Home Turning Innovation into Impact – EIT Culture & Creativity at Dutch Design Week 2024

 

 

The Dutch Design Week (DDW) demonstrated how design can shape the future of society. EIT Culture & Creativity (EIT CC) supported innovative products, services, and societal change to accelerate, sparking transitions toward a more sustainable, digital, and inclusive economy.

 

 

Starting in 2025, EIT CC will foster circularity as the overarching principle to drive the green and digital transition through open calls. By redesigning value chains and market structures to be more circular, we promoted job creation, income, and growth, all while staying within planetary boundaries. To achieve this responsible growth, we needed design that empowers innovation in circularity across market boundaries. The future of responsible growth is closely tied to the future of circular design.

 

 

It was no surprise, then, that EIT CC showcased innovative initiatives that generated impact beyond the cultural and creative sectors – such as Wellbeing Dance in health, Art-Eco in reforestation, MemorAIZ in education, and HERAI in tourism.

 

We thank everyone who joined us at the Dutch Design Week from October 19 to 27!

 

 

AN EVENT CLOSELY LINKED TO EIT CC’S INNOVATION STRATEGY  2024-2027

 

 

EIT Culture and Creativity’s Strategic Agenda for 2024-2027 aims to create positive societal and economic impact by supporting collaborative innovations that combine commercial potential with clear societal or economic benefits. The focus will be on green and digital technologies, as well as new business models like circular tech, emerging technologies, generative AI, customer trends, and intellectual property. These are closely linked to the major challenges affecting the Creative and Cultural Sectors and Industries (CCSI), including how they operate, are valued, and structured.

 

 

To support these innovations, EIT CC will offer funding through open calls for grants, targeting a wide range of players in the CCSI, from small to large. The funded projects will vary, ranging from small, single-participant initiatives testing proof of concepts to larger, multi-stakeholder international projects that integrate education, business creation, and innovation. The call topics will align with the key challenge areas outlined below and aim for specific impacts in those areas:

 

 

Fashion: Circular innovations in textile processing and recycling technology, circular business models, circular design, and supply chain innovation (e.g., Digital Product Passport).

 

Architecture: Socially focused circular innovation, new biobased materials and technology in circular building, affordable climate adaptation, and improving liveability and cohesion in urban areas.

 

Cultural Heritage: Integrating emerging technologies like AI and digital tools, new business models, and commercialising scalable products and services to strengthen the sector, preserve cultural heritage, and increase its societal impact for social cohesion.

 

Audio-visual Media: Responsible use of technology such as generative AI, data collection and processing, new business models around disruptive technologies, and new ways of working with intellectual property, digital identity, and sovereignty.

 

Gaming: Innovations focused on digital ethics and cross-sector collaboration with disruptive technologies.

 

 

EIT CC will also pilot Societal Transformation Programmes to ensure the integration of innovation, education, and business creation. These programmes are designed to foster systemic thinking and create sustainable ecosystems, moving beyond siloed approaches while ensuring positive societal impact.

 

 

 

EIT CC SHOWCASING INNOVATION AT DDW – OVERVIEW 

 

      • Art-Eco is the first initiative of its kind, transforming reforestation by leveraging the power of the world’s largest cultural movement—gaming.

      • MemorAIZ is at the forefront of AI-driven job market automation, offering an AI-powered learning app that enhances memory retention, streamlines note-taking, and personalizes the learning experience.

      • HERAI is a commercial platform empowering cultural organizations to benefit from the income generated by cultural tourism across Europe, using data intelligence.

      • Wellbeing Dance introduces a bio-psycho-social approach to elder care through creative dance interventions, integrating technology to address challenges related to aging, dementia risk, and social isolation.

    Share