The Landkreis Kassel is one of the five counties in northern Hessen. It is both responsible administrative authority as well as policy and decision maker and is situated in the middle of Germany. There is a wide range of educational offers throughout all sectors ranging from primary to vocational Schools. It is a prior aim to strengthen the knowledge pool in the region. The district of Kassel shows a long history in promoting cultural activities and informal learning in cultural heritage education. The county has been involved in a number of local and regional activities to strengthen the cultural knowledge of the people living in the county.

blinc eG is a cooperative working in the field of innovation and sustainable human and societal development. It focuses on the promotion of human learning processes in organisations, businesses and all educational sectors with a focus on learning and competence development which happens outside the frames of formal education and curricula. The blinc community has developed a unique approach to promote these rather informal learning processes. It is based on a taxonomic system (LEVEL5) which supports Competence Oriented Learning and comes with a fully-fledged (digitally supported) validation system.

The Federation for European Storytelling (FEST) is a European network of organisations and associations active in the field of storytelling. FEST is an international non-profit organisation, the network is funded by the Creative Europe programme. Its members represent national, regional or local organisations such as professional oral storytelling associations, festival organisers, storytelling training centres, local authorities, academies, colleges, universities, cultural centres or libraries all with a special interest in storytelling. The network aims to empower the world of oral storytelling through sharing, learning and relationship building. FEST focuses on professional development of the storyteller as a performing artist and as a professional provider of storytelling techniques in other (cultural & social) sectors.

Smart Revolution is a consulting firm with the HQ in Massa (Tuscany, Italy) and a second office in Turin (Piedmont, Italy), aiming at promoting a 360-degree culture of innovation and efficiency, on the basis of the highest standards in terms of sustainability, inclusion and accountability. Even if inspired by an international approach, one of the main goals of Smart Revolution is to invest energies, expertise and resources in the valorisation of the local territory, social fabric and community. The company is founded on strong values such as transparency, competence and professionalism in all the services offered, a continuous process of search for innovation in order to always offer state of the art services, flexibility, and a friendly approach aimed at customer satisfaction typical of young entrepreneurs.

The Polytechnic of Leiria is a modern HEI that sup ports its activities in four main interconnected activities, namely, education, research, innovative services to society (added value and sharing knowledge) and internationalization. Within the Polytechnic of Leiria, the Superior School of Tourism and Maritime technology has several degrees related to tourism recreation with strong cultural contents, and almost all degrees have curricular units related to entrepreneurship competences. Within his students, professors and alumni from the graduation and master degrees, Leiria Polytechnics contacts and shares partnerships with several SME’s in the cultural domain.

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is the largest university in Greece, founded in 1926. The strategic objectives of AUTh, in the framework of its vision and mission, remain high and consistently oriented to the continuation of its tradition, namely to be a pioneer institution, standing out among Greek and many foreign Universities on all levels: education, research, culture, connection with society. It is widely recognized as a vibrant center of learning which draws its inspiration from a long tradition of academic achievement. The Lifelong Learning Courses (LLCs) offered by AUTH cater for the increased needs of the Greek society for training, learning and specialization. LLCs operate within a framework that guarantees a high level of education compatible with the role of a public university, as well as the effectiveness, the legitimacy and the validity of the educational services rendered.

Amsterdam-based Storytelling Centre (STC) acts out of the conviction that everyone’s story is important and that it is vital for a balanced society that there is room for everyone’s story. STC is committed to providing that space, nationally and globally, and to training people in exploring and telling their stories for the benefit of their personal growth, resilience and social involvement and for better coexistence in today’s society. In recent years the Storytelling Centre has initiated and developed numerous activities in the field of storytelling. It is known nationally and internationally as a training centre, festival producer, producer of urgent performances by (young) storytelling talents and as a supporter of cultural diversity and connectivity between different cultural backgrounds.