Innovation with and within CCIs sectors
Foster cross-innovation and the adoption of technology to flourish disruptions and make the CCIs a catalyst for solutions helping the transition to a greener, more sustainable future with societal impact.
Coordinating entity
Challenges
Challenge 1
Disruptive technologies and its impact on culture and creativity
Challenge 2
CCIs as a catalyst for a green, sustainable future and societal impact
The final selected cases for CWF 2024 within Innovation with CCIs sectors
Ristband
Challenge 1
Disruptive technologies and its impact on culture and creativity
From
Contact person
Anne McKinnon
The birth
Despite gaming’s immense market growth, creatives have struggled to benefit from its success. Ristband is changing this by offering a platform for live and immersive experiences in the real and virtual worlds, bridging the gap between independent creators and the gaming industry’s economic potential.
Ristband, initially aimed at independent artists, now attracts a wide range of interest from the sports, fashion, music, film and gaming industries. It offers high-quality storyworlds with built-in monetization, addressing the economic disparities faced by creatives, and enabling a new way to leverage existing IPs by adapting them to virtual worlds. During Ristband’s alpha launch, a surge in user demand for high-quality live experiences led to artists, actors, brands, writers, influencers, and 3D artists seeking to participate. With current industry capabilities, there is no reason why creatives should not be fairly paid for their contributions, which will be a game changer in our economy, and society.
The journey
The team received a grant from Epic Games to transform their prototype into an MVP (minimal viable platform), launching at SXSW Festival in 2022. In 2023, Ristband won the SXSW Audience Award for their groundbreaking showcase. Ristband’s approach features system-wide changes; business model, technical framework, and user mechanics to unlock a new category of entertainment. The platform’s success is underscored by positive press coverage as well as meaningful proof points and validation over the last 18 months.
The positive impact
Ristband identified a significant gap in the market; the absence of a platform to harness the potential of emerging trends. Ristband fulfills the demand for high quality live interactive experiences, as well as a fairer business model, enabling creatives to participate in a meaningful way. As a result, Ristband has generated revenue for creatives, artists, and festivals in ways that were unimaginable 10 years ago.
The growth and collaboration
Originally focused on merging video games with live entertainment, Ristband’s scope has expanded to encompass film, fashion, and live event partnerships, predominantly across the USA, the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Copyright Delta
Challenge 1
Disruptive technologies and its impact on culture and creativity
From
Contact person
Make Block and Daan Archer
The birth
In the era of digital transformation, the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) sector has evolved into a complex network with legacy systems, privacy concerns, already resulting in untapped markets (like gaming) and unallocated royalties exceeding 1 billion euro annually. In addition, Generative AI poses an existential threat, as well as a huge opportunity, with an estimated market size of 700+ billion euro. Copyright Delta’s (CPD) tools and platform address these issues while also ensuring compliance with EU regulations regarding data ownership, privacy and verified renumerations. They provide a path for CCI stakeholders to adapt to the digital age successfully.
Copyright Delta, the data sovereign IP licensing, settlement and protection network within the CCI sector. Our mission is to enable new revenue streams for media IP owners and creators, protect them from AI plagiarism, while streamlining royalty processing and payments. In doing so, we champion cultural diversity, infusing European values into the global CCI economy, ultimately positioning Europe as the welcoming homeland for a professional creative sector.
The journey
In short, CPD introduces a data sovereign neutral B2B2B-“plumbing layer” for streamlining rights licensing, royalty matching, processing and settlements, protection against AI plagiarism, double claim avoidances and several other problems hindering the creative industry today. Our infrastructure leverages our custom data analytics and AI engines, a private and public blockchain.
The positive impact
CPD’s solution empowers multiple sides of the creative media sector, with enhanced revenues, protection against (AI) plagiarism and reduced liabilities, such as B2C-platforms (streaming, gaming, UGC, film etc), B2B-service providers (music, GenAI, fintech etc), IP owners and creators while complying with GDPR and EU copyright regulations and ensuring compliant reporting and payments (by third parties) to rights owners.
