“DeuS – European Open Design School for Sustainable Regional Development” is a regional Vocational Educational Training project which aims to co-create a European-wide learning and training approach in design, critical thinking, and entrepreneurship to find creative and cost-effective solutions to local challenges, by unlocking the potential of the cultural and creative sector.

DeuS is a pilot project under the European Commission program Erasmus+ and will run for two years by a consortium of ten partners: Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 (IT), Consorzio Materahub Industrie Culturali e Creative (IT), Vytautas Magnus University – VMU (LT), XAMK – South Eastern University of Applied Sciences (FI), ECBN – European Creative Business Network (NL), University of Wales Trinity Saint David Royal Charter – UWTSD – Creative Industries Research and Innovation Centre – CIRIC (UK), Creative Region Linz & Upper Austria GmbH (AT), Creative Business Cup Foundation (DK), Valletta 2018 Foundation (MT), Creative Industry Košice – CIKE (SK). 

DeuS is shaped around Open Design School, the pillar project of Matera 2019. Its methodology –  a design laboratory using a peer-to-peer approach, where professionals of any discipline work together sharing knowledge and expertise and testing the design solutions with the local community – will be used for DeuS training activities.

This training methodology will be used to develop a toolkit that will be made available on a Creative Knowledge Platform where the education system, in particular VET (vocational and educational training), and the cultural and creative industries (ICC) professionals will be able to draw on an open source training offer, based on a participatory and co-creation approach. The platform also aims to establish a community for the different target groups across the ICC sector, encouraging cross-sector and cross-border collaboration and promoting the meeting between creatives, policy makers and citizens.

Users can expect high-level and user-friendly training, tools, and sources in support of lifelong learning in the cultural and creative industries with a focused and pragmatic response also to the critical needs of the CCI sector apparent as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Alongside the digital universe, the project will organize collaborative problem-solving sessions across Europe.  The project will challenge the concept of sustainable local development by focusing on the transformative power of the cultural and creative industries.

The DeuS projects’ ultimate goal is to put human capital, local communities, and the creative and cultural operators at the forefront of regional development strategies, which is exactly what the combination of the Creative Knowledge Platform and the physical training and co-creation events can provide. The goal is to foster open dialogue with policymakers and to show them that the community of educators, creatives and local forces that the project is building is the key to enabling the innovative, sustainable and lasting solutions we need. 

DeuS has launched a set of four surveys to understand the current needs of the cultural and creative industries.The aim is to hear from the stakeholders to gain insights and an in-depth understanding of needs, challenges, barriers and innovative solutions in place across the cultural and creative sector. The information get from the study will go towards creating an optimised training programme and resources for the benefit of cultural and creative industries across Europe.

Through the DeuS project the legacies of the experience of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019 are beginning to be harnessed. The wealth of skills and good practices developed in this path from Open Design School,  will be transferred to an international think tank, offering innovative solutions for the benefit of the local and European creative and cultural sector.