The last year of the GREENPACT project has started! Hard to believe that we already have worked 2 years on our goals and objectives and did indeed achieve a lot of them. All our partner regions – Germany, Slovakia, Croatia, Italy and Czech Republic – held two collaboration labs and organised two cohorts of the “Buddy Boosting Training Program”. They were all meant to bring young people and enterprises from either the Creative Industries or the Tourism Industry together and work jointly on challenges in various aspects of sustainabily. While the regional implementations of the Training Programs shared common goals and target audiences, they were adapted to the specific contexts and needs of each region:
In the Stuttgart Region, the program “Gemeinsam lernen, nachhaltig handeln” (Learning Together, Acting Sustainably) was collaboratively developed and organized by the Hochschule der Medien (HdM) and Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH (WRS), and was conducted in a hybrid format with a strong focus on practical challenges from the creative industries. Participants developed innovative solutions and presented them in pitches, with the winning team receiving the opportunity to participate in the International Collaboration Lab in Bratislava.
In Croatia (Rijeka), the “CIRCULATOR program – Accelerator for Sustainable Business and Circular Innovation” was held exclusively in person by Step Ri and the City of Rijeka, in collaboration with the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality. The program focused on the circular economy in the tourism and creative sectors, offering training, consulting, and mentoring. A particular emphasis was placed on circular transformation interventions.
The Veneto Region (Italy) organized the BBTP in two phases: a Collaboration Lab and a Buddy Training Program (BTP). The BTP combined online sessions with self-study phases and focused on developing business models in sustainability and the circular economy. Participants developed green growth proposals, and the most promising projects were selected for the international lab.
At the University of Economics in Bratislava (EUBA) in Slovakia, the program “Myslieť udržateľne, konať udržateľne” (Think Sustainably, Act Sustainably) was conducted as a voluntary activity for students and other interested parties. It focused on applying sustainable and circular approaches in the tourism sector and included in-person events addressing real business problems and creative methodologies.
In the South Bohemian Region (Czech Republic), the “13-week GREENPACT training program” was conducted by the Technical University of České Budějovice (VŠTE) and the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic (HK ČR) as a 13-week in-person program. It aimed to support GenF participants in developing circular and sustainable ideas for the hospitality and creative industries, using the Business Model Canvas as a central tool.
These regional differences in format, duration, thematic focus, and methodology reflect the adaptation of the BBTP to the specific needs and contexts of each region, while simultaneously pursuing the common goals of promoting sustainability and entrepreneurship in the tourism sector and the Creative Industries.
Altogether almost 450 participants were part of the collaboration labs and training programs in our partner regions. We are very proud of what we’ve achieved so far as a consortium and are looking forward to the third year. Our main goal then is to develop and deploy a self-assessment tool for companies and a certificate, in order to help them to evaluate their own activities in the fields of sustainability and enable them to improve themselves accordingly.