As part of the international project Undertaking Business in Culture, a collaboration between ICCROM and the Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attività culturali, applications are now open for suitable learning partners to join the Cultural Entrepreneurship Programme.
Undertaking Business in Culture is an opportunity for young Africans and Italians to develop their entrepreneurial skills in the fields of cultural heritage industries. Through training and mentoring actions, the programme will be characterized by learning by doing and peer-to-peer approach, with the possibility to meet and network with fellow young entrepreneurs, thus creating an international community of practice.
This programme seeks to nurture, mentor and empower cultural entrepreneurs and will mainly contribute to the building of a platform for dialogue and exchange, sharing successful models and methods, and finding inspiration for new initiatives.
The outline of the programme focuses on the role that culture and cultural heritage play as an engine for local and regional development by focusing on: employment, social inclusion and entrepreneurship in the cultural sector, in line with the main objective of the Youth.Heritage.Africa programme; and strengthening the skills of Italian and foreign professionals and the internationalization of Italian cultural institutions, in line with the objectives of the Fondazione.
Objectives and Results
Through seminars and working tables, participants will get the chance to know Italian, African, and international best practices aiming at promoting young entrepreneurship in the cultural sector, developing an understanding of the strategies and methods needed for the management and promotion of cultural enterprises, and finally testing the possible ways these strategies could be applied to their respective local context, in order to stimulate the empowerment of the local cultural entrepreneurs involved.
Participants who successfully complete the online training module will receive a certificate of completion signed by the ICCROM Director-General and the Director of the Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attività culturali.
Implementation
The programme will provide 20 young entrepreneurs in the cultural sector with the training and support they need to advance in five key clusters:
Business modelling and planning for the cultural and creative sector
Fundraising and sponsorship
Start-up counselling
Sustainability and community involvement in creative and culture sector
Marketing and communication strategies
The programme consists of an online training module, spread over 11 weeks from September to December 2023.
Eligibility Criteria
General requirements:
Beneficiaries must be aged between 24 and 35.
Beneficiaries must be citizens or residents of one of the following countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, or Zimbabwe.
Beneficiaries must be fluent in English.
Beneficiaries must be IT literate, own a device with a webcam, and have reliable access to the internet.
Beneficiaries must be able to commit to the full training and subsequent follow-up and onfield activities.
Beneficiaries must be able to travel abroad (hold a valid passport and an active bank account). If selected, proof of documentation will be requested.
Specific requirements:
Beneficiaries must be young entrepreneurs in the cultural sector with an ongoing entrepreneurial project focused on one of the following subjects: Art and design, museology, archaeology, architecture, fashion, music, cinema or sustainable tourism.
Beneficiaries must operate a business in the cultural sector that has existed for at least six months or have a clear project plan.
Having a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a relevant discipline will be considered an asset.