This technological and social innovation within the CCI promotes cultural diversity in the EU and beyond. CPD’s designed and chosen solutions also contribute positively to the EU’s “green deal” by reducing the carbon footprint. Lastly, it also enhances Europe’s appeal as a home for creators worldwide, providing robust IP protection and new revenue streams.
The growth and collaboration
Since we are building an infrastructure network within the CCI, starting with music, we want to fully tap into the wider audio-visual sector. Thus, we work as a B2B2B-service provider with parties of the European and global CCI-ecosystem.
mediar | BLACKRHINO VR
Challenge 1
Disruptive technologies and its impact on culture and creativity
From
Contact person
Brian Afande
The birth
This project’s conception was based on our organization’s (BlackRhino VR’s) mission and vision of accelerating the adoption of immersive technologies in Africa through our 4D’s ethos (Designing, Demystification, Democratization and Deploying) Extended Reality Technologies, by empowering the African youth to be the XR innovators and inventors of the future. For the youth to contribute positively to our continents socio-economic development challenges, it’s increasingly important that they acquire 21st century skillsets, however, the skills needed in Africa for the internet powered economy are changing, and the educational system is underprepared. There exists a ‘skills mismatch’ between those being acquired in institutions of higher learning and those required by the industry. Our platform bridges this gap by offering an opportunity for individuals to ‘learn and earn’ using our no-code, user friendly, AR cloud editor and publishing platform embedded with a unique financial inclusive model where content creators and brands can exist in a self-sustainable digital ecosystem.
The journey
Our platform went through a series of phases from R&D, feasibility study, SWOT analysis, design, development, and stress testing. We are currently working on the marketing campaign and launch. We had some challenges especially around the legal contractual engagement to determine the scope of the platform and the best intellectual property framework. We couldn’t have brought our platform to fruition if it wasn’t for the ACP-EU grant of 180,000 Euros that provided the necessary financial support we needed.
The positive impact
According to the World Economic Forum, by 2030 almost half of the world’s youth population between 18-25 years old will be in Africa and there is need to reimagine education programs to nurture this talent and workforce. According to the voices of creatives report by GIZ, the importance of digital technology in the CCI has accelerated and there is high demand for access to affordable internet service, software and hardware, and a need for training in digital technologies and business practices. Our platform bridges the gap between African creativity & immersive technologies to unlock the untapped potential of the youth. By empowering a growing generation through accessing digital skills, our platform enables a conducive environment for significant socio-economic growth that will subsequently help create jobs, reduce poverty, and contribute to overcoming our continent’s development challenges by perpetuating the development of an Internet economy where content creators, businesses and brands will co-exist in an inclusive digital ecosystem powered by AR.
The growth and collaboration
By co-developing our platform with a leading XR company from the Netherlands (VR Owl), we intend to explore growth opportunities by incubating a subsidiary of our organization in the Netherlands tapping into a global XR value chain and target audience. This approach will ultimately foster a knowledge and cultural exchange platform that will potentially develop new ideas, pathways, technical skill sets and capabilities for both our organizations. Within our strategic roadmap, we intend to partner with learning institutions across the continent to deliver training on our platform’s optimal useability.
Resortecs – Recycling made easy
Challenge 1
CCIs a s a catalyst for a green, sustainable future and societal impact
From
Contact person
Davidson Leite
The birth
Resortecs was created in 2017 by Cédric Vanhoeck & Vanessa Counaert. Cédric Vanhoeck studied industrial design engineering at TU Delft (NL), where he first discovered the concept of active disassembly, a research field in engineering that applies materials science to joining techniques with the goal of enabling the disassembly of complex products in an easy and cost-effective manner.
After joining the Antwerp Fashion Academy, Cédric saw first-hand the huge disconnect between fashion and the circular economy, and the amount of waste produced by textile products that are not made to be unmade.
The textile industry is the world’s 4th most polluting sector, emitting over 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year and accounting for a material loss worth $500B/year.
Cédric realized that he had the right combination of expertise to resolve the issue. He went back to the engineering drawing board to see if the principles of design-for-disassembly and active disassembly could be applied in fashion.
