The goal of the Virtual Healthcare Clown (VHC) project was to enhance the digital competencies of Healthcare Clown (HCC) professionals, enabling innovative virtual interventions to meet the needs of both the COVID-19 pandemic and logistically disadvantaged areas. The following objectives were achieved: addressing the gap in the European HCC protocol by improving digital readiness and capacity; creating a digital-focused syllabus to integrate digital tools into training, responding to post-pandemic labor market needs; establishing a virtual work environment for HCC professionals; co-designing new procedures, tools and competencies for virtual clown-therapy interventions in hospitals and socio-health contexts. The project developed an easy-to-use platform for HCC procedures, including a video conferencing tool and content repository. Training objectives included enhancing trainers' digital skills for online sessions, sharing best practices for virtual healthcare clowning, and empowering HCC professionals by improving their digital skills, thereby enhancing their employability. The project also created a course aligned with ECVET criteria, adapting vocational education to labor market needs and contributing to innovation in VET.
The Virtual Healthcare Clown (VHC) project was created in response to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented Healthcare Clowns (HCC) from providing in-person services to vulnerable children and elderly patients in hospitals settings for over two years. Due to health protocols, these services were suspended. In response, many HCC organizations, including the European Federation of Healthcare Clowning Organisations (EFHCO), began experimenting with online visits using personal devices, revealing gaps in digital capabilities and the need for standardized protocols. The project sought to equip HCC professionals with digital tools to engage patients remotely, especially in medical isolation, rural areas, or ultra-peripheral regions. Developed by a partnership of five organizations Soccorso Clown and Spazio Reale Formazione (Italy), Humor Hilft Heilen (Germany), Palhaços d’Opital (Portugal), Blue Room Innovation (Spain), alongside several associated partners including EFHCO and healthcare institutions across Europe, including Ukraine, the VHC project innovated virtual healthcare clowning practices and created a standardized protocol for remote interventions.