Azerbaijan Introduces Rules For Grant Funding Of Cultural Projects

A procedure is being established for holding competitions for the grant financing of cultural projects, AzerNEWS reports.

This issue is reflected in the proposed amendments to the Law "On Culture," which were included in the agenda of the parliamentary session held on April 10.

Although the Law "On Grants" does not impose any restrictions on the provision of grants to legal and natural persons, the "Rules for State Financing of Cultural Events Conducted by Non-Governmental Organizations," approved by Resolution No. 292 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated August 26, 2014, define only the procedure for financing cultural events carried out by NGOs.

There is a need to approve a specific procedure to regulate grant financing for cultural events not only for NGOs but also for other types of legal entities as well as individuals.

Taking this into account, a draft law has been prepared proposing amendments to the Law "On Culture" in order to establish procedures for holding competitions for grant financing of cultural projects.

At the same time, although the current law includes regulations related to the creative industry, it does not define this term. The expression "cultural and creative industries" has been used in the Action Plan of the "Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2022–2026," in the "Azerbaijan Culture – 2040 Cultural Concept," and in other documents. In this regard, the draft also envisages defining the concept of "cultural and creative industries."

The draft law was adopted in the third reading.

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