A new platform dedicated to updating the world on current affairs within the cultural and creative industries is going live as part of the EU Erasmus + "DeuS" project, based on the Open Design School method, the participatory and multidisciplinary open design laboratory of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019.
The platform, still a work in progress and available on www.deuscci.eu, is a reference point for creative professionals, educators, and policy makers, and invites them to build an informal, open and pan-European community.
For the first time, a dedicated knowledge and community platform is launched to provide the sector with a joint space leveraging creativity to shape economic and societal dynamics.
The brand-new Creative Knowledge Platform will be a one-stop for the cultural and creative industries. It will offer open source educational materials and a variety of training possibilities for creative professionals with the DeuSComp toolkit, tailored to the current needs of the sector (entrepreneurial, digital and transversal skills). Users of the platform will also have the possibility to expand their network, find new opportunities, send their contributions and engage or propose local or national challenges.
“We are extremely proud and excited to be able to launch this platform. It is an ambitious project, but one that is needed on a European scale. The lack of a unified space dedicated to the sector with a specific focus on training opportunities, upskilling and validation of work based competencies has been evident for far too long.” Rita Orlando, Primary Coordinator of DeuS and Open Design School project manager.
The Creative Knowledge Platform is designed, created, and run by the dedicated EU-project DeuS. The project is funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union and aims to address the prevailing and evolving skill gaps needs of cultural and creative professionals, while emphasising the relevance of vocational educational training.
DeuS is a vocational educational training (VET) project that focuses on unlocking the potential of the cultural and creative sector. It brings together 10 partners from 9 EU countries including 4 European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) who will co-create an innovative training path in design, critical thinking and entrepreneurship in response to local challenges.
DeuS works as a “think and do tank" where professionals with different backgrounds can upskill and re-skill while responding collaboratively to current societal and economic challenges.
DeuS builds on the work of the Open Design School pilot initiative, a participatory and multidisciplinary open design laboratory which was pivotal to the successful implementation of ECoC Matera 2019.

Partners
● Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 (IT) www.matera-basilicata2019.it/it/
● Consorzio Materahub Industrie Culturali e Creative (IT) www.materahub.com/en/
● Vytautas Magnus University – VMU (LT) www.vdu.lt/lt/
● XAMK – South Eastern University of Applied Sciences (FI) www.xamk.fi/en/frontpage/
● ECBN – European Creative Business Network (NL) www.ecbnetwork.eu/
● University of Wales Trinity Saint David Royal Charter – UWTSD – Creative Industries Research and Innovation Centre – CIRIC (UK) www.uwtsd.ac.uk/research/art-and-design-research/creative-industries-research--innovation-centre/
● Creative Region Linz & Upper Austria GmbH (AT) www.creativeregion.org/
● Creative Business Cup Foundation (DK) www.cbnet.com/
● Valletta 2018 Foundation (MT) www.valletta2018.org/
● Creative Industry Košice – CIKE (SK) www.cike.sk/en/