Mentoring Emerging Cultural Leaders through Incubator 2025

Culture Venture contributed to Incubator 2025, an innovative capacity-building programme by the European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC) supporting mid to senior level cultural professionals engaged in European cooperation projects.

Held in Istanbul, Türkiye, the programme brought together creative professionals from across Europe to strengthen collaboration through initiatives such as Creative Europe, Erasmus+, Interreg, and CERV. It offered participants the opportunity to exchange knowledge, develop their project ideas, and explore new approaches to sustainable cultural cooperation.

As part of the Incubator 2025 trainers’ team, Culture Venture’s founder and director Toni Attard joined an exceptional group of mentors, Marija Popović (Zmaja) from Serbia, Giles Agis from the United Kingdom, and Nevra Arslantürk from Turkey, in guiding participants throughout the week-long programme.

Drawing on his experience in cultural policy, creative entrepreneurship, and leadership development, Toni supported participants in shaping their projects and building stronger links between creativity and social impact. Together, the mentors created an environment of collaboration, learning, and inspiration, helping cultural professionals refine their vision and enhance their capacity to work across borders.

Over the course of four days, participants engaged in workshops, one-to-one mentoring, and study visits across Istanbul.