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The Prize rewards exceptional training initiatives to develop creative entrepreneurship. This is entrepreneurship within the cultural and creative industries, and entrepreneurship training can be primarily focused on economic or social returns. Young people must be the primary focus of the training, though other groups can also be beneficiaries.
The training will be presented as a programme, focused on business skills development,This can be in a for-profit or not-for-profit context.

The Convention de­fines the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as those that produce and distribute cultural goods, services or activities with cultural content that convey ideas, symbols and ways of life, irrespective of the commercial value they may have. This applies to cultural or artistic expressions communicated through words (literature), sound (music, radio), images (photos, TV, ­films), movement (dance, theatre) or objects (sculpture, painting, design) and in any format (live, print, audiovisual, digital). 

The creative economy is one of the most rapidly growing and robust sectors of the world economy. It generates 2,250 billion USD annually and provides more jobs to workers aged 18-25 than any other fields of employment.

As a sector, the creative economy is expansive, and its actors are diverse. It is highly transformative in terms of income generation, job creation and export earnings. But that is not all. The creative economy also generates non-monetary value that contributes significantly to achieving people-centered, inclusive and sustainable development. 

The cultural and creative industries are at the heart of the creative economy. A common feature of the diverse creative disciplines that are at the centre of the creative economy is their ability to create expressive value - aesthetic, authentic, historic, social, spiritual, and symbolic - which is at the heart of their ability to create economic value and central to their importance in terms of cultural expression, its diversity, and the broader context of sustainability. 

The purpose of the Prize is to identify, recognise and reward activities that contribute to the development of wider business skills within the creative community. We recognise that these skills are critical if the creative economy is to thrive and achieve its potential in contributing to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations.

Many eligible projects will do this through a formal training process, but the Prize is open to other types of training where the learning opportunities are perhaps tangential but the impact, in terms of business skills and the viability of creative businesses, for profit and not-for-profit, is clear. Presenting evidence of both the approach and impact will be critical to the success of a nomination.

We are also looking for innovative approaches. For example, we understand that formal learning strategies may be inappropriate or difficult to deliver within certain communities, perhaps because of gender bias or other forms of discrimination. Consequently, the Prize also aims to stimulate creative business opportunities within marginalised groups and communities, which can be hard to reach. The marginalisation of these groups means that there is a greater need to recognise the potential of creativity and cultural assets to provide a firm basis for sustainable development.

Mechanisms that develop the skills of a creative entrepreneur are a key tool in ensuring that this will to be realised.

The initiative must have taken place. Initiatives that are proposed or in development are ineligible as we need evidence of their actual impact.

The beneficiaries of the training can be individual creatives (artists, designers, performers), those establishing collectives, partnerships, or companies, or any other forms of business that are appropriate to building capacity within the cultural and creative industries. The key factor is that they come out of the training better placed to build a viable business that will be sustainable. Critically, in the context of the Prize, this means economically sustainable, so that they contribute to sustainable development by creating jobs for young people.

A creative entrepreneur is somebody who fulfils the role of an entrepreneur in the context of the creative economy. This can be an artist, a creative themselves, but often it refers to is somebody who understands the creativity but also understands how to bring that creativity to a wider market. This can be on a commercial basis or done as a social entrepreneur.

The creative entrepreneur acts as a bridge between the creative person and the market. The creative entrepreneur understands what drives a creative person, recognises this in their work and the narratives that they have created. A creative entrepreneur also understands the market and sees opportunities in the market for work that is perhaps new to the market or that challenges norms. The creative entrepreneur will work to help to take work into those markets, often for commercial return. Creative entrepreneurs are critical to the success of a creative business and the creative economy.

These roles are central to the infrastructure of a robust creative economy. They often operate as talent scouts, identifying new trends both in terms of an artist and in terms of space within the market.

They can be, but they aren’t necessarily. A creative entrepreneur works in the context of the cultural and creative industries, So, if the programme or body of work that is being nominated supports the development of social entrepreneurship is in the context of the cultural and creative industries, then that would also qualify a programme eligible for nomination.

In the context of the Prize, business viability is very important, because we want to see creative businesses develop to provide future employment, particularly to young people, and be a mechanism for sharing cultural identity and cultural experiences. However, the focus is on sustainable development, so a broader understanding of sustainability is encouraged, including climate, the environment and, of course, culture and society.

Both individuals and organisations can be nominated for the Prize. If an individual is being nominated, the nomination must clearly establish the contribution of the nominee, as an individual, to the purpose of the Prize.

