YONDERS: Building Agency for Young Cultural Entrepreneurs
EIT-labelled CPD programme with ICHEC Brussels Management School & Materahub (EIT Culture & Creativity)
Supporting Path 1 (ages 15–18) as expert contributors, mentoring and creating learning content on community impact, collaboration, and sustainable value.
Challenge
Many young creatives have the talent and motivation to build something meaningful, but lack the confidence, language, and support structures to turn that energy into action. Cultural entrepreneurship is often framed as “start a project” or “build a business,” while the deeper challenge sits elsewhere:
How do you help young people develop agency, collaborate across differences, and make value judgments that hold up in real communities — not only in theory?
YONDERS is designed to meet that need: a participatory learning journey that equips young cultural entrepreneurs across Europe with entrepreneurial skills, networks, and support to launch ventures that matter locally and beyond.
Approach
We contributed as an expert to YONDERS – Path 1 (15–18-year-olds), combining mentoring and content creation to strengthen participants’ ability to translate ideas into community-oriented impact.
Our contribution focused on Module 4: Community, Collaboration & Sustainable Impact (4 hours), designed around two learning outcomes:
EIT OLO 4: intercultural skills & competencies
EIT OLO 5: value judgments and sustainability competencies
The module supported participants through a clear arc:
Understanding the SDGs as a practical reference point (without losing the local context)
Preparing for and conducting an “inspiring meeting” with someone they look up to
Turning that conversation into learning: what to retain, what to change, what to test
Exploring how cultural and creative industries create impact in communities — and what trade-offs come with that
Alongside mentoring (via forum/email), we produced a short podcast contribution to support the learning pathway, focused on self-empowerment, entrepreneurial mindset, and how a futures lens can help young people act with intention when the path ahead is uncertain.
We also participated in evaluation and reflection activities to strengthen the programme as it evolves.
Outcomes
1) Young creatives strengthened their sense of agency
Participants were supported in moving from aspiration to action — building confidence in taking next steps, reaching out to others, and learning through doing.
2) Community impact made practical and discussable
The module helped participants think beyond “good intentions” and into consequences: who benefits, what value is created, what might be excluded, and what sustainability means in their specific context.
3) Collaboration skills grounded in real conversations
By building around the “inspiring meeting,” participants practiced listening, outreach, and reflection — making intercultural collaboration concrete rather than theoretical.
