Open call for participation in two of Med Culture capacity development workshops on “cultural entrepreneurship: create your own business model!”

Med Culture, an EU-funded Regional Programme, is launching another call for participation in two Peer to Peer (P2P) workshops, this time addressing the theme “Cultural Entrepreneurship: Create your own business model!” .​Capacity development is a Med Culture core activity that provides cultural practitioners working in different cultural fields, both from the civil society and public sectors, with the opportunity to discuss common challenges and share experiences with their peers in the involved South Mediterranean countries…

Med Culture, an EU-funded Regional Programme, is launching another call for participation in two Peer to Peer (P2P) workshops, this time addressing the theme “Cultural Entrepreneurship: Create your own business model!” .

Capacity development is a Med Culture core activity that provides cultural practitioners working in different cultural fields, both from the civil society and public sectors, with the opportunity to discuss common challenges and share experiences with their peers in the involved South Mediterranean countries.

The current P2P format is based on selecting candidates through an open call, which allows broader segments of cultural practitioners to participate. The workshops provide participants with the possibility to get input from the facilitating experts and have fruitful exchanges with their peers.

“Entrepreneurship in arts and culture is an economic as well as sociocultural activity, based on innovation, exploitation of opportunities and risk-taking behaviour. It is a visionary, strategic, innovative and social activity. (…)The beauty and the challenge in this sector is the creative part of the process and the artists-creators who are the core. Dr Lidia Varbanova.

Cultural entrepreneurship comprises many approaches and activities, marked by a key feature: uncertainty. To navigate in these turbulent waters, it is essential for entrepreneurs to acquire the capacities that will allow them to face potential obstacles, and seize opportunities that arise during the development of their work. 

The two workshops dealing with this theme will explore the specific features of entrepreneurship in the cultural field, and provide participants with resources to rethink or enhance their work methodologies.  The workshops will tackle a number of subjects such as designing entrepreneurship models, mobility of entrepreneurs, financial viability, sustainability, and marketing techniques, etc.  

The two workshops should also enable the participants to become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses in terms of entrepreneurial dynamics, and encourage them to create their tailor-made business models.

Deadline for submitting applications: 21 October, 2016

The call is targeting 20 cultural practitioners from South Mediterranean countries, aged between 25 and 45 years at the time of application.

Selected candidates will participate in two capacity development workshops:

• The first 3-day workshop is scheduled to take place in Tunis from 17-19 December, 2016
• The second workshop will be scheduled in February 2017 (host-country yet to be determined)

What is expected from the selected candidates?  

The present call is an open invitation to cultural practitioners to share their experiences, enrich their capacities while exchanging and reflecting on the theme of cultural entrepreneurship.

Selection process: candidates are selected based on their CV and a motivation letter explaining their interest in joining these workshops. The selection jury is composed of experts including one member of Med Culture team. 

Selection criteria

Candidates should:

• have a strong command of Arabic. Knowledge of French OR English is a requirement.
• work in the cultural field within civil society/cultural organisations, the public sector, or as freelancers.
• be committed to participate in both workshops related to the subject
• be residents in one of the involved countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. Candidates with Syrian or Libyan nationality who come from the civil society sector and who reside in their country or elsewhere are also eligible.

Since the workshops are designed according to a Peer to Peer format, the profiles of the participants are essential for the content of the sessions. Therefore candidates must be directly involved in the domain of cultural entrepreneurship, including those interested among public sector employees i.e. ministries of Culture, Employment, Industry, municipalities, etc. 

Candidates should have some experience in the following:

• Establishment of cultural organisations (associations, NGOs, enterprises, and independent workers as well)
• Management of cultural projects at local, national, and international levels within the framework of associations or enterprises
• Development of entrepreneurial activities or promotion of the cultural entrepreneurship sector. This also applies to those interested among public function employees such as ministries, municipalities, etc.

Travel and accommodation expenses are taken in charge by Med Culture.

Application process

Send your:

1. CV in French, English or Arabic (education, current activities, etc.), with your full name and birth date as they figure in your passport
2. Motivation letter explaining your interest in these two workshops (why are you interested to participate and what objective do you plan to achieve or develop).  

Candidates need to make sure that the CV and your motivation letter are submitted in one file of maximum 3 pages for the whole application in Arabic,French or English to send to: [email protected] and to[email protected] 

For inquiries please contact [email protected]

Results will be announced on 10 November, 2016

Selected candidates will be informed by e-mail.

Med Culture is a 4-year (2014-2018) regional programme funded by the European Union to accompany partner countries in south of the Mediterranean in the development and improvement of cultural policies and practices related to the culture sector. The approach is consultative/participative and takes place in partnership with civil society actors, ministries, private and public institutions involved in culture as well as other related sectors.