HeART- HElping ARTists of EUrope Survive As Freelancers and Entrepreneurs

An Erasmus+ project that aims to protect Young Artists from unemployment and poverty.

Grant Agreement Number: 2020-1-UK01-KA227-YOU-094512

Funded by: Erasmus+ Duration: 1/3/2021 – 28/2/2023

Challenge

Although the EU has been recovering from the high unemployment rates of recent years, the lockdown and consequences of COVID-19 had a significant counterimpact. Research shows that ‘Art and Leisure’ suffered most by the measures taken to tackle the Pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis hit young individuals the most, with a devastating impact on youth employment, according to the International Labour Organisation. Before the pandemic, EU youth employment was 14.9%; in August 2020 it stood at 17.6%, and is expected to rise still (European Parliament, 2020). Greece saw a surge from 31.7% youth unemployment in March to 39.3% in June; while Ireland, Italy and Cyprus face similar challenges (Statista, 2020). Artists and especially Young Artists, who have not yet gained recognition, or a wide network and clientele, need opportunities to gain exposure and broaden their audience to be able to support themselves from their work. Also, they need to fortify their psychological capacity in order to cope with the uncertainty and traumatic experiences as a result of unemployment.

Innovation

HeART aims to support artists to acquire skills and strategies that will help them promote and market their work successfully by developing training – a toolkit for Young Artists – and policy guidelines to support the creative sector in partner countries.

Action

The handbook will contain a plethora of information, good practices, practical applications and tips, adapted to non-formal educational contexts that will motivate Artists and Culture workers to flourish professionally. It can be used either by the Artists themselves for self-education or by Youth Workers who may utilise the applications to their teaching curriculum or other professionals with relevant expertise. The Handbook will include the following three core modules: (1) Psychological Empowerment (2) Entrepreneurship and Employability Skills (3) Digital Skills.

It will take place in each partner country with the participation of 20 Young Artists and Culture and Creative sector professionals. Pilot trainers will assist participants on how to effectively use the Handbook. All the participants will be trained on how to use Positive Psychology principles to enrich their competencies as artists and creators, acquire entrepreneurship and digital skills and become better equipped on promoting their work more effectively. In particular, this action will focus on the main modules below: A). Art Entrepreneurship and Employability skills (financial management, goal-setting, creativity) B). Digital Skills (digital marketing, digital communication, negotiation) C). Psychological Capacities (strengths, empowerment, emotional regulation, self-confidence, motivation)

Another Pilot Training Course will take place in each partner country to train Youth Workers, Teachers, Educators, Art Managers, Career Counsellors and other professionals with relevant expertise, in specialised counselling, support and guidance for Young Artists. It will be offered in a blended gamified environment offering opportunities for real-world problem solving and psychological capacity-building with a focus on resilience and determination.

This phase of the project will be dedicated to the development of the online modules and the online space with available tools and resources, which will serve as a one-stop-shop providing instant access to the full suite of gamified digital learning resources. Additionally, blended learning modules and OERs will be developed in order to support the delivery of the training material and the Handbook, and the material workshops for Young Artists, Youth Workers, and other relevant stakeholders. Parts of the resources will be developed in an eLearning and blended format, so they can be implemented in partner countries and the EU.

European Commission’s support for the production of this content does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Partners

**KMOP – Social Action and Innovation Centre**

**University of Gloucestershire** **(United Kingdom)**

CARDET – Centre for Advancement of Research and Development in Educational Technology LTD (Cyprus)

**Consulenza Direzionale di Paolo Zaramella** (Italy)

NEOPHYTOS CH CHARALAMBOUS (Cyprus)