It is widely acknowledged in the economic, scientific and policy debate the role and the relevance of the creative and cultural organisations for the economic development, the employment, the social cohesion and the dynamics of urban regeneration.
Despite this, the arts, creative and cultural organisations, due to internal factors (structural characteristics, dimensions, nature of the products/services, training of the human resources) as well as to external factors (demand change, access to finance, role of the public actor), are increasingly called to face new and complex challenges.
These challenges are related to the search of new balances between freedom of expression of the artistic and creative talent and the protection of the mission and of the values grounding the organizations and the elaboration and adoption of new business models. Accordingly, they are called to a major openness to the market, to the creation of new products and services attractive to a mainstream demand and able to improve audience development, to collaborations and partnerships with the traditional business and to a major attention to the economic and financial sustainability of the artistic and cultural activities.
At the same time, also the public actors show an increasing need to identify, elaborate and understand new ways, forms and tools to stimulate and support business model innovation, entrepreneurship and development of the arts, creative and cultural industries in order to guarantee economic and social impact, quality of life, and new and better employment, particularly for young generations.
The CL Seminar aims to represent a space of inspiration and knowledge, as well as a place of learning, networking and sharing where experts, entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, policy-makers and communities involved and interested to culture, arts and creativity meet to discuss about why and how arts and cultural organizations and the whole creative and cultural industry may act as catalysts to innovate, transform and improve both socio-economic performance and quality of life and, accordingly, drive local development and positive change in society. specific attention will be paid also the role played by local cultural organisations in the processes related to the nomination of Matera as European Capital of Culture 2019.

• Developing sustainable cultural organisations: What strategies and new business models to be elaborated and implemented for the development of the arts and cultural organisations? How can be enhanced the creation of scale and scope economies and the virtuous integration of different actors involved in the cultural fields? How arts, creative and cultural organisations may gain benefits from new technologies and digital transformation?
  
  
• Openess, collaborations and partnerships: How can be stimulated and enhanced the dialogue and the interactions with the sectors related to tourism and hospitality, high-quality crafts, local culinary and entertainment? How arts, creative and cultural organisations may dialogue and integrate with traditional business in order to generate new value for goods and services? How cultural organisations may support the effective valorization of the local traditions and the artistic, historical, demo-anthropological endowment to guarantee a wider cultural offer and to create wealth and employment and positive change in society?
  
  
• Cultural policies: How can normative and policy frameworks support better the arts, creative and cultural organizations? How can public actors’ behaviours and policies generate real interests for cultural organisations and major impact on territories and society? How can funding opportunities be extended and improved to support new business models and entrepreneurial dynamics in creative and cultural industries?  

• Opportunities to understand and share perspectives and point of views about new business models, sustainability and impact of the cultural organisations for local development and positive change in society;
• Opportunities for meet and debate with experts, professionals, academics, entrepreneurs, policy-makers about the role and the relevance of the cultural organizations for new business and social ecosystems;
• Opportunities for networking and to explore potential fields of collaboration;
• Opportunities to be inspired and to benchmark international and local experiences.

• Professionals and volunteers involved in the arts, creative and cultural organisations;
• Experts and academics interested and involved in the arts, creative and cultural fields;
• Entrepreneurs and managers interested to understand and explore opportunities of collaborations with the arts, creative and cultural organisations;
• Policy-makers interested to share visions and collect suggestions to better support the development of the creative and cultural industries and related organisations;
• Students and young people interested to the arts, creative and cultural themes;
• Local community interested to understand how cultural organizations may generate impact and positive change in society.