Within the specific objective of promoting competitiveness, scalability, cooperation, innovation and sustainability, including through mobility in the European audiovisual sector, one of the priorities of the MEDIA Strand is: to nurture talents, competence and skills and to stimulate cross-border cooperation, mobility and innovation in the creation and production of European audiovisual works, encouraging collaboration across Member States with different audiovisual capacities.

The action will support a package of activities facilitating the creation, promotion and distribution of European content, and/or the uptake of new technologies or business models by the audiovisual sector. The activities shall have impacts across the value chain (for example supporting talents and skills, developing markets and networking, supporting innovation and private investment, supporting international coproductions, as well as other relevant areas) and be implemented by European organisations able to attract European and international participants. The applicants shall present a comprehensive strategy and a coherent package of activities and be able to demonstrate their strong added-value and structuring effect across the European audiovisual industry.

Projects must cover activities in at least two of the following segments:

• Skills development. Training and mentoring activities to enhance the capacity of audiovisual professionals to adapt to new creative processes, market developments and digital technologies that affect the whole value chain.
  Activities may include inter alia:
  • supporting new creative processes;
  • harnessing digital innovation in audiovisual production and distribution, uptake of digital tools for videogames production and distribution;
  • enhancement IP rights exploitation;
  • green transition.

• Activities may take the form of physical and/or on-line provisions or, ideally, a combination of both, catering in that way for continuous skills support.

At the end of the training, participants should receive a certificate, specifying the competences acquired.

At least 20% of the total number of participants must be offered reduced fees.

Reduced fees must be granted to participants coming from low-capacity countries Group A or Group B3 or being from an eligible country not providing scholarships for this kind of training or participants from eligible countries in any other proven situation of need for financial support.

• Markets, B2B activities and networking
  Activities and networking industry events, physical, digital or hybrid, focused on business-to-business exchanges among European audiovisual professionals, facilitating coproductions and sales and showing a structuring effect on the European audiovisual eco-system as well as impact on the promotion and sales of European audiovisual works on global markets.

Activities related to the following type of works are not considered as eligible: live broadcasting, music videos, non narrative artistic works (including but not limited to art videos, experimental videos etc), commercial and promotional works (including but not limited to advertisements), reality TV and talk shows.

• International co-production between a company based in a country participating in the Creative Europe MEDIA strand and a company based in a country not participating to the MEDIA strand. The eligible activities consist of the provision of financial support to eligible third parties for eligible projects conforming to the following criteria:
  • Production of feature films, TV series, animation and documentaries (short films are not eligible).
  • Distribution activities and international promotion strategies to improve the international circulation and audience of international co-productions.
• Harnessing innovation to increase the availability, visibility and audience of European works in the digital age and/or to increase the competitiveness or the greening process of the European audiovisual industry.
  Eligible activities may also include activities aimed at incubating, accelerating & scaling innovation in the audiovisual and gaming ecosystems.
• Private investment
  Support workshops, seminars or tutorials that focus on the importance of financial investments, the various opportunities available, and how these can benefit audiovisual/gaming companies in the long run. These events can also provide a platform for audiovisual and gaming companies to interact with financial experts and prospective investors and share success stories of companies/content that have benefited from financial investments, thereby encouraging others to explore these opportunities.

Projects may also introduce other B2B activities provided that they are in line with the objectives of the Call.
A substantial part of the participants in the proposed projects must come from a different country participating in the MEDIA than the country of the applicant.

Applications should present adequate strategies to ensure more sustainable and more environmentally-respectful industry and to ensure gender balance, inclusion, diversity and representativeness.

As part of the European Commission commitment to sustainability, applicants are encouraged to limit travel activities to what it is absolute necessary for the fulfilment of their objectives of the action.