Growth Reimagined offers a unique opportunity to experience the vibrant and rapidly evolving creative scene of the Western Balkans at its best, with Kotor serving as a vibrant hub for exchange and collaboration.
In partnership with CIM Forum and BEYOND Studio, the British Council is presenting Growth Reimagined – a one-and-a-half-day programme on the creative economy as part of CIM Forum 2025, taking place in Kotor from 29 to 30 May 2025. We are bringing together expertise from the UK and across the region, creating opportunities for connection and knowledge exchange among creative economy professionals.
Themes like policy and advocacy, digital impact and emerging technologies, entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as the reinvention of cultural spaces will be explored through the lens of partnerships, highlighting their role in unlocking opportunities and addressing challenges in the creative economy.
The creative industries play a crucial role in generating employment, attracting investment, and increasing exports, while also contributing to place-based regeneration and the preservation of cultural heritage. By convening voices from across the Western Balkans and Wider Europe region including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan alongside the UK, the event facilitates connections, encourages cross-border exchange, and supports the sustainable growth of the creative industries.
This event will provide a platform for dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and the exchange of best practices to support the development of a connected Western Balkans and Wider Europe creative market.
SPEAKERS AND SESSIONS
About the British Council’s arts work in Wider Europe
For over 80 years, the British Council has been building connections between the UK and Wider Europe. Our work in the arts focuses on enabling artistic exchange, advancing the development of the creative economy in the region, and catalysing how the arts can help to address critical global challenges. We partner with artists, creative professionals, organisations, and institutions—together, we champion the arts as a powerful force for innovation and positive change.
Through our Creative Economy programme, we share knowledge, expertise, and networks with creative professionals and policymakers, enabling them to drive change and shape resilient creative economies. Our work focuses on policy, research, advocacy, and capacity building, and plays a key role in fostering creativity, supporting sustainable growth, and encouraging a collaborative approach to creative economy development across the region.
About BEYOND Studio
- BEYOND Studio is an independent team of specialists in event direction, communications, and partner engagement for the Creative Industries. As the creators of the BEYOND Conference, the Immersive Futures Lab, and the Creative Economy Digest, they drive initiatives that foster innovation and collaboration.
- BEYOND Studio is based in the UK with an international client base, they reach over 52,000 people, amplifying projects, insights, and impacts within the UK's Creative and Cultural Industries while creating spaces for meaningful knowledge exchange and business connections.
Berlin Process: WB6 Ministerial Forum on Creative Economy
One day ahead of the Growth Reimagined programme, on 28 May 2025, the Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Creative Economy, part of the Berlin Process, will be held in Kotor, bringing together Ministers of Culture, Education, and Economy from across the region to explore the potential of the creative economy as a driver of sustainable growth, cultural identity, and social cohesion.
The outcomes of the Forum aim to shape policies and deliver tangible actions that will strengthen collaboration and investment. By fostering partnerships and exploring new opportunities, the event contributes to the growth of a dynamic and interconnected creative economy across the Western Balkans, balancing the region’s rich cultural heritage with future innovation.
Click here to find out more about this event.
