The pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of activities after the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) sector has become highly affected by the Covid-19 restrictions around the globe. Digital and entrepreneurial skills have become essential for the CCIs and the need “to address the digital skills shortages within the sector and improve digital access beyond large metropolitan areas” has been specifically stressed by the OECD (Culture shock: COVID-19 and the cultural and creative sectors, OECD, September 2020). Digital and entrepreneurial skills requirements now concern all – young people and adults, therefore the role of youth workers is significantly increasing in delivering the activities for future skills relevant to the market needs. Therefore it requires youth workers to be sufficiently equipped with tools and methods and trained accordingly to support young people in the skills development process.

Social Innovation Centre together with partners from France, Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Poland have commenced a “CO-ART: Challenge-based Online Tools to Develop entrepreneurial and digital competencies among young ARTpreneurs” (CO-ART) project that will contribute to the digital transformation of CCIs empowering and encouraging young cultural and creative workers and aspiring art-entrepreneurs to be the key players to modify the way creative products, cultural goods and events are created, managed, disseminated and consumed during and after Covid-19 crisis.

The CO-ART project aims to develop entrepreneurship, innovation and digital skills for young unemployed people, creators or self-employed workers in the CCI sector by using gamification methods through the construction of online escape games (escape rooms).

CO-ART project partners will design:

• Compendium of challenge-based resources (24 online escape rooms) for young unemployed CCS workers and aspiring (art) entrepreneurs to acquire specific entrepreneurial and digital skills and competencies.
• Training programme for Youth Workers: In-service training programme to ensure that youth workers harness the potential of the CO-ART online escape room resources and the online platform to support the target group members develop the competencies identified.
• Online platform that will host and provide access to digital and educational resources that will offer young ICC professionals a networking space.

The Co-ART project addresses young (age 18-29) unemployed and/ or self-employed/ freelance CCS workers and aspiring (art) entrepreneurs who are exposed to the risk of exclusion due to the Covid-19 crisis and other social, economical or geographical obstacles. Also, it equips youth workers and trainers with non-traditional tools and knowledge to support young people in the development of entrepreneurial and digital competencies.

Visit project webpage to know more about the CO-ART project activities, incl. digital escape rooms that will be available next year!

Project partners:

• Agence locale des nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication (ANTIC – coordinator, France),
• Synthesis Centre for Research and Education (Cyprus),
• INNOVATION HIVE (Greece),

• Social Innovation Centre (Latvia),
• INSTITUTO IKIGAI (Spain),
• Idea for Life (Poland).

Project duration: 1.04.2021-31.03.2023

Photo by Sarah_Loetscher, pixabay.com

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that might be made of the information contained therein.