Cultural Entrepreneurship was the 3rd training for youth workers implemented by House of Education and Innovation – HEI in Constanta, Romania, in the framework of the mAPP my Europe project funded by Erasmus+.

HEI welcomed 24 participants from Bulgaria, Romania, Spain and Greece to 3 days of intense activities that aimed at creating a strong group of youth workers that develop together various tools and methods based on non-formal education in the field of entrepreneurial learning and cultural heritage.

On the first day of the training, the participants got to know each other better but also the city of Constanta that served as the venue of the workshops. Despite the rainy day, our participants ventured in groups on a treasure hunt game which took them to all important heritage sites in the city. The rain did not stop the teams in their quest to win the treasure hunt and 2 out of 4 groups finished the whole route! We discussed their experience as “flâneurs” and shared ideas about the city, about education and culture. Afterwards, the teams designed their own activities for youth. The day closed with a traditional Romanian dinner, where the participants were presented the culinary heritage of Romania.

On the second day, the participants took part in the open training “World Casino,” a non-formal activity which was developed at the Museum of History of Constanta. The activity aimed at raising awareness on the importance of using topics related to cultural heritage when working with young people, and offering them the space to express their opinion on the problems and solutions of the city. The casino of Constanta served as a debate topic and various problems and solutions were raised in relation to the future of the casino. After the activity, the participants were taken on a walking tour of the historical center of Constanta, where they got to learn more information about the cultural heritage of the region. After the tour, the participants gathered at the training venue, Tomis Hub Biblioteca Colorata, and they used methods of entrepreneurial learning, such as the Business Model Canvas, to create business ideas for the “treasure buildings assigned to them:

Casa Manicatide
Vila Șuțu
Casa Embiricos
Casa cu lei

Each team of the treasure hunt activity from the first day, had to find one of these buildings and find information about them. During the walking tour, the participants were presented more in depth information about the history of these buildings by the guide Diana Slav. After the tour, the participants put all these pieces together, found the root problem of these buildings and its solution and designed a business model idea that would salvage them. This 2-day activity was entitled From Flâneur to Entrepreneur and envisioned a complex approach on cultural heritage that teaches the youth workers throgh the „learning by doing” method, how to use entrepreneurial learning when teaching youth about the regional cultural heritage. The activity also served at helping youth become more aware and more involved in the realities that threaten their city’s patrimony. The second day closed with a delicious Coolt Event organized in collaboration with the Erasmus Student Network of Constanta. The participants, locals and Erasmus students gathered at Taclale Bar for the Intercultural Night and Dinner where they spent a nice time, sharing traditional food, dances, songs and souvenirs.

The third day of the training started with an intense activity of development of innovation. The participants used all the knowledge they have been accumulating the past two days and created non-formal activities on the topic of cultural entrepreneurship that could be used with the youth. Three young ambassadors of the target group of the project (13-19 years old) served as a jury and approved the activities developed by the youth workers. The day continued with the evaluation and feedback session of the training and later participants had a surprize-event organized by Wild Art at the Virgil Coman Gallery, a public art gallery in the passage next to Tomis Mall. Canlar and Iholu dance groups opened the Photo exhibition with a wonderful performance that praized cultural diversity in Dobrogea. After attending the exhibition, the training closed with Living Library: Cultural Entrepreneurship, a networking activity that once again raised the issue of the importance of non-formal education and that opened new ways for future projects. Experts in entrepreneurship, cultural heritage such as representatives of Historia Renascita Geto-Dacii sudcarpatici, Cusături Dobrogene, Inomar Cluster, Wild Art, Walking Tour with Diana Slav, Project Management Solutions, Neuron English and professor in Political Science, Răzvan Pantelimon PhD. The invited experts served as living books for the participants at the Dorian Gray Library. After the activity ended, the participants continued their conversation over tea and some traditional snacks from the region of Dobrogea.

“We thought that these were very useful days for our professional and personal development, and, as well, for the evolution of the mApp my Europe initiative.”

-Antonio and Patricia, participants