Active disassembly makes the recycling of consumer products possible at industrial scale. Originally, it was developed for hardware products, but at Resortecs, whose name comes from the words ‘recycling’, ‘sorting’ and ‘technologies’, this approach and the technology are working on textiles. A few years later, we launched our first products: Smart Stitch™ & Smart Disassembly™.
The journey
Resortecs’ globally patented thermal disassembly solution is 5X faster than traditional disassembly methods and makes it possible to recycle up to 90% of the original fabric material:
- Smart Stitch™, our range of 16 bio-based and synthetic heat-dissolvable stitching threads with different melting points (150°C to 190 °C) that enables brands to transform their products into pieces of clothing fully designed for disassembly and recycling from the manufacturing stage.
- Smart Disassembly™, our thermal disassembly system, enables recyclers to unlock higher volumes of high-quality material, processing tons of garments/year with low emissions, efficient energy consumption, and no fabric damage, so that clothing can be recycled multiple times.
- The combination of Smart Stitch™ and Smart Disassembly™ has been validated by the global fashion and textile brands such as Decathlon, BekaertDeslee and Bershka, and is currently used in products sold in over 60 countries. Our solution has been widely recognized for circularity innovativeness:
- 2018: Global Change Award by the H&M Foundation; 2019: EU Social Innovation Competition; 2020: Take-Off Award by The Textirama Foundation; 2021: Changemaker of the Year at the Belgian Fashion Awards, Global Entrepreneurship Center Textile Challenge; 2022: European Innovation Council Accelerator Winners; 2023: Henry Van de Velde Ecodesign Award by OVAM; Make It Circular Challenge by WhatDesignCanDo and Ikea Foundation.
The positive impact
- When compared to traditional disassembly + recycling processes used in closed-loop denim production, Resortecs’ patented process can reduce water usage by 3,500L and free up to 4.5m2a of land for crop production per jeans.
- When compared to other common end-of-life processing such as incineration or landfill, our solution reduces textile waste by 80% and generates 6 to 7 kg less CO2 equivalent per pair of jeans.
- Translated into business figures, these eco-impact metrics mean reducing raw material loss by 50%, cutting CO2 offsetting costs by 50%, and saving over EUR 1,50 per pair of denim jeans.
- If the European garment share were thermally disassembled and recycled, the fashion industry would generate 60,3 million fewer tons of CO2 and save up to 2.3 billion euros per year.
The growth and collaboration
Using the LCA calculations mentioned above, Resortecs aims to have 60 million pieces of clothing made and disassembled with the Resortecs solution in the next 5 years. This would reduce CO2 emissions by over 900,000 tons; save up to 600 billion L of water; and potentially free up to 82,000 hectares of land for crop production, providing food security for 405 families/year.
Surface Club Lab La Bla
Challenge 1
CCIs a s a catalyst for a green, sustainable future and societal impact
From
Contact person
Victor Isaksson Pirtti
The birth
Surface Club provides a coating technology that enables place/case specific coatings – all based on recycled particles. The coating works on any material; soft/hard, rigid/elastic, indoors/outdoors and can be used as a textile replacement, offering an alternative to traditional upholstery for acoustic products and furniture.
Every year 10-million-tonnes of furniture is discarded in the EU and ends up being incinerated or landfilled. This innovation makes refurbishment of furniture and acoustic products less labor intensive and reduce use of toxic fabrics.
The journey
Since 2018 we have worked on developing and facilitating creative solutions for the transformation of by-products stemming from natural resource industries. Through a cross-disciplinary collaborations and open-ended experiments we have developed a hands-on and scalable suggestions to combat the persistent industrial waste issue, by hacking traditional production tool; the spray gun.
Our work is equal parts design, logistics and intensive detective work;
Step 1: identify supply-chains and industrial facilities and scavenge for unwanted/unknown/disused/forgotten materials.
Step 2: grind down material into particles
Step 3: add particles to ’hacked’ spray gun
Step 4: point, aim and shoot. How you handle the weapon informs the outcome. Industrial precision or painterly brushstrokes
The positive impact
Economic (Transit towards goal 12)
- Upcycling based on waste to value conversion
- 8x times cyclable structural composite
Social (Transit towards goal 8)
- Maker oriented infrastructure that doesn’t lock materials to certain forms or functions.
