1 of 24

InnovationLab –

Training for Sustainable Projects

Cultural Entrepreneurship – scaling sustainable change

Workshop 2 - 13th of December, 2025

2 of 24

Contents

Training (1 h)

Practical tasks (1 h)

1: Definition of cultural entrepreneurship and examples

2: Definition of sustainability

3: How do cultural entrepreneurship & sustainability go hand in hand?

4: How can cultural entrepreneurship support climate change mitigation and adaptation?

5: Starting from zero with disruptive ideas and scaling

Task 1: Delivery of disruptive ideas

Task 2: Creation of revenue streams from disruptive ideas

3 of 24

Presentation of the participants

4 of 24

Culture is an important aspect of our lives. Culture is not just something for our minds, hearts and souls but also something that can impact our societies from an economical point of view.

CULTURE > ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Training 📋

Definition of cultural entrepreneurship and examples

5 of 24

MSc Isabella Mavellia defines cultural entrepreneurship as “creating business opportunities whilst resolving a pressing issue, whilst creating positive externalities and new job opportunities in an innovative way”.

Training 📋

Definition of cultural entrepreneurship and examples

Creativity

Marketing

Change

Cultural Entrepreneurship

Conceptual model of cultural entrepreneurship

6 of 24

Training 📋

Definition of cultural entrepreneurship and examples

A curve that shows all possible combinations of two types of goods that a country can produce under the following conditions is called its production possibility curve (PPC) - source: https://www.economicsonline.co.uk/definitions/production-possibility-curve-ppc.html/.

CLASSIC ECONOMIC GROWTH

7 of 24

📢 Innovation: eg. increase in speed of production due to machines (Fordism)

📢 Efficiency: e.g. increase in productivity due to innovative production cycles

📢 Invention: e.g. increase in GDP due to genius idea that changes the system and the way of functioning of societies (Leonardo Da Vinci, Gutenberg, Thomas Edison - Electric Power, etc.)

Training 📋

Definition of cultural entrepreneurship and examples

ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH INNOVATION

8 of 24

The following directives, conventions and laws give liberties for liberal work and thus freedom to pursue entrepreneurship and cultural entrepreneurship:

📍“Our Common Future:” Framework for our European Liberties: Setting the tone for a European Union

📍“The Faro Convention”: Cultural Heritage is a basic human right

📍“The Green Deal”: Shaping a future which is based on green and circular economies

📍“UNSDG’s”: The United Nations and the fundamental Sustainable Development Goals

Training 📋

Definition of cultural entrepreneurship and examples

9 of 24

4 Defining characteristics of cultural entrepreneurship

🔬 Innovation

📉 Unbalanced or lack of access to resources and capital

☔ Risk-taking

🔛 Promotion of culture as a bridge in today's world

Training 📋

Definition of cultural entrepreneurship and examples

10 of 24

Professor Günter Faltin is a German economist and entrepreneur. In his vision, being an entrepreneur is more like being an artist that designs ideas and that often combines them to make a new and disruptive idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFfWwOCP1TA

🔀

Training 📋

Definition of cultural entrepreneurship and examples

A disruptive idea …….

11 of 24

Sustainability is a concept that has become a highlight in our societies, businesses and communities. We often associate this concept with the well-being of the planet, of the communities and of people.

Etymology - Sustainability (Nachhaltigkeit = Nach / halten) to “hold for future generations”; Forstwirtschaft / Forestry “HOMO OEKONOMIKUS”

Did you know that this concept originates from a German scientist, called Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645–1714)?

Training 📋

Definition of sustainability

12 of 24

Short timeline of sustainability

🔊 Industrial Revolution (18th-19th centuries)

🔊 Mid 20th century (impact of the emissions on environment and atmosphere)

🔊 First UN Conference on Human Environment (1972)

🔊 Rise of the concept of "Sustainable Development" (1987)

🔊 Observations about climate change by NASA (1988)

🔊 First COP Meeting (1995)

🔊 Coining of the ESG concept by UN (2004)

🔊 Paris Agreement (2015)

🔊 Sustainability pledges of companies (2010-present days)

The future is sustainable but ……. how do we get there?

Training 📋

Definition of sustainability

13 of 24

Cultural entrepreneurship and sustainability go hand in hand as there are multiple connections between these two concepts:

  • Cultural preservation and craftsmanship;
  • Ethnic revival;
  • Community engagement;
  • Resource efficiency;
  • Ethical production;
  • Place-branding;
  • Reusing, repurposing and recycling;
  • Alternative and unexplored niches;
  • Ecological considerations;
  • Protection of the environment;
  • Deconstruction and construction of new spaces, etc.

