At the government meeting, the Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Aida Balayeva, reported on the development of the creative industry in the republic. He pointed out that since 2021, the President has repeatedly emphasized the importance of increasing the share of this sector in the country's economy in his Addresses to the people of Kazakhstan. A special project office works in the republic, the concept of development of the industry was adopted, work was carried out on its institutional formation and stimulation of business in this field, Primeminister.kz reports. The number of registered entities engaged in creative industry in Kazakhstan exceeds 45.5 thousand, the share of the total added value in the country's GDP is 1%. More than 50% of all subjects are concentrated in Almaty and Astana, 70% of them are private entrepreneurs," said Aida Balayeva.

It was noted that a total of 143,600 people are employed in the creative sectors of our country. Among them, IT, architecture and fashion, cultural and recreational institutions, libraries and museums, as well as folk crafts are labor-intensive industries. 

From February 2024, within the framework of complex support measures for entrepreneurs in the creative field, a special tax regime of retail tax was introduced for them. As a result, within 1 year, the number of creative industry subjects increased by 15%, and the number of employed persons increased by 15%. 

According to the Ministry of Culture and Information, according to the results of the 2024 Global Innovation Index, Kazakhstan rose from 93rd to 65th place in the "Creative goods and services" indicator. Also, our country rose from 60th place to 31st place according to the indicator "National film production". Considering the simplified tax regime for the residents of "Astana Hub", as well as the close relationship between the IT industry and creative industries, it is clear that this industry has a great future. Considering that the draft of the new Tax Code is currently under discussion, we ask for consideration of a number of tax incentives for the creative industry. In addition to maintaining the special tax regime of "retail tax", they took part in setting reduced rates for value added tax and corporate income tax," said Aida Balayeva.

At the beginning of the year, the Head of State signed a law aimed at supporting the creative industry. These legislative changes are focused on three main directions, such as formation of institutional frameworks, infrastructure development and measures to support priority industries.

This law includes amendments on issues of support and development of creative industries. In particular, to expand the competence of authorized and local executive bodies, to determine the legal entity of the Government that promotes the development of creative industries, to approve the competence of the authorized body to develop and approve the rules of state support and stimulation of creative industries.

In addition, the second package of amendments has been developed and is being reviewed by the Majilis.

In addition, on Saturday, the Head of State signed the law on amendments to the Budget Code and related laws. Within the framework of these amendments, 3% of the lottery tickets sold by the national lottery operator are intended to be directed to the development of the creative industry. In his 2021 Address, the Head of State ordered the creation of a special institute to support the creative industry. Thus, in accordance with the law, a legal entity that promotes the development of the creative industry will be the Fund for the Development of Creative Industries," the minister said.

The fund will be created as a corporate fund with the participation of leading creative and educational organizations of Kazakhstan and will carry out activities in 4 main areas:

• Identification of talents (contests, creathons, organization of mobile production centers, search for talents in the regions).

• Projects development (acceleration and incubation of startups, commercialization, attracting investment).

• Infrastructure development (expansion of the network of hubs, creation of permanent art spaces, providing access to state property).

• Export support (exiting to foreign audiences, marketing and PR, copyright protection). 

According to the Minister of Culture and Information, such structures exist in leading countries of the world. The Creative England Foundation operates in Great Britain, and the Creative Korea Foundation operates in South Korea. This foundation is considered the main operator for the promotion of the Korean cultural wave (hallyu). One of the important directions of the Fund's activities is the development of venture investments in the creative industry. In this regard, a venture unit will be created on the basis of the IAF, attracting a pool of management companies, which will allow for effective placement of funds on an immediate and returnable basis," added Aida Balayeva. 

The next legislative innovation is to provide local executive bodies with competences for the development of the creative industry. This norm was adopted in order to create and develop creative hubs in the regions of the country. 

"Today, 12 creative hubs were opened across the republic. However, this work has not yet been completed in Akmola, Almaty, Zhetysu, Ulytau, Zhambyl, Karaganda, Kostanay and Pavlodar regions. Creative hubs should be the main infrastructure for the development of the creative industry in the regions. They become the center of the regional ecosystem and play an important role in attracting and working with talents," Aida Balayeva noted. 

In addition, additional educational centers for schoolchildren, colleges and higher education institutions, as well as private hubs and creative spaces will be involved in this system.

