We are pleased to forward the invitation to the Final Event Phase 1 of the CLAY Project – Interreg Europe, that will take place, on-line, on May 20th 2021 (9.30 – 13.30 CEST time).
CLAY project – Interreg Europe: The intermediate event to discuss CLAY results: Taking Stock
The Interreg Europe CLAY project (Cross Sector support for Innovative and Competitive Artistic Ceramic SMEs) has reached the middle of its course and the intermediate event, which will be held online during the last week of May 2021, marks the transition from the interregional exchange and learning phase to the implementation of action plans.
CLAY is an Interreg Europe project launched in June 2018, which aims to support the ceramic sector by giving priority to new technologies, strengthening brands and developing new services to maintain a competitive advantage and face the challenge of globalization.
[Online meeting 24-02-2021]
[Online meeting 24-02-2021]
Towards the Turkish Association of Cities of Ceramics
AEuCC continues in its activity of inspiring the start of new AxCC around the world, based on the already existing experiences of national associations of cities of ceramics.
Turkey is a nation with a great ceramic tradition (whose roots can be traced at least as far back as the Uighurs of the 8th and 9th centuries), many ceramic centers and numerous decorations throughout a history that covers centuries.
For some years already, relations have been established with universities and cities, particularly through professor of Izmir University Sevim Cizer and ceramist herself, and recently the ceramics art-oriented ‘wmn&ART’ project (www.wmn-art.eu), that aims at supporting inactive women in developing home-based micro enterprises, has also restored AEuCC relations with Turkey thanks to the Turkish partners: Ardahan University (lead partner), GaleriM Armada, POINT and Tüm Avrupa Kadınları Kültürel İşbirliği ve Dayanışma Derneği (TAKIDD).
Yet another success for the Cerasmus+ project
Cerasmus+ is a european project co-funded by the program Erasmus+, which was born from the initiative of AEuCC – European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation “Cities of Ceramics” and has started in 2017 with the goals to protect the European traditional heritage, to modernize the ceramic sector and to develop vocational training in ceramic craft industry enhancing work based learning models. Cerasmus+ faces the challenges of global competition, loss of skills, difficulties of getting into the market and lack of financial resources and economic capacity, relying on three pillars: Heritage, Innovation and Network.
Recently, the project was included in the VET Success Story document by INAPP (National Institute for Public Policy Analysis) 2014-2020.
AEuCC assembly online
On Tuesday 10th of December 2020 was held online the general AEuCC assembly, with the presence online of about 30 participants from Italy, Spain, France, Romania, Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Poland, Croatia, Switzerland and Turkey.
AEuCC President Xavier Morant Verdejo (elected in the 2019 assembly held in Manises, Spain) welcomed all the participants, especially the representatives of the original Members (Association of the Cities of Ceramics from Italy, Spain, France and Romania), of the new Members to be admitted in the present meeting (Associations from Czech Republic, Germany and Portugal), to the Observer Members (from Austria and Poland) and to the Cities interested in creating new Associations of Cities of Ceramics in their Countries (Croatia, Switzerland, Turkey) and join in the future AEuCC and expressed appreciation for the time and effort spent for the growing of the European Grouping, which in 2020 sees an enlargement to 7 Members and 4 in “pipeline” preparation to the admission.
EUROPEAN PROJECTS PRESENTED AND UNDER EVALUATION
AiCC, in cooperation with AEuCC, has presented in the recent months several projects to be financed by European programs, which are currently being evaluated:
Cerasmus-2-Innovation: it is the continuation of the recently concluded CERASMUS+ project; presented in Italy on the Erasmus program – VET axis (Vocational Educational and Training or professional and continuous training), aims to deepen the issues already started with the first project (to analyze the skills needs of the sector with reference to the improvement of the “value chain”, to enhance the urban environment and the start-up of businesses, to combine the tradition of ceramics with innovative design and production techniques, to review and innovate professional training in the ceramics sector through work-based learning models in order to strengthen the value of the sector at the cultural, social and economic level).
The project sees as coordinator AEuCC and as partner the Grue Institute of Castelli and other educational institutions of Manises (Spain), Leiria and Caldas da Rainha (Portugal), Letovice and Kunstat (Czech Republic) and Forssa (Finland) in addition to TUCEP of Perugia as a technical consultant partner on Erasmus.
