"<< Background >>Cultural and creative sectors, being among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are of great economic importance. They also spur innovation across the economy, as well as contribute to numerous other channels for positive social impact (well-being and health, education, inclusion, urban regeneration, etc.). It is estimated that this sector accounts for about 5.5% of jobs (widely employing youth) within the EU (OECD, 2020) and that especially the venue-based cultural & creative infrastructures will suffer a long-lasting decline due to the pandemic. However, the massive digitalisation coupled with emerging technologies (virtualisation, digital twins, digital engagement, personalized digital cultural activities, etc), can create new forms of cultural experience, dissemination and new (digital) business models with market potential (OECD, 2020). Youth-led entrepreneurship is a key priority of the European Union. As key drivers of the cultural and creative sector, the European youth (18-31) should be the leading source of creativity and innovation in cultural and creative entrepreneurship. However, performing entrepreneurship in a digital/intangible context (i.e. cultural and creative digital entrepreneurship (CCDE)) requires a substantial skill-set shift which currently, the EU youth does not possess. On top of this, cultural heritage sites, are also pierced by substantial degradation and unsustainable practices due to crowding and mass-tourism paving further needs for future innovations in this field.The needs that DIYouth aims to address: YOUTH (18-30 years old) lack the know-how and experience to perform in CCDE (SALTO-YOUTH, 2020). On top of this, youth coming from vulnerable groups do not possess basic entrepreneurial skills that would enable them to scale-up their ideas or to engage in social enterprising that would open up their opportunities in CCDE (OECD, 2019). Additional skillgaps: entrepreneurial opportunity recognition from societal pains, self-motivation, confidence and empowerment, operational aspects of (social) enterprises, understanding community bonds and community networks, technologies for social innovation (CEDEFOP, 2019, UNICEF, 2020); teamwork, decision making, design thinking, business planning, income generation (fundraising), digital skills and technology use for CCDE, national & international networking (EU Cultural Strategy 2014-2024); intercultural skills and accountability in CCDE (Hyz and Karamanis, 2016; Giakoulas, 2016); re-learning how to learn in a digital learning context skills as CCDE will require constant online training (and constant learning); solutions to include environmental sustainability and heritage protection in the CCDE. YOUTH WORKERS: Specific gaps: lack of youth worker qualification frameworks (recognition) for entrepreneurial training & learning; lack of mechanisms to help youth workers inspire youth at being entrepreneurial and creative; lack of skills to handle groups at risk and foster inclusion in CCDE training (EU DG EAC, 2019); lack of skills to support cross-sectoral cooperation in youth work; limited skills in guiding youth to tackle daily challenges via enterprising; limited skills in adopting innovative (and behavioural) training techniques that would inspire youth to develop empowerment & self-motivation competences for engaging in entrepreneurial ventures (CEDEFOP Skill Analysis, 2020; OECD, 2019) and lack of ability of youth workers to produce digital training materials that would be easily apprehended by youth in a non-formal education context.<< Objectives >>DIYouth aims to develop a transnational (non-formal education) youth and youth worker training programme containing: a youth training toolkit on CCDE with YOUTHPASS, DigComp and EntreComp certification options (Result 1); a train the trainers toolkit (based on ETS, with EntreComp and DigCompEdu certification options) enabling youth workers to improve the quality and effectiveness of their digital & entrepreneurial training capability (Result 2); a CCDE Digital Acceleration platform helping youth put their ideas into the market in collaboration with investors, policy makers, customers and other creative & cultural actors; and series of celebratory creative conferences (multipliers), three of them as teasers for Timisoara2023, Novi Sad2023 and Elefsina2023 EU capitals of culture. The end-goal is to boost the digitalization of the cultural & creative sector in an environmentally sustainable and heritage-protective manner while enabling digital job opportunities and employment.