Training 📋

How do cultural entrepreneurship & sustainability go hand in hand?

14 of 24

Cultural entrepreneurship can be a catalyst that supports climate change mitigation and adaptation.

💡 Foster social cohesion with culture and arts to drive community activation and engagement;

💡 Integrate cultural perspectives and entrepreneurs into ecological protection and restoration;

💡 Emphasize cultural businesses as innovation incubators for climate change adaptation;

Training 📋

How can cultural entrepreneurship support climate change mitigation and adaptation?

15 of 24

💡 Increase the funding for heritage-led economic activities, especially in areas that are severely affected by climate changes and shifts;

💡 Use local artists and artists networks as drivers for education and training of young generations;

💡 Establish dialogues with CCIs leaders and entrepreneurs in designing long term strategies for the economic growth of cities;

💡 Produce and sell new cultural and artistic assets using traditional and locally-sourced materials;

💡 Promote intercultural exchanges and cultural tourism opportunities to raise awareness on climate change precarity and resilience, etc.

Training 📋

How can cultural entrepreneurship support climate change mitigation and adaptation?

16 of 24

Disruptive ideas can come out of the efforts of the deployment of cultural entrepreneurship initiatives and scaling of these initiatives.

Training 📋

Starting from zero with disruptive ideas and scaling

Needs

Pain points

Opportunities

Products

& Services

17 of 24

Training 📋

Starting from zero with disruptive ideas and scaling

Seek partnerships and collaborate with local stakeholders

Keep cultural goods, products and services accessible

Address real problems, needs and pain points of customers and clients

Design well-thought out execution and budgeting

Make use of digital tools

Acknowledge progress and success

Think long-term about the communities you want to serve

Research and plan in advance

18 of 24

Think of and invent disruptive solutions that can help mitigate or solve problems in various parts of the world.

Practical tasks 📋

Task 1: Delivery of disruptive ideas

  1. Local artisans from rural areas in Romania are facing loss of intangible heritage and unemployment.

How can you solve this by using cultural entrepreneurship?

  • In India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam there is exploitation connected to the fashion industry.

Invent a disruptive solution to tackle this pressing issue using cultural entrepreneurship.

19 of 24

Think of and invent disruptive solutions that can help mitigate or solve problems in various parts of the world.

Practical tasks 📋

Task 1: Delivery of disruptive ideas

C. Because of global warming, polar glaciers are melting, causing a global sea level rise for multiple coastal areas.

How can you use cultural entrepreneurship and technology to mitigate this problem?

D. Many rivers in Italy are dirty due to pollution.

How can you use cultural entrepreneurship and technology to clean rivers and river banks while creating new jobs in tourism?

20 of 24

Think of ideas to generate revenue from one of the solutions provided in the previous task.

Practical tasks 📋

Task 2: Creation of revenue streams from disruptive ideas

Once you have thought of potential ideas to solve or mitigate the problems described above, consider ways to generate revenues and scale by doing:

  • A business canvas,
  • A product and service implementation plan,
  • Pricing plans,
  • A communication plan.

21 of 24

Thank you all!

To receive well-deserved feedback, please send your outputs to 💻 office@greenereu.com.

22 of 24

Isabella Hannelore

Arcangela Mavellia

  • Capacità scientifica

Membro del Comitato Scientifico dell'Itinerario Culturale Via Romea Germanica del Consiglio d'Europa

  • Formazione

Master in Relazioni Internazionali (Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia) 2016-2018

Sciences Po Paris 2014-2016

Laurea in Economia Aziendale e Management Touro College Berlin 2014

Berlin Brandenburg International School, Berlino 2010

  • Imprenditrice seriale

Vorhilfe 2014, SAIA 2017, GreenerEU 2020, Venywhere 2021, VUL 2022

  • Esperta in finanziamenti UE

Membro del Patto per le Alleanze per le Competenze per l'attuazione di strategie di finanziamento UE

Facilitatore di finanziamenti UE

23 of 24

GreenerEU 2050 

CEO Isabella Mavellia

Leading Changemaker in Sustainable Tourism �+39 328 741 18 79 �+49 170 936 9338 �

📧 office@greenereu.com �🌐 www.greenereu.com

Your choices of Today mirror the world of Tomorrow

24 of 24

InnovationLab – Civic Training for Sustainable Projects

2025-2026

il nuovo percorso partecipativo promosso da The Human Safety Net e curato da Baba Jaga, Centro di Studio e di Ricerca Internazionale sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Rete scolastica “Dialogues for Futures” e GreenerEU per attivare creatività, resilienza e pensiero critico, come leve di cambiamento.