Helsinki, December 12, 2024 – EIT Culture & Creativity has signed a partnership and grant agreement with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) until 2030 to sustainably strengthen the Cultural & Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSI) across Europe.

This partnership aims to fundamentally change the CCSI and direct it towards new understandings of competitiveness, resilience, and sustainable economic growth, covering 15 sectors across education, research, business, cultural institutions, cities, and regions. EIT Culture & Creativity’s Regional Hub North has been operating in Kaapeli since September 2024 and will function as the northern European regional hub of the initiative.

Building long-term cooperation in the northern region

In the coming years, calls for proposals will co-finance universities, research organisations, companies, cities, and cultural institutions, going beyond mere one- or two-year public project financing. The aim is to promote innovative products, services, business start-ups, and new education programmes that will (re-) finance themselves on the market in the long term and ensure that EIT Culture & Creativity also achieves financial sustainability.

- The regional hub North will build and promote the region’s identity as a distinct economic and cultural environment within the creative and cultural ecosystem, provide access to other parts of Europe for the region’s cultural and creative actors, and promote sustainable and smart development of CCSIs in the area, states Kati Uusi-Rauva, the regional hub director, adding: - The work has already began in Helsinki since September 2024, and we are well on our way in widening our region’s community.

Focus on key areas: fashion, architecture, cultural heritage, audio-visual media and gaming

EIT Culture & Creativity focuses on five key areas that are vital to Europe’s transition towards a sustainable economy: fashion, architecture, cultural heritage, audio-visual media and gaming. In all these priority areas the region has a strong legacy as well as vivid current markets with strong professional communities.

In the field of architecture, EIT Culture & Creativity supports architects in applying circular and fair practices. In audio-visual media, EIT Culture & Creativity focuses on increasing the number of products and services based on responsible and trustworthy technologies. In cultural heritage, EIT Culture & Creativity aims to increase the social cohesion experienced by visitors, participants and stakeholders of EU cultural heritage institutions and practices. In the fashion industry, programmes promote sustainable and innovative design processes to tackle fast fashion. And in gaming, EIT Culture & Creativity aims to increase the number of SMEs that adopt disruptive trends and technologies such as AI, no-code platforms, third-party payment systems, user-generated content and digital ethics.

A special emphasis in the regional hub North is placed on smart, resilient, and sustainable leadership, which will play a significant role in supporting this goal. As Northern Europe consists of open democracies, e-service concepts for citizens, and communities of highly educated professionals, this hub will work on sharing the best practices in these topics within European CCSI.

Regional Hub in KAAPELI, Helsinki

EIT Culture & Creativity North is located in the premises of its hosting partner KAAPELI. KAAPELI’s Cable Factory cultural centre is one of the largest in the North and one of the busiest in Europe. KAAPELI has been involved in building the EIT Culture & Creativity initiative from the very beginning.

- Having the Regional Hub North located in our premises is a great addition to our ever- growing community of cultural sector and creative industry organisations. We strongly believe that EIT Culture & Creativity makes KAAPELI’s community stronger and vice versa, states Kai Huotari, the CEO of KAAPELI.

The regional hub will operate in the whole region by actively organizing and taking part in CCSI events. Other five Regional Hubs are located in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bologna, Košice, and Vienna, and the headquarters of the hybrid organisation is located in Cologne. The regional centres work together at the European level to open up growth opportunities for regional players in Europe. They also offer comprehensive support for start-ups, large companies, investors, research institutions, universities, and graduates of EIT education programmes, providing them with easier access to new technologies, capital, and young talent – for example, for follow-up investments after the completion of accelerator programmes.

More information: Kati Uusi-Rauva, EIT Culture & Creativity Regional Hub North, tel. + 358 40 865 87 38, kati.uusirauva@eit-culture-creativity.eu

Julie Lebrun, EIT Culture & Creativity GMBH, Köln, tel. + 32 460 35 05 67, julie.lebrun@eit-culture-creativity.eu

EIT Culture & Creativity is the ninth knowledge and innovation community (KIC) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. Following public start-up funding from the EIT, it is intended to become economically self-sustaining after 15 years. We envision to improve the competitiveness, resilience and sustainable economic growth of the cultural and creative sectors by fundamentally changing our collective understanding of entrepreneurship. To this end, EIT Culture & Creativity is building Europe’s first innovation community for these sectors, which will create new economic opportunities through interdisciplinary and cross-sector networks. Long-term, economically sustainable initiatives in education, innovation, business creation and cultural development are co-financed through public tenders. EIT Culture & Creativity currently comprises more than 60 members across 15 sectors in 30 European countries. Its purpose is to help all players in the European Cultural & Creative Sectors and Industries to turn innovation into impact.

Kuva: On November 18, 2024, EIT CC North invited its community members to the Cable Factory for the first time for a launch event. Matti Keski-Kohtamäki EIT CC North 2024.