Seeking innovative ways to collaborate and acquire new skills
We’re very excited to share with you the progress we’ve made in the last months. Despite the challenges linked to the COVID-19 crisis, partners have strengthened their efforts to deliver on the ground and provide effective support to the cultural and creative industries.
A quick recap: what are we all about
DeuS is an Erasmus+ vocational educational training (VET) project that focuses on unlocking the potential of the cultural and creative sector. The project aims to co-create an innovative training path in design, critical thinking and entrepreneurship in response to local challenges.
DeuS builds on the work of the Open Design School pilot initiative, an open design laboratory which was pivotal to the successful implementation of European Capital of Culture Matera 2019. It is a laboratory of interdisciplinary experimentation and innovation that aims to introduce a more holistic, long-term attitude to the process of cultural investment, seeking to emphasise the benefits of skills creation and networking.
10 partners from 9 EU countries (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Slovakia, and the UK) have joined forces to cover a wide spectrum of the European VET landscape and to provide sustainable solutions to the cultural and creative sector. We all look forward to having you onboard for our journey.
You can follow along on our website www.deuscci.eu, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Winner of our Creative Platform Challenge announced!
The jury unanimously decided to award the winning spot to Linda van Andel from Connecting Talents for their unique talent platform which helps people look for new professions and join collaborative opportunities through AI matchmaking. The jury found that their solution best fits the scope of the Challenge and the challenges creative professionals face with reskilling and the future of work, as well as the need for cross-sectoral collaboration. Axis Workshops and Whizwall were ranked second and third respectively. Both of them offer interesting tools that will be considered by the DeuS project partners.
The winner will receive free access to Open Design School infrastructures and co-working space in Matera (facilities), online mentoring on project development and management (expertise) and an online talk on Open Design School Facebook page to present their team and their business idea (visibility). The second and third best finalists will be granted access to online mentoring on project development and management and an online talk on Open Design School Facebook page. All finalists will benefit from visibility and promotion activities on the INVIO website.
Read more about the challenge here.
CCI sector needs validated by our 2nd European Workshop!
The second European DeuS Workshop held on the 21st of October 2020 was part of the 10th European Creative Industries Summit 2020 (ECIS2020).
The European Creative Industries Summit (ECIS) is an annual conference by and for the European Creative Economy. For the past ten years the ECIS conferences are organised by the European Creative Business Network (ECBN) and since 2018 it is organised in parallel with the respective EU presidency. This year’s conference “Framing Creative Futures” was a collaboration of the European Creative Business Network, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Competence Centre for Creative Industries in Germany.
As part of the ECBNetwork, DeuS had the opportunity to present its intermediate results to a wider audience during the break-out session BoS#5 on education and skills acquisition. The task was to formulate a green paper in a co-creation process and to put it up for discussion. In a second step, these voices were collected and integrated into the official non-paper of the conference. At the final conference day on the 28th of October, this non-paper was presented to all conference attendees including Peter Altmaier the German Federal Minister of Economics Affairs and Mariya Gabriel the EU-Commissioner for Innovation and Research. To follow the conference and the DeuS workshop, use this link.
Stakeholder Analysis Report published!
The DeuS project is co-creating a learning and training approach in design, critical thinking and entrepreneurship as a VET (Vocational Educational Training) specifically for the needs of the CCI sector.
To understand the landscape, the project partners have undertaken a stakeholder analysis which takes a broad look at the sector and those work in, or influence it. The analysis took a mixed methods approach, referring to the wide amount of literature available but also talking directly to those who participate in the CCI industries by carrying out surveys and workshops that provide direct data on national experiences and circumstances.
The picture uncovered is complex and highlights the challenges facing any interventions in the sector. The sector is extremely diverse, covering firms and activities ranging from handmade traditional crafts to cutting edge computer games design.
