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Case Study

Matera Hub

Materahub is an international business consortium that supports enterprises, start-ups aspiring entrepreneurs, institutions, and organizations through European projects. The project aims to create new entrepreneurial and socially useful projects by combining skills and visions and stimulating networks between people and organizations. Materahub is also, among other things, the Intermediary Organisation for Southern Italy of the European Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme; as well as the Italian Host of the Creative Business Cup, the only international competition for cultural and creative enterprises, which boasts a collaboration between the most important Italian organizations operating in the public and private sectors to support creative and cultural enterprises; as well as Member of the European Creative Business Network, a European network for cultural and creative enterprises to support the creative and cultural sector in Europe.

Among the activities and services foreseen within the project there are the following (1) specific entrepreneurship training courses for young entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs and students through international mobility and mentoring projects; (2) support for the development of micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in particular in the creative, cultural, tourism and other key sectors for the area; (3) support for start-ups and business incubators in connection with other experiences and other European clusters in the sector; (3) promotion of new economic models based on the concept of social enterprise, social innovation and collaborative economy (4) promotion of exchanges and collaborations between traditional economic sectors and cultural and creative industries (CCIs), in a cross-fertilisation perspective, to trigger innovation and stimulate the emergence of new opportunities; (5) support for CCIs in Italy, especially in the South, to help the sector become aware of its fundamental role in sustainable local development, to facilitate connections with European networks in the sector and to facilitate access to regional, national and international funding tools and calls; (6) promotion of new emerging professional figures and validation of entrepreneurial and transversal competences according to models recognised in the European frameworks; (7) promotion of training models in the non-formal sphere, through vocational training projects, company internships and international mobility.

Among the most interesting projects: 'Break-in the Desk' to foster the creation of new tools for entrepreneurial education for artists, creatives, and micro and small, and medium-sized enterprises. Or the 'CCINTernationalization' project (Training Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurs in their intermediaries on internationalization) where training and mentorship paths will be created to foster the internationalization of European cultural and creative industries. Another interesting project is ‘ECVET for Community Development (EfCD’", which envisages the transfer of vocational training courses in the field of community development, already recognised in England and Ireland, for the validation of non-formal competencies to all young people who intend to undertake social voluntary work or social enterprise. The project envisages the creation of an equivalent pathway and certification according to European EQF standards.  Lastly, the "YEP" (Young Entrepreneurs People to Mentor long-term unemployed Adults) Creative Land Europe (CLE) project, envisages an active exchange between young entrepreneurs launched in national and international markets and unemployed and/or inactive adults in the world of work, through mentorship and coaching actions.

Keywords:

Education, entrepreneurship, Italian Hub