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Arts, culture and creativity for entrepreneurial networking and tourism (ACCENT)

The ACCENT project aims to setup cross-border, sustainable cultural and creative tourism initiatives in Northern Finland and Sweden. Together with the University of Oulu, Oulu2026, and LTU Business the project will focus on creating more active networks and collaboration for local communities across the border.

The project’s collaborative approach is a response to the current territorial challenges in the region and the need for fostering local cultural capital and new synergies between universities and businesses to co-create sustainable and inclusive cultural creative tourism in the region. By the end of the project, the target groups will be provided with the know-how and the professional and networking opportunities to develop culture-led activities and experiences across the border that respond to cultural, creative, and tourism market expectations. This will constitute the foundations for both professional skills upgrading and the formation of new profiles and professions at the intersection of culture, creativity, tourism and hospitality.

Aims

The project aims to map existing cultural and creative clusters and foster the development of new ones to create a cross-border network of actors and experiences. It seeks to enhance cross-border collaborations among cultural, creative, and tourism sectors through joint initiatives and develop long-lasting ties for sustainable tourism. This includes fostering collaboration among universities, cultural actors, and regional development consortia. Despite existing collaborations like the Bothnian Coastal Route, the region’s cultural identity relies on greater socioeconomic inclusion and empowerment, emphasizing the need for Sámi community involvement, especially in Oulu and Luleå.

Project scope

The project comprises several work packages focused on different aspects of sustainable development through culture, creativity, and tourism:

Running Living Labs and Design Thinking workshops with a focus on young entrepreneurs;
Monitoring and communicating progress and outcomes to regional stakeholders;
Developing innovative business practices and strategic planning guidance for cultural and creative tourism;
Establishing collaborative partnerships among universities, regional agencies, businesses, and stakeholders.

Funder: Interreg Aurora

Project period: March 2025 – February 2028