<< Implementation >>DIYouth implements the following activities:Result 1 – Cultural and Creative Digital Entrepreneurship (CCDE) Youth Toolkit (non-formal education)• 4 modular competence units that can be integrated in open MOOCs• Virtual simulator• Innovative learning tools (i.e. webquests, story-based approach)• YOUTHPASS, DigComp and EntreComp certifications (for students) for excellence in CCDE• 3 virtual creativity pilots: Creativity Pilot 1 - CCDE in multicultural heritage promotion and CCS ecosystems; Creativity Pilot 2 - CCDE in arts sector; Creativity Pilot 3 - CCDE in the music and festival sector (cross-cutting themes: heritage promotion and environmental sustainability)Result 2 – Youth worker train the trainers toolkit on cultural and creative digital entrepreneurship (CCDE)• Two EntreComp & DigCompEdu competence units• Innovative teaching & learning mechanisms based on: the ""ETS Competence Model for YOUTH Trainers"" (SALTO-YOUTH, 2020)• Pedagogical strategy: Youth worker ability to develop tailored OERs and digital training methods for different youth educational needs (cognitive, social, geographic, cultural, etc) by focusing on UNESCO (2018)'s strategy related to personalised education.• Pedagogical strategy: Neuroscience (behavioural) approach for ensuring effective online youth education in CCDE. Youth workers will have access to innovative behavioural trainingapproaches that will spur youth creativity, innovation and ability to succeed in CCDE.• EntreComp and DigCompEdu certification(s) for youth workers after passing a non-formal evaluation.• Virtual pilots: Three pilots the developed content on youth workers (via virtual pilots each of at least 50 participants).Result 3 - Cultural and Creative Digital Entrepreneurship (CCDE) Digital Accelerator Platform• Cultural and creative ""pains"" announcement• Database with public sector tenders and bidding competitions for cultural and creative events as well as direct feeds from targeted funded projects/grants• Database of a pool of CCDE experts, mentors and investors that can better guide CCDE young entrepreneurs in their enterprising process• Online CCDE acceleration component• 5 Pilot-tests of the developed platform on youth interested in CCDE (at least 50 participants per pilot).* Quality assurance methodology* Project image and dissemination material* DIYouth Alumni Network* Exploitation strategyE1 – Cultural and Creative Digital Entrepreneurship Open Day - Romania (pre-Timisoara 20223 Capital of Culture Events)E2 – Cultural and Creative Digital Entrepreneurship Open Day - Greece (pre-Elefsina 2023 Capital of Culture Events)E3 – Cultural and Creative Digital Entrepreneurship Open Day - Serbia (Novi Sad 2022 Capital of Culture Events)<< Results >>PROJECT RESULTS: Result 1 – Cultural and Creative Digital Entrepreneurship (CCDE) Youth Toolkit (non-formal education)Result 2 – Youth worker train the trainers toolkit on cultural and creative digital entrepreneurship (CCDE)Result 3 - Cultural and Creative Digital Entrepreneurship (CCDE) Digital Accelerator Platform* DIYouth Alumni NetworkOTHER OUTCOMES: * At least 30 DigCompEdu and EntreComp and 50 YOUTHPASS certifications offered during the project lifecycle* Digital readiness improvement of the participating organizations (at least 1 level up in the DigCompEdu grid)* Overall number of targets reached during the project lifecycle: at least 100 000 (via paid ads)* Number of visits on the website (at least 5000)* Number of participants to the multiplier events (at least 450 in total)* Number of cultural and creative ecosystem stakeholders engaged the Result 3 virtual pilots and recruited on the digital acceleration platforms (500)* Number of youth coming from groups at risks involved in the project (at least 30% or at least 285) and 50-50 gender balance* Number of youth outside of the consortium (or people already working in the cultural and creative sector) that decided to engage in CCDE (at least 100)* Number of youth interested in starting a social enterprise related to CCDE (at least 50)* Expected outcomes for youth participants:• Developing competences in cultural and creative digital entrepreneurship (CCDE), including social entrepreneurship, via the Result 1 curriculum boosting their ability to engage with the cultural and creative ecosystem and launch startups, create employment and help this sector achieve resilience in the digital transformation creatively, counteracting COVID-19 barriers• Boost their digital skills via the Result 3 platform and learn how to capitalise innovative technological solutions to effectively engage in CCDE• Developing awareness of civic engagement, multiculturalism, social innovation and community development by being engaged in thematic virtual pilots from Result 1 and therefore foster better inclusion through creative and cultural expressions (i.e. CCDE)• Access certification options of their skills and competences that will upgrade their professional profile and employability (i.e. YOUTHPASS, DigComp, EntreComp)• ""Relearning"" how to learn and adoption of innovative/creative approaches to make their non-formal learning pathway more effective in an online education - based on the OERs from Results 1,2.• Boost their psychological wellbeing, safety and responsibility in online education and training, helping them to be more focused on their CCDE journey* Expected outcomes for youth workers:• Development of qualified youth workers that can train youth in an entrepreneurial manner by building upon the EntreComp framework (Result 2). • Development of innovative and digital skills abilities for youth workers by relying on the DigCompEdu framework and innovative methods from Result 2 as well as on the Result 3 platform.