Markov identified three main tasks for Belarusian culture: trust, digitalization, and promotion

Belarus celebrated the Day of Cultural Workers on October 11. More than 42,000 people work in this industry. It is these people who have dedicated themselves to the service of art that have a special merit in increasing the spiritual wealth of the country. Every year their ranks are replenished by young specialists. In the talk show “Budni” on the YouTube channel “SBTV” and “Alfa Radio”, the Minister of culture Marat Markov spoke about people working in culture, and about the changes that are currently being worked on in this area.

According to Marat Markov, in the sphere of culture people always come first, because without them this direction simply would not exist:

The sphere of culture unites a huge number of people and organizations that work in this direction. Many create scenery for concerts, write music, not being full-time employees of some organizations, perform songs, organize holidays and so on. Moreover, shared the opinion of Marat Markov, culture is a rather complex and even tender sphere, because creative people with talents are very vulnerable:

- Of course, this must be taken into account in your work. But culture is always a two-way process: if the state takes care of it, the workers of the sphere also work for the benefit of their country.

In general, the sphere of culture in Belarus includes more than 2,000 libraries, 150 museums, 28 professional theaters, more than 5,600 objects of historical and cultural values, more than 2,000 clubs. This is an extremely diverse area, the minister stressed:

- The vast majority of cultural workers love their jobs. They are dedicated to their profession, despite the fact that it is, unfortunately, one of the lowest paid professions today. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, discussed and found ways to improve the situation.

Marat Markov also spoke about several key tasks of the cultural sphere that require implementation:

- The first task is to restore confidence in culture on the part of the state and society. The second is the digitalization of culture. However, many countries are following this path. Work is underway on a single digital database that will unite all library collections of our country. This makes it easy to access any source or library.

Marat Markov also noted that he would like to unite all Belarusian cultural heritage and be able to find information about the work of museums, exhibitions and exhibits at any time.

- The third challenge, of course, is the creative industry. We have such valuable cultural resources that they can generate income. And now the whole world is on that path. There is a lot of money in the creative industries. For example, China and the United States earn hundreds of billions a year in creative industries, Marat Markov continued.

He explained that Belarus has everything necessary to create cinema: personnel, technical potential, rich experience, and history. However, today Belarus is not developing the production component, which is why we cannot effectively promote and sell our own cinema, and therefore make money on it.

- The same goes for other areas: our theatre productions are really good, and our museum holdings are rich and valuable. But their potential is not fully realized: you need to build a competent PR to attract not tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands and even millions of visitors. This is an achievable and natural goal, Marat Markov added.

First of all, it is important to adjust the approach and take a new look at the promotion of our cultural products. Marat Markov said that there is a real cultural wealth in Belarus, and it can be turned into a resource, offering people the opportunity to touch it, to see, hear, feel the spirit of our culture. Belarusians love their art, and it should be shown to everyone

- We have a visa-free regime, and this is a great opportunity to attract guests from other countries. I want tourists to come to the performances of the Bolshoi Theatre, to the landmark exhibitions in the Art Museum, to our local history museums. The main thing is to make it attractive for viewers and tourists. There are so many directions. And here we need to create an environment of like-minded people, that is, people who are not just devoted to this profession, but are burning with their work and Belarusian culture and want to share it with people.

The talk show "Budney" airs Monday to Friday morning on "Alpha Radio". Each issue discusses the most relevant topics from the life of the country and the world. Political scientists, scientists, public figures and journalists of leading media participate in the discussions. See the full version of the program on the VIDEOBEL.BY website and on the SBTV YouTube channel.