Test. – Teaching hiStory of Ceramics: presented in Spain on the Erasmus program – VET axis (Vocational Educational and Training or professional and continuing training) is a project conceived by an Italian-Polish working group (composed of Viola Emaldi, curator of AiCC projects and IFTS director on ceramics of Faenza, Elisa Emiliani specialist AiCC and AEuCC European projects, Piotr Kielan Rector of the Academy of Wroclaw and Alicjia Patanowska, ceramics referent of that Academy and coordinated by Giuseppe Olmeti of AiCC) which aims to create and disseminate, with different methods and on different platforms (short lectures or conferences, monographic courses, extended programs, multi-day courses to be held in classroom and online) the “history of ceramics” of the individual nations of the partners participating in the project and define a teaching program crossed by such courses by the Institutes of other nations.
The project sees as coordinator AiCC and as partner the Associations of the Cities of Ceramics of Spain (AeCC) and France (AfCC) and school institutions of Wroclaw (Poland), Leiria and Caldas da Rainha (Portugal) and Letovice and Kunstat (Czech Republic ) as well as AEuCC as a communication partner and TUCEP of Perugia as a technical consultant partner on Erasmus.
CERAZENS – Ceramic sector meets Citizens: presented on the Citizens program: democratic engagement and civic participation – Network of Cities axis is a project resulting from the existence of the European network of Ceramic Cities permanently spread in 7 countries and from the opportunity that collaboration and trust between Associations and between individual cities can promote and implement a fruitful collaboration in terms of analysis and understanding of needs, opportunities and actions, to provide support to the existing world crisis by raising awareness and implementing actions of democratic commitment and civic participation.
The project sees as coordinating subject AEuCC and as partner the Associations of the Cities of Ceramics of Italy (AiCC), Spain (AeCC), France (AfCC), Romania (ArCC), Rep. Cheka (AczCC), Portugal (AptCVC) and Germany (AgCC).
Image source: pixabay
The fifth meeting of CLAY – Interreg Europe project
September 23, 2020 – The 5th meeting of the CLAY project (Cross Sector support for Innovative and Competitive Artistic Ceramic SMEs), funded by the Interreg program of the European Union, which aims to support the small and medium-sized enterprises in the ceramic sector by acting on regional policies, was held on Wednesday 23 September 2020.
On the CLAY official website is published the news, which includes four videos, showing the peculiarities of Horezu ceramics: LINK
CLAY project – Interreg Europe: From the Good Practices to the Action Plans
The fourth meeting of CLAY – Interreg Europe project was held
in Caldas da Rainha, Coimbra and Aveiro (Portugal)
on February 19 and 20, 2020
February 19 and 20, 2020 – The CLAY (Cross Sector support for Innovative and Competitive Artistic Ceramic SMEs) partnership meeting was held in February 2020 in Portugal, between the cities of Caldas da Rainha, Coimbra and Aveiro.
The partners (from Italy, Finland, France, Portugal, Romania and Spain) studied the situation of the ceramic field in Portugal, thanks to the precious support of the Portuguese partner CTCV and of the Portuguese Association of Cities and Villages of Ceramics (AptCVC).
A NEW ERASMUS + PROJECT IN THE CERAMIC MATTER KICKS OFF: Women & Art
Transferring ceramic art hobbies into a future income
With the kick-off meeting held last December at the University of Ardahan, in the far north-east of Turkey on the border with Armenia and Georgia, the Erasmus+ project “Women & Art” officially started. The project is approved by the Turkish Erasmus+ program authorities and sees the University of Ardahan as Lead Partner, the Ankara Point company as organizational consultant and the AEuCC (European Grouping of Cities of Ceramics) as consultant in the sector and communication.
The project involves 5 countries and 9 partners for 2 years: wmn&ART aims at supporting inactive women in developing home-based micro enterprises, with a particular focus on ceramic art and craft activities, increasing wealth in European society.
The project website: https://www.wmn-art.eu/
The Czech Association of Cities of Ceramics became an official member of AEuCC
Following the collaboration and promotion actions carried out by the Associations of the Cities of Ceramics in Europe and of the original members of AEuCC, following the initiative started by the city of kunstat, the Czech association was funded. It consists of 3 cities: Kunštát (www.kunstat-mesto.cz/), Dubí (www.mesto-dubi.cz) and Levín (www.mestyslevin.cz).
The Czech Asociation of Cities of Ceramics – AczCC was founded on 25 August 2016 in Kunštát with the participation of the mayors of the three founding municipalities.