Creative Community and Youth
The aim is to promote community awareness and active involvement, making creativity a driving force for shared and sustainable growth. The programme “Being and Growing: Como UNESCO Creative City”, conceived and promoted by the Municipality of Como, underlines collective responsibility involving institutions, citizens and businesses in the area. Each individual can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 through their conscious choices and daily action, elevating creativity as a tool for innovation and development.
Among the most significant initiatives has been ‘Community: Creativity & Museums’, where Como council has undertaken key cooperation with the Civic Museums for the celebration of the urban cultural heritage. Through the sharing and implementation of good practices, the project aims to seal the role of museums as spaces of creativity and social innovation. The purpose is to build a network of Civic Museums of UNESCO Creative Cities, promoting collaboration between cultural institutions and developing local growth strategies based on culture. The key word is “co-planning”, where forces are joined to develop new paths for the transformation of creativity into a key element for the sustainable development of the corresponding areas.
To encourage and support the growth of talent, the ‘comON creativity sharing’ project was conceived by a group of Como entrepreneurs with the support of Confindustria Como. The initiative is configured as a true hub of European creativity, capable of attracting the best talents from the most prestigious design schools to Como. The project aims to create a bridge between young creatives, local companies and educational institutions, encouraging the exchange of ideas and strengthening linkage between design, industry and Italian culture. Over the years, comON has become an interdisciplinary platform, with events, exhibitions and contests of international standing, offering young people a unique opportunity for growth and experimentation.
Since 2021 Como has increasing focused on the commitment to the younger generations through the Contest for Secondary Schools, promoted by Silkbynature with the backing of the Italian Silk Office, Confindustria Como, Fondazione Setificio and Associazione Ex- Allievi del Setificio. The initiative aims to establish a “direct thread” that joins young people to the world of silk, offering them the opportunity to extend their knowledge of this material and all its applications.
2022 saw the launch of “Changemakers for Como UNESCO Creative City “, a youth participation programme promoted by the Fondazione Alessandro Volta, which led to the creation of the downloadable mini-book “Como UNESCO Creative City – Focus: Green dressing, Sustainable Fashion through Conscious Purchasing”. The project highlights the key role of creativity in sustainability and raises young people’s awareness of the importance of responsible choices in the fashion industry.
Since 2024 a new event dedicated to young people has been added: ‘La Filanda della Creatività’, [The Spinning Mill of Creativity] hosted at Opificio Zappa in Erba (CO). This event involves young people between the ages of 18 and 36 in a peer-to-peer orientation course, culminating in a performance with fashion show combining diverse areas of craftsmanship, including wood furniture, design and sustainable fashion. The event is put on in cooperation with Confartigianato Imprese Como, Associazione culturale Anticamera, Associazione culturale Opificio Zappa and the Lombardy Committee of the Italian Youth Association for UNESCO. Its aim is promote creativity and local craftsmanship, bringing out new generation talent and establishing a direct link between the public and quality craftsmanship.
The city of Como also promoted a peer-to-peer exchange network among young creatives under 35 through the Forum ‘CreativeMakers: Creative Skills for the Future’. The Forum was set up as a platform for ideas and exchange, to facilitate the engagement of young people in the Cultural and Creative Industries (“ICC”). Como also stands out for an educational ecosystem that fosters your persons’ integration in the creative sector through strategic interaction between the University of Insubria, with its PNRR project “NODES,” and the Accademia Aldo Galli – IED Network that recently presented the project “Shaping the Future”, relating to the call for proposals for Creative Europe, the European Commission’s programme to support the cultural and creative sectors for the period 2021-2027. The initiative aims to create and validate a model to support young designers and visual artists in developing future-oriented artistic projects, while helping the development of their skills in digital technologies and innovative methods.
Lastly, the Como Silk Museum, which has been an active part of Como UNESCO Creative City for many years, has recently upgraded its exhibition spaces with work on assuring inclusivity and accessibility, with the help of PNRR funding, developing routes for the visually and hearing impaired visitors, further strengthening the link between museum innovation, textile heritage and sustainability.
