Training

Knowledge sharing among experts is key for the professionalisation of people in charge of crafts. To sustain this, the ECA created a scheme to support craft sector workers to travel, exchange, learn and experience something new: The Knowledge Exchange Residency Programme.

Originally launched during our CRAFTING project and now continuing to expand through our CraftsNet initiative, this programme is targeted at our network member organisations and their stakeholders. The exchanges are organised as “residencies” to train members of the ECA who are interested in reproducing good practices in their own areas of competence. Tied to the topics of our annual conferences, the programme brings together groups of stakeholders to share, learn and engage. This full immersion format combines classroom moments with local visits and experiences to better understand the characteristics of artistic craftsmanship in that precise place. Participants then take their learnings back to their local context and disseminate them further.

Building upon a strong foundation, the programme continues to grow under CraftsNet following these successful past exchanges:

• The first Knowledge Exchange Programme was hosted by the Creative Futures Academy in Dublin – Ireland, February 8th -10th 2023 under the title ‘New Competences for the Future Craftspeople’.
• The second Knowledge Exchange Programme was hosted by the National Reference Centre for Crafts in Granada – Spain, February 15th -17th under the topic ‘Accreditation of Competencies at the National Reference Centre for Crafts’.
• The third Knowledge Exchange Programme about curatorship took place during the Stockholm Crafts Week in Sweden, in October 2023, co-hosted by Swedish Crafts Centre.
• The fourth Knowledge Exchange Programme about children’s education took place in November 2023 in The Netherlands, co-hosted by Crafts Council Nederland.
• The fifth Knowledge Exchange Programme about Geographical Indications took place in March 2025 in Portugal, co-hosted by CEARTE.
• The sixth Knowledge Exchange Programme about perserving crafts heritage took place in March 2025 in Slovakia, co-hosted by Centre for Folk Art Production – ÚĽUV.
• The seventh Knowledge Exchange Programme about advocacy took place in January 2026 in Brussels, co-hosted by Mad’in Europe.

This activity is co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme.

This programme responds to business skills gaps identified across the ECA network and aims to support individuals within European craft organisations to become confident designers and facilitators of business skills and growth training. Developed in partnership with Creative Business Growth, the programme cultivates the skills of regional facilitators to ensure local craftspeople have access to best-practice business support.

The course objectives and outcomes focus on:

• Empowering participants with the confidence, knowledge, and resources to design relevant business training plans tailored specifically to their regional contexts.

• Identifying best-practice facilitation, learning models, and expert pools to support successful local implementation.

• Securing a strategic roadmap and documented training plans that can be integrated into annual workplans or used to attract national funding.

• Building long-term internal capacity, giving member organisations an in-house specialist to lead professional development without relying on external consultants.

The interactive online format is designed to fit alongside full-time professional commitments, combining participatory group sessions with flexible one-to-one mentoring and self-paced development.

The following editions are taking place for our network members:

• Crafts Enterprise Facilitator Programme, Edition 1 (January 2026)

• Crafts Enterprise Facilitator Programme, Edition 2 (January 2027)

This activity is co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme as part of the CraftsNet project.

This programme responds to the need to foster an innovative mindset by integrating the practical application of new tools and technologies for trainers within European craft organisations. Developed in partnership with Fab Lab Barcelona – IAAC, it empowers participating ECA members to navigate change, rethink their roles, and position themselves as catalysts for innovation in the craft sector.

Using the practical “Adopt-Adapt-Apply” framework, the course objectives and outcomes include:

• Empowering members to lead training by integrating future-oriented methods and new tools into their own practice.

• Adapting digital content to specific local contexts, helping bridge the gap between traditional craftsmanship and digital innovation.

• Equipping participants with the training and mentoring strategies required to lead successful local training that promotes collaboration and cross-generational engagement.

• Fostering a mindset that views new tools as a way to enhance and evolve traditional craft practices rather than replace them.

The online, peer-led programme is tailored specifically for the professional workloads of our network’s trainers and includes live interactive sessions alongside dedicated thematic group mentoring to support the development of localized training plans.

The following editions are taking place exclusively for our network members:

• Digital Training of Trainers Programme, Edition 1 (October 2026)

• Digital Training of Trainers Programme, Edition 2 (October 2028)

This activity is co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme as part of the CraftsNet project.

In 2021, the ECA became an official partner of the New European Bauhaus (NEB). Building on the foundation of our initial CRAFTING project (2022–2025) and continuing into CraftsNet initiative (2025–2028), the ECA and its network are developing an ongoing series of online webinars with key experts that reflect the ambitions of the NEB.

“The New European Bauhaus initiative calls on all of us to imagine and build together a sustainable and inclusive future that is beautiful for our eyes, minds, and souls.

Beautiful are the places, practices, and experiences that are:

• Enriching, inspired by art and culture, responding to needs beyond functionality.
• Sustainable, in harmony with nature, the environment, and our planet.
• Inclusive, encouraging a dialogue across cultures, disciplines, genders and ages.”

