The first call to open is for concept support. The grants support the development of new cultural content, innovation in creative industry products and services, and cooperation between the cultural sector and other sectors. A total of 600,000 euros will be distributed from the separate funding allocated by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

DigiDemo, CreaDemo and CreMa grants can be applied for from the beginning of May to the beginning of August. The grants support the development of new cultural content, innovation in creative industry products and services, and cooperation between the cultural sector and other sectors.

The use of cultural content on digital platforms is growing, but less and less of the revenue goes to the authors. At this summer’s SuomiAreena, authors called for stronger measures from policy-makers to ensure that people can make a living from the digital use of their works, now and in the future.

Today, the Suomi elää luovuudesta (In Finland, creativity is life) campaign handed in its petition to Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (Centre Party). In the petition, more than 4,700 well-known creative professionals and citizens appeal for increasing the appreciation and acknowledgement of the sector: for Finland, creative industries provide opportunities for sustainable growth and internationally significant commercial activities. The signees appealed to the Minister to convert cutbacks into investments and, in the future, place creative professions on an equal footing with other forms of livelihood.

How can creative professionals earn a living through digital platforms? How can legislation enable cultural vitality and continuity? These questions will be discussed in the SuomiAreena event of 13 July, where the creative industry will look into the future.

The message of the title seems obvious, but unfortunately it is not. In her blog post, our communications specialist Iina Saarinen asks what kind of value we are ready to give to the creative industry now that it is in crisis.

The DigiDemo and CreaDemo grants awarded by AVEK to the creative industries will be cut by half in 2021. Distributed for almost 20 years, these grants are funded from a special appropriation granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture that comes from profits obtained from gaming operations. AVEK’s product development support has helped companies and products such as Supercell, Gigglebug Entertainment, Arilyn and Oikiat Design’s Vaatelaastari (FabPatch) get started. The drastic decrease in the amount of financial support is a new blow to the creative industries and threatens their reform and innovation.

“The beginning of new stories is in jeopardy,” writes Director of AVEK Ulla Simonen in her blog. The DigiDemo and CreaDemo grants distributed by AVEK will be cut by half in 2021, and the future of the appropriation is unknown.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, grants have been awarded normally and the number of applications has increased by 17% compared with the previous year. The grant application process has been developed to be more interactive and equal.

At the autumn budget session, the Ministry of Finance cut 3.3 million euros from the appropriation intended for the operating expenses of the Finnish National Agency for Education, included in the proposal of the Ministry of Education and Culture. This cut will further weaken the operating conditions of the creative industries that are already facing challenges.