• Enable capacity building of youth workers and youth work practices via Results 1,2,3 virtual pilots making thus youth workers more qualified and effective at their job, inspiring youth to perform in CCDE.• Assist youth workers in developing and sharing effective methods in reaching out to marginalized groups and achieve inclusion through providing access to CCDE training via the strategies from Result 2.• Facilitate the development of learner-centric high quality OERs and tailored learning pathways (via behavioural approaches) producing a better learning impact on youth trainees (and making them more effective at CCDE) while paving the way for a better recognition of youth work via DigCompEdu and EntreComp certifications (for digital and entrepreneurial training competences) for youth workers (Result 2)."

The core aim of YOUNGETEERS is to empower organisations working with volunteers on some of the greatest cultural programmes in Europe. YOUNGETEERS will create vibrant, innovative and long-term cooperation among young people and cultural workers, raise the quality of local youth work and promote the importance of volunteering in culture. The project will build foundations for the recognition of knowledge, skills and competences young people gain through volunteering in culture and informal and non-formal learning processes related to it and advocate for more structural support in order to build quality volunteer programmes and ensure their sustainability in a local, national, and European level.COVID-19 crisis paralysed cultural and creative sectors and created an even greater disparity between cultural events and those who benefit from them. In addition, many of the existing volunteer programmes in culture were not able to maintain their regular activities, which meant that in situations where volunteers could have been of great help for the whole community, their hands were tied since the resources were limited or physical involvement restricted by governments’ strict regulations. YOUNGETEERS results from these global challenges and builds its foundations on current young people's needs, as the newest studies report that their mental health deteriorated the most during the pandemic. This partnership emerged from the informal ECoC volunteer coordinators network, reinforced by 3 additional partners whose skills in crisis management, mental health and personal development were the missing links ECoC volunteer coordinators needed for finding ways of successfully managing volunteers during the crisis. The project is in line with the priorities reflected in the EU Youth Strategy regarding voluntary activities and is built upon European Youth Goals.With a focus on cross-sectoral cooperation in the field of youth and emphasis on the pandemic context and its effects on cultural and creative sectors, the partners from 7 countries have joined their expertise in order to find innovative solutions that could help build the resilience of volunteer programmes in culture and use volunteering in culture as a means of empowering young people to become creators of cultural activities and successful innovators in their local environment.During 24 months, the partners will design and test innovative educational tools and methods based on the needs of young volunteers and youth workers, which will strengthen participating organizations and improve their capacity for working with the volunteers and training other youth workers for developing high-quality sustainable volunteer programmes resilient to crises. A manual with a detailed description of the methodology used in this project will be published, together with examples of good practices and the lessons learned from COVID-19 crisis. The aim of the manual is to provide assistance to all organisations, institutions and non-formal groups that work with the volunteers in culture and to guide them in creating volunteer programmes resilient to crisis. The main target groups are young people aged 17 to 27, volunteers, youth workers, volunteer staff and staff from cultural and creative sectors. The main results of the project are to create:- the new methodology for training youth workers to manage volunteers in culture in times of crisis - the new methodology for training young people to volunteer in culture in times of crisis - the manual for volunteer management in culture in times of crisis The expected impact is to strengthen volunteer programmes in culture and prepare volunteer staff and volunteers to better respond to current and future pandemical and post-pandemical circumstances while using the lessons learnt from COVID-19 crisis. YOUNGETEERS intends to have a multiplying effect by connecting to different activities of the participating organizations and spreading project results to a wide range of stakeholders. Sustainability of YOUNGETEERS is ensured by engaging the local community in the activities, as well as through dissemination strategies, that would put a large focus on volunteer coordinators of former, current and future European Capitals of Culture, who manage some of the biggest volunteer programmes in Europe, with thousands of volunteers assisting in the cultural events.

