The Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDPC) is thrilled to invite artists, cultural professionals, health experts, entrepreneurs, students, and changemakers to participate in our upcoming innovation sprint in culture and wellbeing!

Organized as part of the EU co-funded project "AWAKE: Arts & Wellbeing as a Creative Business and Future Livelihood," the hackathon brings together participants from across Europe to explore how arts and wellbeing can intersect to shape new models of creative business.

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Participation is free (with limited spots available). Register here below!

Deadline for registration: Extended to 20.05.2025.

(Note: you will need to create an account on Hacktribe, the hackathon's main platform)

Register

❓What is an hackathon about?

A hackathon is an intensive, time-bound event where people from different backgrounds come together to collaboratively develop creative solutions, often around a specific theme or challenge. The 48-hour online innovation sprint offers a structured, collaborative space for participants from diverse backgrounds to test ideas, receive expert mentorship, and form new connections across sectors.

This initiative aims to respond to a growing demand for interdisciplinary approaches to care, creativity, and sustainable livelihood. The hackathon is an opportunity for individuals who feel constrained by traditional sector boundaries to experiment with bold concepts and develop tangible project proposals!

🫶 Why join?

• Learn to structure and test new business ideas
• Collaborate in an international and interdisciplinary environment
• Gain access to mentorship from European experts
• Connect with like-minded peers across arts, health, and entrepreneurship
• Present final ideas to a jury and compete for prizes!

Whether you are a creative professional seeking new tools, a health worker open to change, or a student exploring cross-sector potential, this event offers a unique space to experiment, test, learn, and connect across borders!

⚙️ I want to join! How does it work?

📝 Step 1: Register

Start by registering to participate! Once you're in, you'll gain access to the Hackathon virtual platform, where you can:

• 💡 Post your idea
• 🤝 Find teammates
• 🔍 Join an existing team

👉 Please read the Code of Conduct and Hackathon Guidelines before registering!

🎯 The theme of the hackathon is Culture and Wellbeing — we’re looking for innovative solutions that make a difference in this topic!

⚠️ Deadline for team formation: May 26 at 16:30 CET/17:30 EET

👥 Team structure:

• 2–6 participants
• Complementary roles
• 1️⃣ Team Lead (chosen by your team)
  
  

🚀 Step 2: Hack

The hackathon officially kicks off on the evening of May 26th with an opening ceremony! 🎉 We’ll present the prizes 🏆, evaluation criteria 📊, and guide you through the journey ahead.

🛠️ Then the real work begins: turn your ideas into working solutions and prototypes!

During the event:

• ✅ Three mentor checkpoints will help keep your team on track
• 🧑‍🏫 Each team gets a dedicated mentor
• 🧠 Expert mentors available for consultations on May 27th

‼️ Attending all checkpoints is mandatory (unless your mentor says otherwise).

🎤 Step 3: Submit & Pitch

📅 On May 28, teams will submit their final solutions and prepare to pitch their projects to the jury!

🚀 After the hackathon, no strings are attached – you’re free to continue developing your project however you like.
💼 The intellectual property belongs 100% to your team!

⚠️ Participant commitment

The program is 100% free for the participants. Even though the participating teams will have the possibility to organize their working session independently, attendance is expected for the full duration of the event.

💰 Final prize

The prize for the team creating the best solution will be 800 EUR (lump sum, exc. VAT)

About the AWAKE Project

The hackathon is part of the AWAKE project – Arts & Wellbeing as a Creative Business and Future Livelihood.

The project explores artistic and cultural practices in the arts & wellbeing sector from an entrepreneurial angle. Running from 2023 to 2025, the project offers training, case studies, and networking opportunities to support sustainable business models at the intersection of arts and health, fostering new livelihoods, skills, and collaborations in this emerging field.

AWAKE encompasses an international consortium of partners across Latvia, Finland, France, and Romania. Led by the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture, the project is implemented together with Lapinlahden Lähde Oy (Centre for Culture, Arts and Mental Well-being) in Finland, Centrul Cultural Clujean (Cluj Cultural Centre) in Romania, and Pôle Culture & Santé en Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Culture & Health Center) in France.

13 May 2025

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15 May 2025

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20 May 2025

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26 May 2025

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27 May 2025

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28 May 2025

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