Sustainability at the Centre: making Culture and Environment meet

The effects of the pressure of human activities on the ecosystem have created environmental problems that threaten our society.  The lack of expertise and knowledge among cultural operators can lead to negative impacts of cultural activities on the environment and higher costs for energy and resources. n the other end, socio-cultural Centres may play a crucial role in fostering a just transition in our communities and through accurate planning can greatly improve their positive impacts, reduce the waste of resources and related costs, increase their ability to access public and private funds. Overcome climate anxiety and start the change!

The international training programme “FULCRUM – Sustainability at the Centre: make Culture and Environment meet” supports you in this transformation process:  

• You will gain knowledge on the connections between your cultural work and the environment

• You will learn how to track your impacts, how to measure them and which are the most successful practices to tackle them  

• You will be guided by experts in creating a plan of action towards a more sustainable socio-cultural Centre working on a real life case study 

• You will meet, exchange and collaborate with colleagues from socio-cultural organisations all over Europe willing, just like you, to become sustainability ambassadors in their networks and communities.
  

The programme is designed to build on your specific experiences, needs and interests. Through a hands-on approach, the trainers will provide you with tools, libraries of good practices, practical experiences, guidance towards resources and funding opportunities.

Programme schedule

• May/June 2024: Needs analysis (online survey)
  Assessing the individual starting points and focus areas of participating cultural organisations to adjust the training activity to your needs.

• October 14th-16th 2024: Training Academy in Turin
  Two and a half days in-person training for skills development and team 

• December 2024 – October/November 2025: Six Learning Labs (online)
  Feedback and support to guide implementation steps in practice.

• December 2025: Certification of participation Certificates will be awarded to all trainees who completed the training.
  

The working language of the programme is English, hence participants should be able to follow and participate actively in discussions in English.

Who can apply

The training programme specifically addresses staff members of socio-cultural centres, who are members of ENCC (Europe), ACC (Belgium), Bundesverband Soziokultur (Germany), IG Kultur (Austria), Dire Fare Baciare (Italy), cult! (Belgium), ACCE (Estonia) or ALCC (Latvia). We will particularly welcome people from organisations that are already planning to tackle these issues in the near future. Our most important selection criteria are your willingness to put into practice what you learn in your daily work and to share your experience with fellow cultural operators in your networks and communities, becoming a sustainability ambassador.

Financial and time cost

Participation in the programme is free. Travel and accommodation costs for attending the Training Academy in Turin will be refunded, according to compliance with our sustainable travel policy (you find it at the bottom of this page). 

The working time devoted to the training by trainees will not be covered: besides the two-and-a-half-day training in presence and the six online sessions, foresee a time investment of 2 to 3 days for studying and working on assignments between one training session and the other.

Application

Apply by May 7th through this form. Announcement of selected participants will be made by May 22nd 2024.

Good to know: if you need assistance to apply, we’re happy to support you individually! We are also accepting applications via video or audio files, should filling out the online form pose a barrier to you. Contact us by writing an email to our capacity building manager at ingrid.danckaerts@encc.eu.

Selection process

A total of 24 cultural organisations from 8 countries will be selected. Only one representative per cultural organisation can participate in the Training Academy in Turin. The same representative should participate in the subsequent online sessions.

Selection criteria

The selection of participants will put a strong focus on the willingness and readiness of the cultural organisation to implement and pursue necessary transformation processes. Participants should also be willing to share acquired knowledge and experiences in their respective regional contexts as "ambassadors" (e.g., in workshops, discussions, interviews). Being in a position in your organisation that allows you to enact change is very important to ensure the impact of the training and some previous knowledge of the environmental issues will be considered a plus. 

Contact details

For any inquiries, we are here to support you: reach out to Ingrid, our capacity building manager, at ingrid.danckaerts@encc.eu.

Background

This training programme is part of the Erasmus+ project "FULCRUM - skills development for future-proof socio-cultural centres". The project aims to support socio-cultural organisations to become more sustainable and future-proof, by strengthening skills development and their capability for action (a fulcrum is a pivot point or leverage). The project is a cooperation by partners in Belgium, Austria, Estonia, Germany, Italy, and Latvia, as well as the European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC). 

Learn more about FULCRUM here.

The image is a courtesy of our member Ośrodek Kultury Ochoty. The author is Taisiia Zhebryk.