JA Europe hosted the Pan-European Ecosystem Forum last week in Brussels, as part of the Cultural BEES project funded by Creative Europe project. The Forum brought together a diverse range of stakeholders from the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) sector, who shared insights and best practices, exchanged ideas and worked together on creating solutions for the future of youth entrepreneurship within the CCI.
Bringing together professionals, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and educators to discuss emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in the CCI with an emphasis on Cultural Heritage, the Forum focused on empowering the next generation of creative leaders. On behalf of Cyprus, the partners Junior Achievement Cyprus, InnoEUsphere and the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO were , with representatives Antigoni Komodiki and Stavros Kyriakides, Christina Achilleos and Thekla Papantoniou respectively, as well as the General Inspector Konstantinos Georgiou representing the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.
The Forum opened with a panel discussion on the topic “Emerging Trends and Opportunities in the CCI sector” which was moderated by Diana Filip, Deputy CEO & Chief Development Officer of JA Europe. The panellists were Marco Acri, Cultural Heritage Studies Coordinator at the University of Nova Gorica, Antigoni Komodiki, CEO of JA Cyprus, Rolf Hughes, Education Director of EIT Culture & Creativity and Stavros Kyriakides, Cultural Entrepreneur and Managing Director of Kyriakides Piano Gallery.
During the discussion, the speakers emphasized the importance of lifelong learning and empowering young people and professionals in the cultural sector to adapt to changes arising from technological advancements as well as social or environmental global conditions. By its nature, the cultural and creative industries sector is cross-disciplinary and therefore its development requires synergies and an entrepreneurial spirit rooted in ethical principles. Education plays a crucial role in recognizing the uniqueness of cultural goods and services, which possess inherent value beyond the economic aspect. Gaining experiential knowledge, fostering values, and promoting business ethics are key factors in ensuring resilient, fair, and sustainable systems within the cultural and creative industries.
Diana Filip, explained that “Youth entrepreneurship is key to the future of the Cultural and Creative Industries. Today’s discussions reinforced the need for collaboration between industry, policymakers, and educators to create new opportunities for young creatives. Through the Cultural BEES project, we are empowering young talents to ‘BEE the change’– to transform their ideas into impactful businesses that shape the future of CCI.”
Addressing the Forum, Ilona Lelonek Husting, Team Leader for Creative Industries and Creative Economy at DG GROW, European Commission said “Our aim is to support entrepreneurship and address challenges ahead of us. We believe that the creative sector is a really dynamic sector. The CCI sector is recognized as an industrial ecosystem under the EU Industrial strategy and skills is an integral part with main focus on the digitalization and sustainability of the cultural and creative sector”.
Constantinos Georgiou, General Coordinator of Entrepreneurship Committee and Expert for Entrepreneurship at the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth of Cyprus, in his address remarked that “It is essential to consider cultural heritage as a pillar of the societal economy. We should pave the way of a new generation of skills and create professionals in cultural and creative industries. I am confident that opportunities for young people will effectively keep on expanding in the CCI, supporting both, professional and personal development. We should learn from each other and inspire young visioners in the cultural and creative sector.”
About Cultural BEES
Cultural BEES is a Creative Europe project aiming to develop and implement a training program and digital toolkit that will support the promotion of entrepreneurship skills in the Cultural and Creative Industry among youth. Within the project, it is planned to carry out large-scale piloting of the developed methodology, including the training of 1000 students at secondary and tertiary level education in three European countries; Cyprus, Bulgaria and Italy.
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To read more about the project and its outputs visit www.culturalbees.eu.