Empowering Creative Circular Entrepreneurs will upskill creatives and aspiring creatives AND those who train them (VET educators) to embrace circular economic principles as a key tool to adapt their business to a more sustainable model that reduces costs and waste while protecting and creating jobs.  Led by Roscommon Leader Partnership and joined by AKEP (Greece), Momentum (Ireland), CeKaTe (Croatia), Global Impact Grid (Germany) and EUEI (Denmark), Circular Creatives will upskill creative entrepreneurs and aspiring creatives as well as VET educators and trainers to embrace the principles of the circular economy to adapt to a more sustainable business model that reduces costs and waste while protecting and creating jobs.

Circular Creatives is based on the reality that the creative industry will not return to its pre-pandemic peak unless a new way of supporting and upskilling creatives for modern business and future employment needs are introduced. Amid the economic crisis of the last two years, there has been a growing call for new ways of doing business and to future-proof the creative sector going forward. However, skills development is needed to adapt self-employed and unemployed creatives to achieve circularity in their professions

Circular Creatives will support a fair and resilient return for creatives, teaching them how to make their business circular and more sustainable and how these actions will lead to reduced waste, costs and resource use in their business model. A collaboration between VET educators and creative industry professionals will combine an innovative learner body with a newfound knowledge of circular skills that will lead to countless possibilities and opportunities for further development in creative sustainability.

Circular Creatives has four key objectives: –

1. Understand the weaknesses and strengths of the creative industry through exploratory panels, with particular focus on circular economy for job potential and positive business impact
2. Upskill the VET community to train creative entrepreneurs how to explicitly implement circular practices into their own business, providing a courseto people to learn how to start-up their own circular enterprise .
3. Build and maintain connections between creative entrepreneurs, educators and unemployed creatives through intelligence sharing, opportunity giving and mentoring, facilitated by an online platform.
4. Ensuring long term viability and continued implementation of circular models through a ‘Zero-Waste’ Circular Workshop Guide, aiding entrepreneurs to meet regularly and promote their circular businesses to customers and a wider supportive network within business and local government.