The ECA NEB webinars programme aims to enhance the capacities of the craft sector, enabling it to contribute towards building more resilient, sustainable societies and encouraging the necessary adaptation of practices within the sector.

Initiated during the CRAFTING project and continuing under CraftsNet, the following topics have been covered in our free, live public webinars. Recordings of all past sessions are available via the ECA YouTube Channel — and more webinars are coming soon!

• Sustainability – WATCH HERE
• Use of Digital Technologies – WATCH HERE
• Circular Economy – WATCH HERE
• Geographical indications for the craft sector – WATCH HERE
• Innovation & Experimentation – WATCH HERE
• Social Inclusion – WATCH HERE
• Wellbeing – WATCH HERE

This activity is co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme.

photo: MADE IN, Gobnjak, photo by Luka Karlin / MAO Center Rog – Responsible Futures: Innovation & Experimentation in Craft Webinar

ECA Digital Training Programme responded to the need to bring together traditional practices with new digital technologies to develop improved and new products, services, and professions.

This programme developed by Fab Lab Barcelona assisted Craft practitioners in the adoption and use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools, with the aim of encouraging innovative forms of creation that integrate cutting-edge digital fabrication technologies into the practice of craft-making.

The course outcomes were:

1. Integration of cutting-edge digital technologies into the practice of craft making.
2. Developing opportunities for collaboration, stimulating innovation and product development.
3. Engaging future generations of craft practitioners; focusing on recent graduates and craft start-ups and craft and design SMEs.
4. Adopting new technologies for enhancing existing traditional crafts.

The entire learning was provided online through a series of so-called ‘digital learning capsules’. They built the capacity of emerging talents by bridging skills gaps related to critical making, communicating, collaboration, digital fabrication, and regenerative design principles.

We have organised and facilitated in collaboration with Distributed Design platform:
Digital Training Programme 2023
Digital Training Programme 2024

This activity was co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme, under CRAFTING project.

Watch the Digital Design Masterclasses. 

photo: Screenshot of a course as part of the Digital Training Programme 2023, Distributed Design

This programme responded to significant business skills gaps identified by the network members and previously affiliated EU projects such as Crafting Europe.

Participants engaged in a series of intensive online workshops and mentoring sessions, learning about business strategies and planning; funding; finances; logistics; marketing and managing their business with useful tools and case studies along the way.

Under the guidance of experienced trainers, participants in the programme produced an ambitious business plan with clear milestones for growth and development, using a systemic approach to solving managerial and production problems.

We have organised the following programmes:
Building a Crafts & Design Enterprise w/ Design & Crafts Council Ireland, 2023
Make:Grow:Flourish, Crafts Enterprise Business Training Programme w/ Caroline Jackson, 2024

This activity was co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme, under the CRAFTING project.

ECA has in collaboration with Making Design Circular (MDC) launched a mass open online course (MOOC) on circularity and sustainability: Circular by ECA x MDC with Katie Treggiden. The course was geared towards makers, craftspeople, innovators, designers, creatives and stakeholders, both within the cultural and creative industries and beyond.

The main aim of the MOOC was to gain an understanding and awareness of the importance of transforming our current linear economic model (take–make–use–lose) into a more nature-inspired, closed-loop model; as well as enabling participants to gain the softer skills and new perspectives required to be part of that transformation.

Throughout the MOOC, participants were guided by author, journalist, podcaster and the founder and director of Making Design Circular, Katie Treggiden. Using pre-recorded videos, worksheets, resource lists and self-assessment quizzes, Katie helped participants to identify their unique contribution to environmentalism and cultivate a creative practice that nurtures them, their business or activities, and the planet.

The MOOC consisted of 5 modules which could be followed online and were available to enrol free of charge. The course was delivered in English with closed captions, downloadable audio lessons and text transcripts. Participants received a (non-accredited) certificate upon successful completion of the course.

This activity was part of the Crafting project co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme.

Knowledge transfer is a vital element of craft. To address a diminished capacity for craftsmanship transfer in Europe, the ECA’s CRAFTING project created the Creative Exchange Residency Programme to establish a vital infrastructure for the direct, hands-on exchange of skills.

The programme provided grants to 86 craftspeople across Europe between 2022 and 2025, attracting a diverse mix of participants from emerging talents to established professionals. The most represented disciplines were textiles, glass, ceramics, and wood-related crafts. Designed with maximum flexibility, the programme offered three distinct categories for participation—Pair Exchange, Workshop Attendance, and Group Exchange—and allowed for both fully in-person and hybrid residency formats.

The residencies resulted in new international collaborations, a significant boost in creative confidence for participants, and a valuable engagement with craftspeople in rural areas. A notable success was the multiplier effect of an Irish-Spanish glass exchange, which grew from a two-person pairing into a 16-person group collaboration.

This activity was part of the Crafting project co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme.