Deadline: 7-Apr-23
The programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union, has launched a call for applications to sponsor the participation of up to 34 Caribbean women entrepreneurs in the field of cultural and creative industries in an online incubator and accelerator programme.
The programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union, has launched a call for applications to sponsor the participation of up to 34 Caribbean women entrepreneurs in the field of cultural and creative industries in an online incubator and accelerator programme.
The course will last approximatively three weeks and will be delivered via Zoom between April and May 2023, with a total duration of twenty-eight (28) hours. Activities will be held from Mondays to Fridays, two (2) hours daily.
Goals
- To provide tailored training to young Caribbean women entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors for starting and scaling-up their businesses.
- To provide young Caribbean women entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors with a platform for regional collaboration, crosscutting fertilization between different cultural and creative industries, experience-sharing, and peer-to-peer learning.
- To connect young Caribbean women entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors with successful businesses and entrepreneurs from the Caribbean and Europe, to support product development and market access and penetration.
- To encourage the creation of regional and international networks of women entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors.
- Selected young women entrepreneurs will benefit from targeted training and mentoring in key areas, spanning from soft skills for cultural entrepreneurship to financial management and planning, business management, branding and pitching, and export planning and execution, among others.
Context and purpose of this call for Caribbean young women entrepreneurs
- The Caribbean region, with its multiplicity of customs, traditions, languages and historical links, is an example of multiculturalism, by its cultural transfers, crosses and reciprocal influences from the preColumbian era to the present day. All are present in its cultural expressions, tangible and intangible heritage.
- Through Programme activities stakeholders and beneficiaries are expected to generate new opportunities for socio-economic development and cultural cooperation in the Caribbean and between the region and the European Union, especially through reinforced and enhanced capacities for the development of new cultural projects, self-employment and start-up/scaling up activities.
- UNESCO recognizes that promoting creativity and entrepreneurship implies stressing their importance for both the overall economy and social development, enabling young creatives to fully achieve their aspiration to succeed in their endeavours, and to be empowered as critical agents for change in their countries. In this sense, training and mentoring are pivotal, and incubators and accelerators for cultural entrepreneurship can facilitate and support innovative solutions to nurture and promote cultural production by investing in developing and applying new strategies to encourage the competitiveness of cultural industries.
Eligibility Criteria
- Young women entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative industries between 18 and 35 years.
- Young women entrepreneurs who are citizens and permanent residents of any of the 17 Caribbean countries within the Transcultura Programme´s geographic scope: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
- Young women entrepreneurs with a business initiative/project in the field of cultural and creative industries.
Selection process
- Once all the applications are received, they will be subject to a rigorous selection process by a UNESCO-led Committee.
- The Committee will select up to thirty-four (34) young women entrepreneurs, based on their background and business initiative/project.
Please note:
- Only applications from young entrepreneurs (18 to 35 years) who are nationals and permanent residents in any of the 17 Caribbean countries within the Transcultura Programme´s geographic scope will be considered.
- Once all the applications are received, the Committee might request additional information. Keep checking your inbox regularly, including your SPAM box.
- The UNESCO Transcultura Programme reserves the right to use the applicants´ information with strict programmatic purposes and preserving confidentiality.
For more information, visit UNESCO.