On 6–7 November 2025, Porto became the beating heart of the reflections on the future of culture and creativity in Europe. Hosted at the Faculty of Economics and Casa da Música, the conference organised by EIT Culture & Creativity, together with UPTEC – Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto and the University of Porto, gathered partners and stakeholders of this Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) to explore how culture and creativity can reshape Europe’s competitiveness and resilience.
Among the key participants was Materahub, one of the founding core partners of the EIT Culture & Creativity KIC. Our representative, Becky Riches, was interviewed during the event, sharing Materahub’s long-term vision and commitment to building a sustainable and connected creative ecosystem across Europe.
A Long-Term Commitment to Building a European Creative Ecosystem
It was 2021 when Materahub joined the application for the consortium that would go on to win the EIT Culture & Creativity call and from that very first moment, there was never a moment of hesitation, even through the challenging phases that followed. Our conviction has always been clear: Europe’s cultural and creative industries need a strong, long-term initiative capable of connecting the many efforts, programmes, and policies developed over the past fifteen years into one coherent vision.
We saw in EIT Culture & Creativity the opportunity to build that vision, a platform that unites research, education, business, and policy to make culture and creativity a true engine of economic growth and social wellbeing. Joining this community has allowed us to work alongside universities, research centres, and business associations, strengthening our mission in education, business support, internationalisation, and cooperation across the CCS sector.
Acting as a catalyst for collaboration, EIT Culture & Creativity connects diverse stakeholders across Europe, guided by the New European Bauhaus principles, and creates long-term impact by sharing scalable practices and innovative models. For creatives, SMEs, and regions, it represents an unprecedented opportunity to grow, collaborate, and experiment within a truly European ecosystem.
Insights from the Porto Conference
Over two intense and inspiring days, the conference in Porto unfolded as a living laboratory of ideas with keynotes, artistic interventions, and hands-on workshops that challenged how we imagine the future of Europe’s cultural and creative industries. One of the strongest threads running through the discussions was the question of digital autonomy.
Today, more than 90% of Europe’s cultural and creative content lives on platforms developed outside the continent. The debate went far beyond the idea of simply replicating these tools; instead, participants explored how we might design new, value-driven models that truly empower European creators and communities, putting culture and creativity back in control of their own digital spaces.
Another major theme was value creation. Speakers called for a shift in how we measure competitiveness, expanding the concept beyond economic growth to embrace the wellbeing of people and the planet. With new, evidence-based indicators, this transformation could redefine what success looks like for the entire sector. As Materahub’s Becky Riches reflected during her interview, “To change the way we think and act as a sector, we must learn to unlearn — as the Cyanotypes project reminds us — and build new frameworks of meaning.”
That sentiment echoed throughout the event, also beautifully captured by Christina Melander from the Danish Design Centre and BEDA President, who reminded participants that: “We need to create a balance between thinking big for change and understanding the pragmatic steps for moving forward.”
