CHERRY

No corner of our planet has been left untouched by the COVID-19 crisis. The virus itself has cost many lives, and the lockdowns experienced by many countries have destroyed jobs and businesses. At the time of writing, the social and economic impact of the pandemic in the medium and long term is difficult to foresee and measure.

The cultural and creative industries (CCIs) have been among the first sectors to shut their doors and they will be among the last to reopen. Large parts of the sector depend on human congregation. As a result, venue and site-based activities, such as theatre, live music, festivals, cinemas and museums, have been hit particularly hard. Around the world, the livelihoods of workers in different sectors have been profoundly affected by lockdowns and physical distancing measures.

The creative ecosystem, which combines a handful of multinational conglomerates with a multitude of freelance creatives and small and medium-sized enterprises, employs a significant proportion of these workers. Many people around the world depend on the cultural and creative industries for their livelihoods. Yet, the often precarious (or non-contractual) nature of their work has made artists and cultural professionals particularly vulnerable to the economic shocks that the pandemic has triggered. CHERRY project aims at improving policies and local plans addressed to CCI to react to the pandemic period and to turn the restrictions of that period with the use of innovative communication means, digital technologies and services into an opportunity for further developing this sector, to address new users and, in general, make Culture n.1ally for EU recovery.

The project will work with public institutions coming from Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Belgium, France, Latvia, and Finland to support the resilience of CCI to the COVID-19 emergency focusing on CCI and urban transformation, CCI and entrepreneurship and CCI and valorization of natural and cultural heritage assets.