How can we ensure that AI supports the creative and cultural sector instead of replacing them, and that its impact remains fair and responsible?

How can we enhance Cultural Heritage through Networks, Mobility & EU Funding Opportunities?

These are the themes MCA has worked on during the last two events it participated in. The two events, organized by the Europe Creative Desk of Slovenia and the Europe Creative Desk of the Republic of North Macedonia, have been valuable moments of learning and knowledge exchange.

Specifically, our Policy and Project Manager Marco Fiore, specialised in AI and digital policies ,  has been present to the first one in Sloveny, held in Ljubljana the 8 October 2025, and co-organised by the Motovila Institute. 

The conference brought together representatives from all the cultural and creative sectors (CCS) with the objective of exploring the way forward in the face of Generative AI. The crucial question of the role of the CCS in building the ethical boundaries of this technology was answered in different ways and from different perspectives: the social and environmental impact, the creatives who implemented AI systems in their art-making processes, the need for collaboration between the sector and the developers. The bottom line is that we need ethics rules for AI development as we need rules in sports – to play on common grounds, as teams and as a society.

More than a thousand kilometers away, our Senior project manager Pier Giacomo Sola went to the second meeting dedicated to the Networks for Cultural Heritage held on the 14–15 October 2025. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Creative Europe Desk – North Macedonia, in collaboration with the National Institute and Museum Bitola, the event brought together representatives from national and local institutions, NGO’s, as well as professionals from the fields of museology, archaeology, and performing arts. The aim was to provide a better understanding of the various funding opportunities available within the cultural sector.

European programmes such as Creative Europe, Erasmus +, Horizon Europe, with their specific characteristics and funding opportunities, were analysed in depth, accompanied by the presentation of case studies which exemplified their practical implementation. 

The event particularly highlighted the role of international, European, and regional advisory and professional networks in fostering European cultural cooperation, facilitating networking and mobility, capacity building, and supporting the development of long-term partnerships between organisations – a key prerequisite for successful participation in European projects. 

Thanks to the direct contact with cultural professionals, MCA has acquired a better knowledge of the specificities of the Republic of North Macedonia, strengthening the basis for a fruitful collaboration. In particular the strong integration among the national agencies supporting the participation of macedonian institutions in the Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and Creative Europe programmes, can pave the way to an effective transfer of experience from the research to the educational sectors. The presentation of the recent projects developed by MCA within the Erasmus+ programme – namely CreativeSchool, CrowdSchool and Pitcher – provided the participants with suggestions and practical examples how the educational potential of the cultural institutions can be effectively made available to schools.

MCA, enriched by these two last events, is enormously grateful to have shared this experience with other professionals of the sector. The events showed the dynamism and the importance of the Creative Europe Desks to reach granular collective intelligence.

MCA Policy Manager Marco Fiore speaking in Nova Goriça © Motovila