This year ECHN HUBs Meetup is organised by the European Creative Hubs Network with the support of BASIS Vinschgau Venosta, our hosting hub in Silandro.
In this context, creative hubs must reimagine how they operate. The triple lens of Recovery, Resilience, and Resistance offers a framework for transformative action. Recovery speaks to the urgent need to restore disrupted practices and rebuild cultural ecosystems. Resilience demands the development of long-term strategies and capacities to withstand future shocks. Resistance highlights the importance of advocacy, solidarity, and the assertion of cultural value in the face of marginalisation and displacement.
To move forward, hubs must shift positionalities, form new coalitions, and build capacities for collective action. Through cross-sectoral partnerships, institutional negotiation, and community-rooted advocacy, they can reposition themselves not just as cultural actors, but as vital agents in shaping urban, social, and economic futures.
A central theme of the conference is how cultural and hybrid creative spaces can be developed and secured within speculative or volatile environments. Drawing from the experience of BASIS and other international cases, we will explore how uncertainty and instability, rather than being purely obstructive, can be reimagined as catalysts for innovation, experimentation, and social change.
This gathering also asks: how do we cultivate agility and adaptability as sustainable strategies? What tools and capacities are needed to engage with public authorities and private stakeholders? How can international networks reinforce local voices in policy discussions and ensure access to cultural infrastructure in contested urban environments?
By addressing these questions, Recovery, Resilience, and Resistance aims to generate practical insights, build solidarity, and offer a renewed sense of shared purpose. The event serves as a strong expression of international support for BASIS and similar initiatives, highlighting the importance of securing cultural spaces and recognising their role as engines of creativity, inclusion, and democratic renewal.
MORNING
AFTERNOON
Location: BASIS Vinschgau Venosta | Room Drusus-Kaserne/Caserma Druso | |
| 17:00 | REGISTRATION |
| 17:30-17:50 | Welcome Words
Informal Introduction to the programmeRita Cortes, ECHN |
| 17:50-18:10 | Kick-off SpeechSustainability in EuropeClimate Challenges for European CitiesAnna-Lisa Boni, Deputy Mayor for EU/Recovery funds, climate mission 2030: neutrality and transition, international relations |
| 18:10-18:30 | Inspirational Speech #1Social Sustainability in the CCSIt was yesterday!“Sustainability was Yesterday. We need to build a new cultural framework for the ’20s.” Bertram Niessen, Scientific director of the cultural association cheFare, PhD UrbEur – European Studies in Urban and Local Sociology |
| 18:30 | Welcome Cocktail & Speed Networking |
Thursday, 16 October 2025
MORNING
Location: BASIS Vinschgau Venosta | Room
Drusus-Kaserne/Caserma Druso
Kortscher Straße 97/Via Corzes 97
39028 Schlanders/Silandro
| 09:30-10:30 | WELCOME COFFEETour of BASIS. Join the BASIS team for a guided tour of the hub and discover the highlights of their journey over the past years! |
| 10:30-11:00 | INSPIRATIONAL KEYNOTECross Innovation – Cultural and creative industries as drivers for the green, digital and social transitionThere is no doubt that the cultural and creative industries have the potential and ability to play a key role in transforming our society. But what kind of framework is needed to empower the cultural and creative stakeholders in this context? Jenny Kornmacher |
| 11:00-11:30 | COFFEE BREAK |
| 11:30-13:30 | BREAK-OUT ACTIVITIES1- Reshaping the creative industries: A power shift back to the artists How new technological trends can usher in a RenAIssance age 3.0? A legal, technical and philosophical perspective on how new technologies can be utilised to give ownership & control back to the artists while also introduce new business models for the creative institutions. In other words, technology that can protect copyrights & revenue streams through transparent frameworks which will be absolutely necessary in an age when digitalisation & AI is challenging the creative markets. 2- Night School: sustainability & night culture (presentation + open talk) Five of Europe’s leading nightlife specialists team up to present NightSchool: An EU wide training programme designed to support night culture producers early in their career. This transnational education programme will focus on environmental, social, and economic sustainability. 