As Aida Balayeva stated, after the full formation of the creative ecosystem in the regions, regional hubs will work as local branches of the Creative Industries Development Fund. They offer creators a full package of services of the Foundation, work according to a unified methodology, use the resources of the Foundation and other hubs. Thus, the "extraterritorial" principle is implemented, i.e., subjects of the creative industry can receive services and support at the same level regardless of the region of the country.

Another legislative innovation is to define the competence of the Ministry of Culture and Information to develop and approve rules for state support and encouragement of the creative industry.

"The Ministry develops financial and non-financial tools aimed at supporting the industry. The main operators implementing these measures are the Creative Industries Development Fund, regional creative hubs and local executive bodies. World experience shows that it is ineffective to cover all types of activities in the creative industry at once. Therefore, in the initial stage, state support measures will be concentrated in specific priority directions," the speaker said.

As a result of the implementation of the planned works, the following indicators will be achieved by 2029:

• First. Increasing the number of people employed in creative industries by 5% annually (2025 - 143,600 people, 2026 - 150,780 people, 2027 - 158,319 people, 2028 - 166,235 people, 2029 - 174,546 people)

• Second. Increasing the number of business entities in creative industries by 5% annually (2025 - 45,500 units, 2026 - 47,775 units, 2027 - 50,163 units, 2028 - 52,672 units, 2029 - 55,305 units)

• Third. Increase the export of creative products and services by 5% annually (2025 - 96 million dollars, 2026 - 100 million dollars, 2027 - 105 million dollars, 2028 - 111 million dollars, 2029 - 116 million dollars)

• Fourth. Increase the share of creative industries in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to 2% by 2029 (2025 - 1.3%, 2026 - 1.5%, 2027 - 1.7%, 2028 - 1.9%, 2029 - 2.0%)

"To achieve these indicators, regional Akimats should create new conditions favorable to the development of the creative industry. Since not all facilities in the creative industry are directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Information, it is very important for local executive bodies to strengthen support measures. Currently, there are not enough cinemas, special buildings and infrastructure for the full functioning and development of the industry. Therefore, local akimats should pay special attention to this issue," noted Aida Balayeva.

According to the minister, investors should pay attention to the large-scale and promising potential of the creative industry and invest in projects based on the principles of public-private partnership.

"In particular, emphasis should be placed on the construction of large concert halls, creative hubs, cinemas and other creative spaces. These facilities will become centers that attract creative people and viewers, and stimulate the development of the entire industry. The Ministry is ready to provide all the necessary support in this direction," he said.

The head of state defined digitalization of all industries as a strategic task. In this regard, the meeting of the board of the Ministry of Culture and Information discussed the future measures for the digitalization of culture and art. 

The Ministry is implementing digital projects in the areas of culture, archive and library affairs, film industry, as well as non-governmental organizations data recording.

Today the following information systems work in the Ministry:

• "e-Archive" information system.

• "Non-Governmental Organizations Database" information system.

• "National Digital "library" information system.

• "Unified monitoring of film showing and film production organizations" (e-Kino) information system.

"Let me dwell on each system in more detail. The "e-Archive" information system is aimed at automating the activities of departmental and state archives. This system was put into industrial use in 2021. Currently, 2,269 state institutions are connected to the "e-Archive" system, including state bodies under the administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In addition, the system is integrated with 20 information systems of state bodies," explained Aida Balayeva.

The system provides 2 public services:

• Apostille of archival certificates.

• Providing archival certificates. 

  According to the instructions of the head of state, it is planned to create a National Digital Archive in order to present the culture of Kazakhstan in global digital resources.

  This project is aimed at solving the following tasks:

  • Saving archival documents in digital format,

  • Expanding access to archive materials, cultural values ​​and works of art,

  • Creating conditions for conducting scientific research and meeting the demands of citizens of Kazakhstan. 

  The functionality of the system will be expanded. Access to documents in various formats will increase. An attributive search engine will be launched, which will allow users to easily and quickly find the documents they need. The "e-Library" information system is aimed at preserving and promoting the national cultural print heritage, increasing access to it and using it effectively, as well as automating the library and information system," the minister said.

  This project will allow to increase the level of reading among the population, improve the quality of library services, and facilitate access to library resources.

  According to the Minister of Culture and Information, currently the system of the National Electronic Library (KazNEC) of our country has 80 There are more than a thousand copies of e-books. In 2024, more than 400 thousand users visited this portal. 

