From November 12–14, 2024, EIT Culture & Creativity, represented by Gijs Gootjes and Oliver Heerde, undertook an awareness-raising mission to Dublin. During three days, the team explained programmes and activities, explored how to strengthen existing partnerships and build new ones, and gain a deeper understanding of Ireland’s creative landscape and its connections with mainland Europe.
Day 1: Discovering Irish Design and Creative Futures
On Tuesday, November 12, Gijs and Oliver kicked off their visit with a meeting with Tom Watts, Director of the currently ongoing Irish Design Week. Here, they gained insights into the rich variety of design initiatives, largely focussing on climate impact and discussed potential collaborations between EIT and the Irish design community. Later that day, they visited the Creative Futures Academy at University College Dublin, partner of EIT C&C, being hosted by P.J. Matthews.
This tour provided a firsthand look at the campus facilities such as the Trapdoor Theare and the CARL Medialab, support programs and startups within the academy’s ecosystem. Involving Nicolas Pillai, Dunk Murphy, Catherine Wildon, Sarah Comyn, Nicole Bonamici from UCD, and the artist in residence from the THISISPOPBABY Theatre and event company Jenny Jennings.
The day wrapped up with a panel discussion on fashion at the Royal Academy of Music Dublin, where they engaged with the fashion design community, enriching their understanding of Ireland’s contributions to the future of fashion.
Day 2: Exploring Immersive Design and Innovation in Digital Fields
On Wednesday, November 13, the team met with Danielle Townsend and Charlotte Barker from the Institute of Designers in Ireland, discussing the crucial role of design in restructuring the Irish public sector via their Action Plan for designing better public services, and their initiatives to close the creative skillsgap.
Their Design Declares initiative is a progressive endeavor in which a growing contingent of Irish designers, agencies and studios are acting to combat the threat of the climate and ecological emergency Europe is facing. Their design community commits to harnessing the tools of the design world to reimagine and rebuild our world.
Following this, they connected with Gareth Lee who just partnered with EIT Culture & Creativity representing the Culture & Creative Industries Skillnet, linking government, state agencies, industry organisations, companies, universities and other stakeholders. Gareth organised a meeting at the Guinness Enterprise Center, bringing together key players like Delphine Coudray and Roisin Chapman Animation Ireland, Colm Larkin from IMIRT and Maria O´Brien from University of Galway and boardmember of IMIRT, and Camille Donegan from EIRMERSIVE.
This session was particularly valuable for understanding Ireland’s investment climate, the international reach and potential of the animation, immersive and game sectors and identifying potential areas for collaboration.
EIT Culture & Creativity’s ambition of achieving a 2.00% increase of products and services based on responsible and trustworthy technologies by European companies, and the 1.25% increase of EU SMEs that adopt disruptive trends and technology such as AI, no-code platforms and digital ethics in the gaming sector was discussed with great interest.
This short visit did not allow the team to travel outside of Dublin to visit our Community participant Creative Spark in Dundalk. Luckily Sara Daly, Executive Director at Creative Spark, was able to meet us in Dublin. The conversation gave valuable insights into the power of the global fablab network, and the importance of maker spaces in the Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSIs), and the potential of entrepeneurship when combined with the makers community.
Tania Banotti, Director of Creative Ireland, introduced the roadmap for Irelands Digital Creative Industries, and provided a clear and thorough overview of Ireland’s programs and objectives in the CCSIs.
The afternoon continued with a meeting at the Digital Hub Dublin, where Oliver and Gijs met with Fiach Mac Conghail and Aisling Murray, the creative minds behind the currently ongoing BETA Festival that has created a lot of buzz specifically around its skilled use of immersive and XR technology.
Together, the role of current digital innovation in Dublin’s creative and tech scenes was discussed and EIT Culture & Creativity’s value proposition was presented to the Digital Hub team. The Digital Hub team was excited about the possibility of conducting a joint event with EIT C&C for Ireland’s substantial creative community in the future and offered access to top cultural event sites in Ireland through their network.
The busy day wrapped up with an evening meeting with Louise Allen, Director of the Creative Futures Academy, who provided further insight into the bustling and heterogeneous Irish CCSIs and made the point of their economic relevance for the Irish state. The discussion centered around the impressive diversity of the domain, which is nevertheless lacking an umbrella organization connecting all these actors.
Day 3: Cultural Policy, Community, and Creative Support
On the final day, Gijs and Oliver visited the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) to meet with Sheena Barrett, Head of Research and Learning at IMMA. Discussions centered on cultural heritage, collaborations among European museums and EIT Culture & Creativity’s programs. Especially noteworthy was IMMA’s involvement with the pan-European Internationale museum federation to establish and exchange on best practices for the sector.
The visit continued with a panel discussion at the Irish Design Week on Diplomacy in Design, a collaboration of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and the Design and Craft Council of Ireland.
The Irish ambassador to Denmark, Elizabeth McCullough, Eugene Downes, Cultural Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Teri Smith, Consumer Manager of the economic agency Enterprise Ireland discussed with Tom Watts, whom Oliver and Gijs had met on the first day of their visit, how collaborations with national embassies showcasing cutting-edge designers from their respective home countries serve as multipliers connecting the diplomatic and creative communities in European capitals like Helsinki.
In conversation with representatives from the City of Dublin, we explored avenues to support local CCSIs and discussed initiatives to invest in the creative sector through the Local Enterprise Office. We also explored the potential of collaborating as a network of European capitals within the CCSIs.
In summary, the scouting mission to Ireland was an important step toward EIT Culture & Creativity’s recognition as a relevant player in the CCSIs in Ireland. Existing partnerships with current members were strengthened and new leads for future collaborations could be generated, contributing to EIT Culture & Creativity’s mission to build collaborative and sustainable connections across Europe’s CCSIs.
Text: Gijs Gootjes and Oliver Heerde
Pictures: P.J. Matthews
Visual: Irish Design Week
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