DigiCulture (Improving the Digital Competences and Social Inclusion of Adults in Creative Industries) created a sustainable and accessible online course focused on openness and inclusivity and aimed at low digital skilled adult learners in the creative industries (CI) from Romania, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Lithuania, UK and Ireland. The project addressed the low emphasis in CI education on the use of digital technologies, with recent graduates and existing employees lacking important skills. The recent pandemic proved to be especially challenging for CI stakeholders but evaluation of our project suggests that it helped improve digital skills, employability, creativity and marketability.Its development was based on EU DigComp 2.1, and each course included the development of 2-5 digital competences to at least basic level. The diverse partnership comprised adult education centres from arts, humanities and technical universities, SMEs with expertise in art and eLearning and professionals in eLearning and cultural associations.The project targeted young unemployed adults, staff and volunteers in European Capitals of Culture, adult workers with low digital skills at all levels in creative industries, actors, artists and volunteers in traditional activities (dancers, painters, wood and ceramic workers), museums, media, architecture, humanities, cultural and heritage organizations, traditional fairs, freelance performers (musicians, actors), members of disadvantaged and minority groups, stakeholders in creative industries, museums, architecture, humanities, adult education centres, universities, associations which support enhancing digital skills, and local and regional associations and departments. We reached 24.871 individuals from these categories through information and dissemination and involved them in various activities.All project objectives were fully or partially met:1.To enhance awareness of the need for training in digital skills for the creative industries 2.To design and validate cross-country Guidelines for Digital Competences for Creative Industries 3.To create an Integrated Virtual Learning Hub as an online and mobile 4.To design, develop and deliver a Digital Skills and Social Inclusion for Creative Industries Course, OER translated into all partners’ languages, delivered as a mix of blended learning course and, a fully online MOOC type course for the target group 5.To improve the achievement and recognition of digital skills through formal and informal learning by introducing Digital Skills e-assessment and Open Badges for adult education in CI 6.To provide engaging and effective learning experiences in the Digital Skills for CI course 7.To enhance collaboration between education providers, universities, cultural and heritage institutions and associations, cultural actors, workers and volunteers 8.To provide evidence about how achievement, assessment and validation of digital skills contributes to the uptake of new skills in creative industriesOutcomes include the DSC MOOC, with 13 modules available in EN, RO, DE, IT, LT, DK, GA (98 courses in 7 languages), available online and through blended learning, the Integrated Virtual Learning Hub including new Open Education Resources (OER) and accessible to people with limited digital skills, and validation through e-assessment leading to Open Badges and Certificates for Digital Skills. The DSC modules are:The Internet, World Wide Web and introduction to the digital worldDigital content & PublishingData Protection and Open LicensesDigital Curation - Digital Libraries and MuseumsDigital Safety, Security and EthicsDigital storytellingSocial media for culture Digital audiences, Digital analyticsAugmented and Virtual Reality - Immersive experiencesMobile Apps and Mobile User ExperienceDigital management in cultureDigital Communication & PresentationsOnline and mobile digital media tools (audio-video)They provided new opportunities for the 1,587 learners involved to access knowledge, gain new digital skills and intercultural competences and improve their chances of finding employment or performing better in their current employment through 1,201 open badges and certificates.Other results New OERs created in the DSC MOOCs: 153 NEETs adults trained in DSC: 67Unique visitors and 102 posts on project website:6,554 Unique VLH UniCampus/DSC users: 5,637 Self assessments 56,000 Open Credentials (Badges and Certificates) 1,201Mobile Apps 349 downloadsYouTube views 893 Twitter followers 193 Multiplier events 6Dissemination events 120Leaflets or promotional materials distributed 22,470Published papers in conferences and journals 16 Stakeholders reached 24,733 Transferable initiatives 25Facebook reach 28,336Countries reached60All DigiCulture tools, courses, resources and materials are under the Creative Commons License, available online https://digiculture.eu/en