Activate
Using green and digital transition to increase artisans and small business competitive advantage
Across Europe, artisans, craftspeople and self-employed workers play a crucial role in local economies, cultural heritage and community development. However, many face difficulties in adapting to the rapid changes linked to digitalisation and sustainability requirements.
Training opportunities often address only specific skills (for example marketing or digital tools) and rarely provide an integrated approach combining environmental sustainability, innovation and practical business development. As a result, many artisans lack clear guidance on where to start and how to adapt their work processes to current market demands.
ACTIVATE responds to this need by supporting artisans in strengthening their green and digital competences through practical and accessible tools aligned with European priorities such as the Green Deal, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and digital transition strategies.
The consortium
The project is implemented by three organisations working in education, training and innovation. They combine expertise in vocational education, sustainability, digital skills and community development.
ARTES (Italy)
Project coordinator. Supports artisans and small organisations in developing skills, innovation capacity and international cooperation opportunities.
SEN – Social Effect Network (Lithuania)
Provides expertise in sustainability, social innovation and competence frameworks supporting green transition.
NIKANOR (Bulgaria)
Specialised in digital learning and adult education methodologies supporting skills development and digital transformation.
Aim of the project
ACTIVATE aims to support artisans, craftspeople and self-employed workers in improving their competitiveness by integrating sustainable and digital practices into their daily work.
The project develops a practical learning pathway helping users analyse key areas of their professional activity such as administration, production, supply chain, marketing and customer relations.
Through a collaborative learning process, partners co-create resources that allow artisans to:
• understand how sustainability and digital tools can improve their work
• identify practical steps to modernise their business processes
• reduce environmental impact while maintaining quality and authenticity
• strengthen resilience and competitiveness in changing markets
The project also strengthens the capacity of trainers, consultants and organisations working with artisans to provide relevant learning opportunities adapted to adult learners.
The main results of the project are:
Roadmap for green and digital transition
A practical guide helping artisans analyse key areas of their work and identify opportunities to integrate sustainable and digital solutions.
Click here to download the draft roadmap. The official, multilingual roadmap will be published around May 2026.
The roadmap focuses on key work areas common to many artisan activities:
- Administration and accounting
- Pricing and invoicing
- Marketing and communication
- Production and materials
- Supply chain and partnerships
- Sales and customer relations
- Continuous learning and skills development
Download here the roadmap in English, Italian, Bulgarian and Lithuanian
Digital toolkit
A set of micro-learning resources supporting the implementation of the roadmap, including practical examples, tools and guidance accessible also to users with limited digital experience.
The toolkit and the microlessons matching the roadmap will be available in June 2026 – and in the partners languages at the COURSES section.
All resources produced by the partners will be available at this page, as soon as they become available.
Stay tuned!
Impact
At organisational level, the project strengthens cooperation between European partners working in vocational education, innovation and community development, improving their capacity to design inclusive training solutions aligned with EU priorities such as the Green Deal and lifelong learning.
In the longer term, ACTIVATE contributes to:
• increased awareness of sustainability and digital transition opportunities among artisans
• improved access to practical learning resources for self-employed workers
• stronger cooperation between training providers and local economic actors
• transferability of results to other sectors and European contexts
• support to more inclusive and sustainable local development ecosystems
UPDATES FROM THE PARTNERS
Kick-off meeting and collaborative workshop in Torino
Partners met in Torino to co-design the structure of the roadmap supporting artisans in analysing their work processes and identifying opportunities for digitalisation and sustainability improvements. The workshop represented the first learning-by-doing activity involving educators from the three partner organisations.
Validation of the roadmap with artisans
The draft roadmap has been presented to artisans and stakeholders to collect feedback on relevance, clarity and usability. The validation process ensures that the final resources respond to real needs of professionals working in different craft sectors.
The first newsletter is now available HERE
Training in Sofia (upcoming)
The next project milestone is the international training workshop in Sofia, where partners will refine the micro-learning units forming the digital toolkit and strengthen cooperation on sustainable and digital competences.