  "In the near future, the "Unified Automated Library System" will be developed and expanded on the basis of KazUEK. It is a centralized digital platform. Its purpose is to automate the processes of managing library resources, cataloging and optimization of services to readers, organizing information exchange between libraries in the country," said Aida Balayeva. 

  The "electronic reader's ticket" will be introduced in the system of BAKZ, through which it will be possible to use the electronic resources of libraries in the country, to get paper books, regardless of the location of the reader, through a single library network. Currently, this system is being tested in a pilot mode at the base of the National Library. Later, it will be expanded to regional, university and other libraries.

  In addition, the "Non-Governmental Organizations Database" system is working. This system was developed in order to ensure the transparency of NGO activity, regulate the placement of state social orders, issue grants and awards, inventory and record active NGOs in Kazakhstan. search,

  • Ensure finding donors and sources of funding.

  In December 2024, the "NGO database" system was transferred to the updated digital platform (esep.govtec.kz) as a result of joint work with the "Digital Government Support Center" of the Central Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan RK. in submission.

  "This year, it is planned to integrate the "NGO database" system with state databases. In particular, integration with state databases on individuals and legal entities, information systems of the State Revenue Committee, the "Arbitration" system of judicial bodies and other state databases will be carried out," the minister noted. This system is responsible for increasing transparency in the film industry and fair distribution of box office receipts in the country. "e-Kino" system receives data from the ticket sales system of cinemas in real time. The system allows to monitor the number of viewers and box office receipts for individual sessions and the region where the film is being shown, to monitor the process of downloading tickets, to analyze movie screenings and receipts by genre, language and country of production. 68 out of 103 cinemas are connected to the system. Cash receipts of 30.4 million tenge were taken into account. 20,310 tickets have been registered.

  Currently, the issue of testing the system's compliance with information security requirements is under consideration. This allows it to be put into industrial use.

  "Let's say that "e-Cinema" is the first step in digitalization of creative industries. It is also planned to launch a virtual network of museums of Kazakhstan - the web portal "E-Museum" this year. The new platform aims to make the cultural heritage of our country accessible to the whole world using visual and interactive technologies," said the speaker.

  Features of the portal:

  • 3D-modeling technologies are introduced,

  • Users from any country can get acquainted with the cultural heritage of Kazakhstan,

  • The catalog of the State Museum Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan is systematically maintained in electronic format.

  In the framework of this project, qualitative and complete collection of information from all museums in the country will be carried out, a digital platform of the museum fund will be created based on best world experience.

  In addition, the Ministry is implementing 4 digital initiatives using artificial intelligence:

  1. "Digital dubbing of content in the official language" and "Sign interpretation in the official language for the hearing-impaired and deaf citizens". 

  "Digitalization of the historical and cultural heritage of Kazakhstan"

  As part of the expansion of the project, a separate module will be launched to digitize the historical and cultural heritage of Kazakhstan, valuable exhibits and rare relics.

  The main goal is to visit the museums and theaters, exhibitions of Kazakhstan without leaving home, to get acquainted with the gold fund of Kazakhstan television.

  3. "National digital knowledge base with elements of artificial intelligence"

  National knowledge base with elements of artificial intelligence is a project for the creation of an integrated platform.

  "The project will be integrated with the "e-Library" and "e-Archive" systems, if necessary, it will be integrated with the systems of other state bodies," said Aida Balayeva. within the framework, the Ministry is working on eternal memory of the feats of front-line soldiers and front-line workers.

  Currently, the information portal "Homage to Heroes" is operating, where information about more than 100,000 fighters is posted.

  On May 9, a specially updated portal "Homage to Heroes" will be launched. This portal will be integrated with the "e-Archive" system in order to integrate all the data stored in the archival funds of Kazakhstan. Thus, every Kazakhstani can access the unique archival data of that period. The Ministry carries out digitization of the fields of culture, information, creative industry and book business not only within the framework of the above-mentioned initiatives and systems, but also on the basis of cooperation with leading companies in the field of IT. Creative industry and digitalization are considered important directions for the sustainable development of the economy and society today. Harmonious development of these two areas will increase the country's competitiveness and create new jobs," the minister concluded. 

  Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/kostanai-kostanai-nadezhdin/press/news/details/960334?lang=kk