Governments place high value on CCIs, they create wealth, jobs, and lead other sectors in driving innovation. But for some, working in the sector can be frustrating and doesn’t lead to a rewarding and satisfying career; pay can be low and employment precarious. Employment rates for CCI subject graduates are below average and lifetime career returns close to zero, and in some cases negative.
80% of people employed in the CCI sector work in small or medium sized enterprises (Eurostat, 2020), and across the EU-27 almost one third (32%) of the cultural workforce was self-employed in 2019 (Eurostat, 2020), compared with an average of 14% for the whole economy.
This makes for a fragmented sector where individuals can be isolated. Not only do workers need to be creative in their chosen field, but they also require a host of additional skills to make their businesses successful; skills such as project management, finances, networking and communication, and IT.
But skills training isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ problem. The diversity of the sector means that individuals in different industries need and use very different skills mixes, so training options need to be responsive and flexible and this will be a key challenge for the DeuS project as it progresses.
Another key theme identified is that of collaborative working. There are many examples of projects that provide co-working or co-making spaces, or of projects that join teams and people from different disciplines. Collaborative working propagates many benefits by sharing resources and nurturing cooperation and stimulating innovation. The DeuS project was inspired by the Open Design School, which was itself an open and collaborative project, so this way of working will be a critical characteristic for the project as it moves forward and for proposed solutions.
This marks the beginning phase of the DeuS project, and it will help set the trajectory of following work packages, but it’s hoped to re-visit and re-interrogate these findings and expand on themes and topics highlighted as the DeuS project develops and is further refined and focused.
Read more about and download the full Stakeholder Analysis Report here.
Our next steps
Soon, we are launching the beta-version of our Creative Knowledge Platform and next year, based on the hard work of the project partners, we will be developing and piloting the training methodology.
Things that inspire us right now
In this section we’re curating and highlighting articles, projects, people to follow or initiatives to join that we’re fascinated by at the moment. If you want to contribute to this section reach us at info@deuscci.eu.
Culture shock: COVID-19 and the cultural and creative sectors
What: Cultural and creative sectors are among the hardest hit by the pandemic, with large cities often containing the greatest share of jobs at risk. Policies to support firms and workers during the pandemic can be ill-adapted to the non-traditional business models and forms of employment in the sector. In addition, policies can leverage the economic and social impacts of culture in their broader recovery packages and efforts to transform local economies.
Why: Cultural and creative sectors are important in their own right in terms of their economic footprint and employment. They also spur innovation across the economy, as well as contribute to numerous other channels for positive social impact.
Manifesto for a Modern Cultural Policy
What: A future without culture would be a cause for great concern, as nothing would prevent humans from becoming like machines. In such a future, mankind would thus be denied any specificity, incapable of establishing a distance with “reality”, cut off from life and nature. Modern cultural policy should be designed to help culture work as a stimulant, an agent of transformation steering a new enlightenment and collective will.
Why: Culture is of extraordinary importance today, and of necessity, as it shapes values that determine our future, notably in relation to powerful disruptive technological and scientific development as well as political upheavals threatening democracy.
Culture in Crisis: Policy guide for a resilient creative sector
What: Drawing on policies and measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, this practical guide highlights emergency measures that have been deemed effective and beneficial, assesses emerging trends, identifies new and existing gaps and offers practical advice to help policymakers position the cultural and creative industries in social and economic recovery plans.
Why: Culture in Crisis offers advice on how to respond to the most pressing needs and how to induce the structural changes needed to strengthen the resilience of the cultural and creative industries and prepare for the “new normal”.
What: The RAISE project was a step towards achieving this goal across several European Union Countries. Through the project, they provided information on the qualifications and soft skills required by employees for particular STEAM careers, with VET education being given a priority. By doing so, they empowered individuals whilst ensuring that everyone has equal access to knowledge about opportunities in the job market not only in their home country, but in a total of 5 European countries.
Why: The STEAM field is one of the main agents of change in the 21st century. Efforts need to be made to create more awareness and interest in STEAM employment.
