BoostDigiCulture aimed to strengthen the digital upskilling of adult cultural professionals within medium-sized cultural institutions across partner countries. Its core mission was to establish a sustainable and inclusive professional development framework leveraging open educational resources and practices. This framework was tailored to elevate the digital competencies of cultural professionals with limited digital skills. The project had several key objectives. Firstly, an important objective was to empower adult cultural professionals to integrate digital culture effectively into their institutional agendas. Additionally, it aimed to raise awareness about the significance of digital readiness and training for these professionals, emphasizing their role in fostering institutional resilience and sustainability. Another goal was the creation, implementation, and validation of a durable professional development framework for digital upskilling. This framework was designed to support adult learners in the cultural sector, ensuring they could navigate digital platforms while preserving the inclusive nature of digital culture in their online institutional offerings.
We applied for this project due to its direct relevance to the cultural and creative sectors, heavily affected by COVID-19. Initially, the pandemic caused disruptions in visitation and operations, especially for smaller institutions, leading to financial strain. Many in Europe shifted to digitalization, yet comprehensive approaches for adult cultural workers and small to medium-sized organizations are lacking. The BoostDigiCulture project aimed to bridge this gap by supporting digital transition, offering upskilling pathways, and enhancing accessibility to digital learning. It addressed the needs highlighted in the NEMO Final Report (2021), particularly focusing on smaller organizations' urgent demand for digital transition support. Recognizing the unique challenges faced by these organizations, such as limited resources and skills, BoostDigiCulture provided tailored assistance. Ultimately, the project aimed to ensure the sustainable digital transformation of the cultural and creative sectors, strengthening their resilience in the face of future challenges.