3- Social Impact Canvas for creative change makers (workshop) With a research-based intuitive tool, The Social Impact Canvas, you can improve value statements to financiers, create incentives for public funding, attract an audience, and spread awareness on important topics. With The Social Impact Canvas, you’ll define the specific social impact of your work, not only the commonly pressing injustices, such as climate change, human rights, or the education gap but rather social impact as you define it. The Impact Canvas also helps you to consider how to measure and understand the impact, how to find adequate measurement instruments, and how to consider different kinds of data as part of cultural work. 4- Communitive: Play the Rethink card game! (workshop) Get to know a playful project that explores 35 initiatives and communities of Malmö and explore the concept of “Communitives”. In this playful breakout session we will introduce you to a special c ollaboration in cities: a network of communitives. Following a brief introduction to the concept; you will get the chance to play the Rethink card game in smaller groups and come up with creative solutions to challenging problems. Expect interactive games, non-formal learning and inspiring conversations. With Sára Bányai and Alanna Piquet |
| 13:30-15:00 | Lunch & Networking |
AFTERNOON
| 15:00-17:00 | FERAL WALK, walking workshopWhat can nonhuman species and elements tell us about the development and future of Malmö? How can we take stories of ecology to help us realize better futures of coexistence in cities? The feral walk will bring participants through three showcase districts of Malmö to look at how different influences and ecologies there have shaped the past, present, and future of city living. Participants will be invited to draw comparisons between Malmö urban ecological connections in their own city and how creativity can bring social-ecological relationships more broadly. Inna Zrajaeva and John Kazior, designers and founders of FERAL – a design agency focusing on Ecology and art | ||
| 18:00-19:30 | Drinks at the City CouncilWelcome wordsBy Janne Grönholm, Mayor of Culture, City of Malmö Statues or To-Stand?By Nya Rörelsen: ‘Statues or To-Stand?’ is a work that enters the Culture of Memory to renegotiate the ways in which a monument can represent human life. The work is performed as an open installation that can be viewed from any position in the space, and the audience is invited to come and go at their own pace. Location: Malmö City Hall, Kompanigatan 5, 211 34 |
Friday, 17 October 2025
MORNING
Location: BASIS Vinschgau Venosta | Room Drusus-Kaserne/Caserma Druso | |
Side Event | |
10:00-10:30 | MORNING COFFEE AND INFORMAL NETWORKING |
10:30-12:30 | ECHN GENERAL ASSEMBLY(ECHN MEMBERS ONLY) & OPEN SPACE NETWORKING(ALL OTHERS) |
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photo credit: Lottozero
Timișoara, as the European capital of culture for the year 2023, places the focus on strengthening the sense of community in the city. Boosting the confidence of its citizens to actively participate in the cultural production of their local communities is among the main objectives of the ECC institution this year. In this regard, Timisoara’s vibrant community of creative hubs leads the way into a common creative future.
BASIS Vinschgau Venosta, located in the repurposed Drusus barracks in Silandro, South Tyrol, is a dynamic hub for social innovation and creativity. Founded to transform a historically significant site into a community-centered space, BASIS combines business, education, culture, and social engagement. Its mission is to foster sustainable regional development by empowering individuals and groups to actively shape their local environment. A key feature of BASIS is its focus on inclusivity and collaboration. By fostering cross-generational and cross-sectoral exchanges, the hub builds bridges between diverse perspectives, creating fertile ground for innovation. BASIS revitalizes the region by blending tradition with modernity, offering a platform for education, experimentation, and sustainable development.
https://basis.space/en/
The European Creative Hubs Network is a peer-led network with a mission to enhance the creative, economic and social impact of hubs around Europe and neighbouring countries. As focal points for creative professionals and businesses, hubs offer the most effective way to support the growth and development of cultural and creative industries. The European Creative Hubs Network Project activated a program coordinated by ECHN for the members of its network. This project has been funded since 2021 by Creative Europe, as one of the European networks supporting the cultural and creative sector.
ECHNThe program aims at empowering creative hubs as main focal points for creative professionals and businesses. The central fronts of action include mobility opportunities for hub managers and community members, learning exchanges and workshops, advocacy at local and European level and academic research to highlight the role of creative hubs within the cultural and creative industries.
With the support of
