From knowledge to action: INSPIRE charts Europe’s path towards sustainable skills in the performing arts

A highlight of the programme is a

round-table presentation as part of the MEET 2026 specialist conference at the , Thursday 19 November 2026 | 1.45 pm to 3.30 pm

The performing arts are facing major challenges across Europe. Sustainability, digitalisation, new forms of organisation and increasing demands for resilience are fundamentally changing the working environment of cultural and events organisations. At the same time, many existing job profiles lack the skills required for this transformation.

The roundtable‘From Knowledge to Action – INSPIRE: The European Path to New Skills in the Performing Arts’presents the Erasmus+ project INSPIRE, which addresses precisely this intersection. Eleven partner organisations (the OETHG Academy was the Austrian partner) from six European countries have worked together to develop green, digital, entrepreneurial, social and resilience-building skills for professionals in the performing arts, and to embed these sustainably in initial and continuing education.

INSPIRE is aimed at production managers, set designers, artistic directors, directors, facility managers and event technicians, as well as teachers in vocational and academic education. The aim is to support the sector in becoming an active driver of sustainable development in Europe. Through collaboration between educational institutions and labour market representatives, an innovative training programme has been developed, featuring updated job profiles, five learning modules totalling 185 hours, a handbook for teachers, and qualifications recognised across Europe.

The roundtable will also feature a presentation of the open INSPIRE learning platform. Participants will gain practical insight into its structure, learning formats, assessment processes and certification options, and learn how the developed content can be put to immediate practical use.

The roundtable invites trade visitors to discuss the future of education and training in the performing arts and to discover how European cooperation can provide concrete answers to the challenges of sustainable transformation.

INSPIRE website: https://inspire-performing-arts.eu

Link to the learning platform: https://vle.inspire-performing-arts.eu