Artists, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility
How businesses and the arts collaborate for an environmentally sustainable future
30 November, Wednesday, 2022: 9.30am-4.30pm (CET)
We are pleased to announce this online seminar in the framework of the innovative project “EMPACT – Empathy and Sustainability: The Art of Thinking like a Mountain”, co-funded by the EU Creative Europe Programme (Grant Agreement No: 101055903 – EMPACT – CREA-CULT-2021-COOP-2). In this one-day seminar, organized in four sessions via Zoom:
- We will explore key theoretical discourses and advanced practices in environmental sustainability in the arts and the inter-relations between corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies and the art world.
- We will support the capacities of artists and cultural operators, illustrating how to connect effectively their work to corporate initiatives.
- We will discuss successful practices in CSR from different countries, incl. Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Greece.
- We will analyze opportunities, risks, and future trends and will seek together new ways of cooperation between the corporate and artistic worlds for a more environmentally sustainable future.
The seminar is organized by the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts “Kr. Sarafov” (NATFA) in collaboration with the Cyprus University of Technology and will be held in English.
Seminar speakers/moderators are renowned experts and professionals in the field of arts management, sustainability and CSR: Prof. Dr. Lidia Varbanova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marina Stefanova and Myrto Voreakou. A brief introduction of EMPACT project will be addressed by the project coordinator Dr. Efi Kyprianidou. Representatives from socially responsible business companies in Bulgaria will also join the conversation.
If you are an artist, arts manager, cultural professional, researcher, educator, student, or representative of a business company interested in cultural development, join us! The seminar has a limited number of participants: to reserve your place, please fill in the short registration form here!
The seminar is free of charge. You will receive a Zoom link and the detailed seminar program upon registration.
For additional information about the seminar, please contact prof. Lidia Varbanova: lidiavarbanova@gmail.com.
Speakers/Moderators: Prof. Dr. Lidia Varbanova has professional competence and experience as a consultant, educator, researcher and coach in over 60 countries in Europe, North America, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Africa. Her portfolio focuses on strategy, policiy, entrepreneurship, innovations, environmental sustainability and online technologies in the arts, culture and creative industries. Lidia has been a permanent and visiting professor in prominent universities and training centers in Europe and Canada and has received a number of distinguished academic awards. Currently, she is a full-time professor and Director of the Master Program ”Management of Performing Arts and Industries” at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts “Kr. Sarafov” in Sofia, Bulgaria. She is also a member of the UNESCO International Expert Facility for the implementation of the 2005 Convention on Cultural Diversity.
Dr. Marina Stefanova is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University ”St. Kliment Ohridski”. She is the director of the Master’s programme «Responsible and Sustainable Governance» and consultant on the «Business for Results» programme of UNICEF in Bulgaria. Marina is the Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Corporate Social Responsibility Specialists (BAKSOS). Member of the Steering Committee of the Association of the Investor Relations Directors in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Food Bank. Marina is the Founder and Director of the multimedia information-educational programme CSR AdviceBox of Kauzi Foundation and a Member of the Advisory Council on Corporate Social Responsibility at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in Bulgaria.
Myrto Voreakou is an architect holding an MSc in Architectural Design-Space-Culture from the National Technical University of Athens, and a MA in Cultural Policy and Development from the Open University of Cyprus. Her academic work focused on the notion of cultural narratives and their impact on the ways we design and signify spaces. Her recent research deals with the concept of (corporate) cultural responsibility, exploring how the inclusion of the cultural field in CSR practice could benefit the economy, culture, and society. Myrto has been an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Architecture of the University of Cyprus and the University of Nicosia. Currently, she works as a scientific officer at the Cyprus Scientific Technical Chamber, dealing with issues of sustainable development and architectural practice. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of Arts and Sustainability in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology.
NAFTA Landmark Workshop Leaflet