thus comprises concentrated expertise in various areas of the creative industries such as architecture, digital, design, artificial intelligence, fashion, games, art, transformation processes, advertising and communication. It is an honorary activity. The Creative Industries Council will provide impetus for improving and shaping the creative industries ecosystem and act as a mouthpiece for the community. It will act as a bridge to other institutions and bodies in order to further anchor the topic of the creative industries in innovation policy and drive forward the implementation of the Innovation Program 2030 in the best possible way.

 

KAT's current Austrian Creative Industries Report 2024 was also presented at the event. The Austrian Creative Industries Report 2024 underlines the central importance of the creative industries for Austria. The 77,000 companies with 200,000 employees generated a turnover of over 28 billion euros and a gross operating surplus of 3.7 billion euros in 2021. In terms of the significance of these indicators, this corresponds to around 4% of the overall economy.

 

"The Creative Industries Report 2024 marks the beginning of a new era for the creative industries. Due to an evaluation change at Statistics Austria, we were able to obtain a complete picture of the creative industries for the first time, because from now on even the smallest companies, those with an annual turnover of less than 10,000 euros, will be included in the statistics. The expanded statistical coverage shows a strong increase in companies that are to be strengthened in their innovative capacity through targeted packages of measures. The creative industries are a key driver of economic development and the implementation of innovations in the "Triple Transition",

emphasizes the chairman of Kreativwirtschaft Austria, Gerin Trautenberger.

 

Further information on the members of the Creative Industries Council and the Innovation Program for Creative Industries 2030 can be found on the BMAW website https://www.bmaw.gv.at/Themen/Wirtschaftsstandort-Oesterreich/Kreativwirtschaft.html.

The Austrian Creative Industries Report 2024 can be accessed via the following link on the KAT website: www.kreativwirtschaft.at/oesterreichischer-kreativwirtschaftsbericht-2024

© BMAW

Kreativwirtschaft Austria is a recipient of funding from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor and implements measures as part of the BMAW's Creative Industries 2030 innovation program in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.