A wide group of different types of organisations can be nominated. This includes charities, foundations, government agencies, NGOs, public sector bodies, partnerships, and limited companies. However, any organisation must be legally constituted under the laws of the country in which it is based. Without this information it will be impossible for UNESCO to verify the legal standing of the organisation and ensure that it exists.

No. This is not an application process, it is a nomination process and only certain types of organisations can nominate. These include the National Commission of UNESCO, government departments, universities and organisations (e.g., trade unions, industry bodies, training bodies) working within the creative economy.

Yes, this is acceptable. In fact, we anticipate that many of the organisations that can nominate will need to ask the potential nominee to pull together the evidence to support the nomination.

The training programme can be more broadly based, to cover a wider range of industry groups, but if so, to be eligible, it must include electives appropriate to somebody seeking to operate a business within the creative sector. These might include sector specific training, for example approaches specific to the music industry or the performing arts, or more generic knowledge that is appropriate to the whole sector, for example on copyright or artist management.

Please note that this is a Prize managed under UNESCO’s 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and not its 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage. Consequently, any initiative the primarily addresses issues relating to intangible cultural heritage will be ineligible for the Creative Economy Prize. For example, a training programme for artisans which primarily focuses on technical skills (allied to artisanal knowledge and skills) will be ineligible. However, a training programme that clearly seeks to build business skills and entrepreneurship, may be eligible. If the nominee fits in this latter category, please contact us to discuss their eligibility.

Yes, provided that the sector is within the creative and cultural industries. The training could, for example, be about specific technical skills – for example, as a sound engineer or a lighting designer, but it must then include electives that address broader business issues, for example, copyright or financial management.

No, we recognise that today effective training can be delivered in many different ways, so an online programme, or a guide or manual, would be eligible.

However, please note that a nomination must include testimonials from individuals who have participated in and benefited from the programme. You must provide contact details for any beneficiaries who have provided testimonials, as these may be authenticated.

The structure must support a learning journey. However, the structure does not need to be based around daily or weekly tutorials, it can be in a form that allows beneficiaries to dip in and access information as and when they need to, for example, as an online program or MOOC.

No, not specifically but any nominee must show how young people benefit from their programme. A nominee could be an established institution or an older individual, but the beneficiaries of the programme must include young people. If the programme has a broader target audience, we advise the nominee to ensure that its nomination includes evidence of how young people are targeted to participate in the programme.

Yes, we recognise that women, ethnic minorities, and refugees/displaced persons are all underrepresented in terms of their participation in the creative economy, particularly in the context of business leadership roles. So, successful initiatives to provide any of them with business training relevant to the creative economy will be particularly welcome as nominees.

No, the Prize has not been created to reward such initiatives. However, if the content specifically addresses the issue of the training needs of creative entrepreneurs, it may be eligible. So, for example, a book that serves as a training manual in terms of creative entrepreneurship, could be an appropriate nomination if it has already been published and the evidence can be provided to show its relevance and impact.

The evidence required can take several forms, but we would expect to see:

• Testimonials or Impact Statements from at least three people who have successfully participated in the programme, explaining how they have benefited and applied what they have learnt to their business. These could be written or, ideally, provided as a short video. The individual providing the testimonial must be clearly identified, including their name, email and a mobile phone number, as we may need to contact them to verify the authenticity of the statement.
• Details of the training programme and its contents.
• Copies of recruitment materials, and how the programme is advertised and participants recruited.
• Details of those teaching on the programme and their qualification to provide the training (this can include experience in the industry). Ideally this should be in the form of a curriculum vitae (CV) or resume.
• Any reviews or evaluations of the programme or the results of any satisfaction surveys of participants.

Written forms of evidence must be provided in the original language of the individual who provides the evidence. Both written and audio-visual evidence must be accompanied by a transcript of the evidence translated into English or French.

The National Commission’s role is critical, as its endorsement of a nomination is required before a nomination can be submitted to the jury for consideration. A template letter is .

However, we may consider nominations submitted without a letter of endorsement from the National Commission:

Upon request, the UNESCO HQ team can approach the relevant National Commission to endorse your submitted nomination. Please note, however, that we cannot guarantee that the National Commission will respond within the deadline. If its endorsement is not received before the jury meets in late August, the nomination cannot be considered by the jury. Consequently, nominations that lack the National Commission’s endorsement letter should be submitted early, to allow more time to secure the endorsement.

The relevant National Commission will be the one in the country in which your nominator is based, not the one where the work has been carried out.

For further questions, please contact: creativeeconomyprize@unesco.org