Festivals generally survive and grow through a variety of public and international funding sources, private sector sponsorships and box office income. At the same time as delivering on their artistic mission, festivals are required to serve the agendas of their multiple sources of funding in order to survive.  With COVID-19 severely limiting festivals and their ability to serve their audiences and their funders – but also with significantly reduced costs for those that have taken their festivals online – what are some of the contemporary business models being formulated by festivals?  Are these models temporary or could they become the way festival business is conducted in the future?

The Online Training sessions offered in 2020 consisted of courses including 2-3 days of training (4-6h/day) and an optional social networking moment on Friday after the training. Training courses were topic-based, focusing on different themes.

Each session included:

• Training sessions  – Two days of plenary sessions per training, each day consisting of a 4-hours long session with a break in between
• Networking – Break-out groups of 5-6 people for socialising and connecting
• DJ sessions – An optional online party on Friday after the training with guest DJs from different world regions
• Taking into account different time zones: the plenary sessions will be scheduled - and some of them recorded - so people can see it at different times

Participants were guided by experts from a wide geographical, social, inter-disciplinary as well as cross-sectorial range (experts from foundations, social movements, etc) to collect a range of different experiences and strategies. 

Find out more about the programme here.