Western Balkans leaders emphasize creative economy and strategic policy management

Montenegrin culture minister Tamara Vujović opened a ministerial forum on the creative economy in Herceg Novi, highlighting the sector as a key driver of regional development and a strategic resource for the Western Balkans. The event, organized during Montenegro’s presidency of the Berlin Process with support from the British Council, aims to strengthen political backing, share experiences and define common actions for the creative sector, which links culture, education, innovation, digital technologies and the labour market. EU Commissioner Glenn Micallef noted that the cultural and creative sectors employ nearly eight million people in the EU and generate close to €200 billion in annual value, underscoring the sector’s economic and social importance.

Professor Jove Kekenovski argued that, after more than two decades of adopting national strategies across the Western Balkans, the region now faces a critical gap in managing and implementing those strategies. He calls for a second‑generation strategic governance model built on eleven pillars, including evidence‑based planning, SMART indicators, integrated implementation, financial sustainability, continuous monitoring, independent evaluation, transparency, institutional continuity, academic partnership, digital management and ongoing adaptation. The analysis points to weak monitoring mechanisms, limited evaluation capacity and poor linkage between strategic goals and budget planning as major obstacles to turning written strategies into concrete results.