New EU project aims to act as safety net for culture stakeholders

‘Envision’, a highly innovative project that aims to act as a safety net for culture and creativity sector (CCS) stakeholders heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, will run until February 28, 2023.

A 24-month project, co-funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme, it is aimed at small, medium and newly established businesses, as well as individual entrepreneurs in the field of culture.

It also concerns students and researchers in various cultural-artistic institutions, and cultural organisations that wish to adopt new and innovative ways of offering cultural products and/or services.

Through close communication with CCS stakeholders, and specialised questionnaires and surveys during the development of its first deliverable titled “Mapping the needs and requirements of the CCS in the partner countries”, it has transpired that a large majority of artists are in great need of financial support, as well as of guidance and proper knowledge on how to use digital platforms and social media.

Envision aims to address these issues through the development of entrepreneurial skills and digital competencies, and that way ensure resilience and recovery during the present or potential future crisis.

To achieve the goal, the project will deliver three extremely helpful tools:

• A freely accessible digital accelerating platform that will, among others, offer consulting services to cultural entrepreneurs, support a relative crowdsourcing module to facilitate co-creation and collaboration between members, and provide a community building tool and online training sessions with free access for all.
• An e-learning toolkit that will provide a guide on basic concepts and practices for creative and cultural start-uppers and entrepreneurs.
• A crowdfunding mechanism for cultural entrepreneurs that will give them the opportunity to gain access to fundraising and implement their projects.

The consortium of the project is led by the Cypriot consulting company Wisefour Ltd. In addition to the Greek companies Culturepolis and Found.ation, the partnership is complemented by the Italian organisation Progeu, the Institute for the Promotion of Development and Training ‘Infodef’ from Spain, and the ‘Sichting Crealisatie’ organisation from the Netherlands, which is active in the cultural and artistic field.

Visit the Envision website at: www.projectenvision.eu