USAID, Sweden and the UK will continue to develop strategic partnerships with the Creative Industries Association (COR) and provide support to Artcor and Mediacor.
This was announced by USAID Deputy Head of Mission John Riordan during a general meeting of COR. According to him, USAID is proud to be a strategic partner of COR, supporting its creation in 2017 and development over the past three years. “We are witnessing the growing role of the association in defining the socio-economic prospects of the creative industries in Moldova. The Artcor Center, the first project of the association, is the epicenter of the creative community of the republic and unites more than 10 thousand professionals. We are looking forward to the launch of the next flagship project - Mediacor (Digital Media Production Center) by the fall of 2021. This unique project for Moldova will contribute to the sustainable development of media industries and independent media,” said John Riordan. It is planned that USAID, in partnership with Sweden, Great Britain and the US Embassy in Moldova, will invest about $2 million in the development of the Mediacor infrastructure. Another $1 million of co-investment (including in kind) will come from the State University of Moldova and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research. Mediacor includes two elements: training (communication, journalism, physics, mathematics, engineering, sociology, philosophy) and business (production of audio and video content). The development of a new project began about six months ago; its launch is planned by the end of 2021. During the meeting, it was noted that with the support of the Moldova Competitiveness Project, COR is preparing institutional mechanisms to attract future residents of the center and develop modern audio and video production technologies. In particular, work is underway to enact the law on the "compensation mechanism" (Cash Rebate) to provide international partners with incentives for film production (up to 30% discount on the total production budget spent in Moldova). The corresponding regulation has already been developed and is ready for government approval. This mechanism is expected to put Moldova on the map of global film production, along with regional competitors such as Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine and Georgia, which have already implemented similar cash rebate programs. Speaking about the potential of the creative industry in Moldova, Olga Radu, President of the COR Association, recalled that in 2020, through the joint efforts of the Moldova Competitiveness Project, the COR Association, the Investment Agency and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, the profile of the country's creative industry was developed for the first time. This industry is formed by 2.8 thousand local creative companies and 13 thousand specialists (not counting about 3 thousand freelancers), and the export of goods and services of the creative industry is estimated at $200 million. John Riordan also noted the decisive role of the COR association in developing the competitiveness of creative industry at the national and international levels, for the cohesion and cooperation of participants in this industry. “COR paves the way for the development of Moldova's creative economy, which contributes to the creation of jobs that are resistant to automation, the introduction of innovations and the enhancement of the well-being of society. The Association has great potential, but is also responsible for managing the development of Artcor and Mediacor centers, guided by the principles of sustainability, transparency, partnership and fair play,” concluded the USAID Deputy Head in Moldova. // 10.03.2021 - InfoMarket.
