MUMBAI — As I attended the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in the early days of May, I found myself not just a journalist covering an event, but a dreamer swept up in something far larger than headlines and press kits. I was in the middle of a movement.
Aida Haidar.
And where better for such a movement to unfold than Mumbai — not just a city, but a pulse. A vibrant, ever-beating heart of color, chaos, and creativity that doesn’t just welcome you. It absorbs you.
In the span of a few unforgettable days, I walked through the buzzing halls of the summit and stood just meters away from living legends of Indian cinema — Shah Rukh Khan and Mithun Chakraborty. These are not merely actors. They are architects of emotion, whose on-screen worlds once flickered across Kazakh television screens, etching their names into the imaginations of millions, including mine, long before I ever held a microphone or passport.
But it wasn’t just the stardust that left me speechless. It was a line spoken by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he inaugurated the summit: “Screen size may be getting smaller, but the scope is becoming infinite.”
A simple observation but a profound truth. It reminded me that in the age of smartphones and streaming, the ability to influence hearts and minds has never been more accessible — or more powerful.
Modi called upon the world’s creators to “dream big and tell your story ” urging investors to “invest not just in platforms, but in people.” He emphasized that creativity is not a luxury. It is a force. And India, with its rich cultural heritage and fearless storytelling, is investing heavily in it: the country aims to grow its creative market to $50 billion by 2029.
As I stood amid India’s creative crescendo, I found myself thinking: What about Kazakhstan?
We, too, have stories that stretch far beyond the steppe. We have poets and painters, visionaries and musicians. We have cinematic potential, deep-rooted traditions, and modern energy surging from our cities. And yet, our creative sector remains a sleeping giant, barely stirred.
According to the Creative Economy Outlook 2024 by the UN Trade and Development, global creative services exports reached a staggering $1.4 trillion in 2022 — a 29% increase since 2017. Meanwhile, creative goods rose to $713 billion, up 19%. This isn’t fringe economics. This is the future.
Kazakhstan has taken notice, and we’re starting to step into the spotlight. However, I believe our progress must be more than just a footnote in policy. It must become a national strategy. Creativity isn’t just about self-expression. It’s about diplomacy, economy and connection. The WAVES summit, where ministers, artists, and thinkers from around the globe shared their cultural achievements, showed me exactly what’s possible when creativity becomes a country’s calling card.
Like India, Kazakhstan is home to a diverse array of cultures, traditions, and languages. We have flavors — literal and metaphorical — that can captivate global audiences if only we dare to share them. India’s example reminded me that the world doesn’t need us to mimic others. It needs us to be ourselves — loudly, proudly, and with purpose.
As I watched a performance that traced the history and mythology of Indian civilization, I saw a nation that doesn’t run from its complexity — it celebrates it. And in that celebration, it finds strength. That’s the kind of vision we must nurture at home.
We must build our platforms for storytelling and support our filmmakers, designers, musicians, animators, and digital creators. Our young people deserve to believe that their imagination has value, not just as a hobby, but as a profession and a contribution to the nation’s progress.
India’s message is clear: when you tell your story, the world listens. And when you invest in creativity, you invest in peace, identity, and shared humanity.
So thank you, India, for this reminder — for this wave. A wave I’m determined to bring back with me to Kazakhstan. Let us ride it together.
