The cultural and creative sectors are an economic and societal asset and provide an important contribution to the EU GDP. The New European Agenda for Culture and Work Plan for Culture (2019-2022) underline the importance of cultural and creative sectors for innovation, job creation, cohesion and well-being of societies. The creation of this supporting ecosystem is more than ever crucial now after the Covid-19 onslaught. The outbreak of the pandemic has already threatened the future of artists, culture and creative professionals (ACCPs). The pandemic crisis has made ACCPs unable to continue their activities, unless they have the possibility to follow different business models. The cultivation of entrepreneurial attitude, the upgrade of the role of innovation in business, the orientation towards digital cultural offer and presence on the internet, and the promotion of collaborations could support ACCPs to survive from the pandemic crisis and be prepared for the new era after the pandemic. It is believed that the pandemic crisis will spur the digitalization of culture and accelerate the digital shift, while competition in the digital markets will call for more plural products. Survival in the new era will be based on new business models, digitalization, collaboration, innovation, adaptation, flexibility. Under this scope the ArtCRelief project aims to cultivate the entrepreneurial and business mindset of ACCPs in order to survive through the crisis and be prepared for the new conditions that will follow. The main project’s objectives are to: a)Create a comprehensive, multidimensional training for ACCPs adaptable to local/national contexts and needs imposed by the pandemic crisis; b)Cultivate the entrepreneurial and digital mindset of ACCPs; c)Provide ACCPs with knowledge about new business models, based on the digitalization of culture and use of ICT for the promotion of creative products; d)Promote ACCPs active motivation in order to become more cooperative-oriented, embracing social entrepreneurial models; e)Create an attractive and easy-to-be-used training material for ACCPs in order to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and competences that will prepare them for the after pandemic era; f)Create a tailor-made virtual community space for education sharing/exchanges purposes as well as for the development of collaboration and innovation culture between ACCPs and other stakeholders; g)Raise awareness among policy makers, stakeholders and other organizations, involved in education & training as well as in arts, culture and creative sectors. Seven organizations from Mediterranean, Balkan and Baltic countries with experience in adult education training programmes’ design and delivery, business consultancy, academic sector, ACCPs sector, as well as organizations supporting digitalization and social innovation, and a research organisation active in the field of culture are members of the ArtCRelief partnership. Four of them are newcomers in Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships. The consortium plans to involve 50 stakeholders and 38 individuals from the main target group of ACCPs, unemployed, employees in CE or self employed, in the development of the project activities and reach more ACCPs and other relevant stakeholders through multiplier events (265) and dissemination. At least 12 will be ACCPs with fewer opportunities. Through the dissemination activities carried out by the consortium and the associated partners it is estimated that more than 10.000 persons will be reached. The activities foreseen are: a) The development of the ArtCRelief Training approach consisted of learning outcomes, training content and training methodology; b) The development of the learning material for the preparation of ACCPs for the new era after the pandemic crisis; c) The development of an e-learning and collaboration space platform for ACCPs. ArtCRelief will apply a combination of active, collaborative, experiential, reflective and transformational learning, employing project work, team work, design thinking, problem solving and other process-oriented, adult learning techniques. Such a combination has never been developed so far. The project approach is based upon 4 logical steps: RESEARCH – DESIGN – TESTING – STREAMLINING. Products will be tested in a piloting phase adapted and presented in multiplier events. Activities have been designed in a goal-oriented and sequential manner. In the long run, it is envisaged that wherever the new training approach is implemented a notable improvement in the creation of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge about new business models will be developed among ACCPs.
The main objectives of the project were: a)Create comprehensive, multidimensional training for ACCPs adaptable to local/national contexts and needs imposed by the pandemic crisis; b)Cultivate the entrepreneurial and digital mindset of ACCPs; c)Provide ACCPs with knowledge about new business models, based on the digitalization of culture and the use of ICT for the promotion of creative products; d)Promote ACCPs active motivation in order to become more cooperative-oriented, embracing social entrepreneurial models; e)Create an attractive and easy-to-be-used training material for ACCPs in order to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies that will prepare them for the after pandemic era; f)Create a tailor-made virtual community space for education sharing/exchanges purposes as well as for the development of collaboration and innovation culture between ACCPs and other stakeholders; g)Raise awareness among policymakers, stakeholders and other organizations, involved in education & training as well as in arts, culture and creative sectors
The cultural and creative sectors served as an economic and societal asset, contributing significantly to the EU GDP. The New European Agenda for Culture and the Work Plan for Culture (2019-2022) emphasized the importance of these sectors for innovation, job creation, cohesion, and societal well-being. The creation of this supportive ecosystem became more crucial than ever in the aftermath of the Covid-19 onslaught. The pandemic's outbreak had already threatened the future of artists, culture, and creative professionals (ACCPs). The pandemic crisis rendered ACCPs incapable of continuing their activities unless they had the opportunity to adopt different business models. Cultivating an entrepreneurial attitude, elevating the role of innovation in business, orienting towards a digital cultural offering and internet presence, and promoting collaborations could assist ACCPs to endure the pandemic crisis and prepare for the new era post-pandemic. It was believed that the pandemic crisis would encourage the digitalization of culture and expedite the digital shift, while competition in the digital markets would demand more diverse products.