- Open system architecture and low threshold for regional participation.
Environmental (Transit towards goal 7)
- Inbuilt refurbishment potential, 93-96% Circularity index (Ellen McArthur Foundation)
- Based on waste streams intended for incineration or landfilling
The growth and collaboration
Surface Club is based on obsessive scrutinization of supply chains. In every step of an industrial process, both upstream and downstream, leftovers are found. We are looking for the smallest particles that cannot be integrated in emerging or current recycling strategies. This work requires a delicate hand with regional understanding that can map and quantify prospective resources. These ambassadors can be integral to the supply chain or agents with broad cross sectorial networks. We identify waste that is produced and can be procured across the globe, minimizing transport to recycle waste found in close vicinity to to project/client/facilities. in-situ manufacturing.
Autofabricantes
Challenge 1
CCIs a s a catalyst for a green, sustainable future and societal impact
From
Contact person
Francisco Díaz
The birth
The birth Autofabricantes was born in Madrid in 2015 as a collective research project. The community and the child co-create cost effective designs, prototypes and products in open source code that are shared, downloaded and 3D printed all around the world. The child is the center of the process, inspiring a community of parents, doctors, teachers, engineers, designers, makers and 3d printing labs. Together with the different NGOs, they scope out potential projects and then proceed to launch a call for interested patients/participants. Once patients have been identified, Autofabricantes creates a community with the volunteer group and the patients and family. The process begins with a kick-off workshop where the co-creation team meets families and children, hear their needs, and evaluate the situation. The methodology used here to extract the real needs of the children based on their experiences, passions and the concrete circumstances is a vital defining part of the project. This is the essence of community creation for personalized solutions.
The journey
These “creative creation” workshops occur every 3-4 months and in the period between each workshop the volunteer team researches, develops, and prototypes solutions to be presented to the families and to be tested on the children. Autofabricantes follows a strict research process with an open-source focus. Over the past 18 months, they have dedicated time and resources to document the whole process, creating written manuals, training workshops, and contacting with key allies to replicate their work worldwide. Each of their 8 research projects has established a set of goals against which results are constantly and consistently measured through a feedback loop from users and the immediate family and carers. They not only want to develop products but also change the system of creating prostheses, they give a voice to users and generate a community of support and development of solutions. They have a great challenge in the economic sustainability of the project. It is based on volunteering and is not viable in the long term. They have been supported by Medialab Prado and many foundations such as Daniel y Nina Carasso, Ashoka, Caser and Fundación ONCE and universities as UPM and U.Coruña.
The positive impact
with their TFGs and TFMs. They are currently carrying out studies on the “improvement in quality of life” of children with their prostheses. The first results indicate that 95% substantially improve their lives in at least 1 or 2 activities with an increase in their self-esteem.
The growth and collaboration
Viroo: XR Made easy
Challenge 1
CCIs a s a catalyst for a green, sustainable future and societal impact
From
Contact person
David Moreno
The birth
VIROO® by Virtualware emerged in 2019 to address VR technology adoption challenges. We created VIROO®, an all-in-one solution that simplifies VR adoption, making it accessible, flexible, and scalable. Focused on driving innovation, Virtualware aimed to simplify and democratize VR for industries. It brings added value by bridging the physical and digital realms, setting a new standard for immersive technology in diverse industries.
The journey
In 2019, we initiated a systemic transformation, redefining our strategy and culture to center around VIROO®. Overcoming the challenge of a 15-year-old business model, we implemented a flexible organizational and business model. This systematic change, extending beyond VIROO®, aimed at market repositioning and growth. The support primarily came from internal leadership and stakeholders, enabling us to adapt rapidly to customer demands, enhance acquisition processes, and integrate new technologies into the product. Constant innovation remains our key to success after two decades.
The positive impact
VIROO® revolutionizes industries, addressing real challenges like training nuclear plant workers and railway maintenance. Its impact is quantifiable, reducing environmental footprint through resource-efficient VR training. GE Hitachi deploys VIROO® for advanced reactor development, ADIF ensures seamless railway training transitions, and the Spanish Military Health School enhances army medical training. Educational institutions like McMaster University, University of El Salvador, and the Basque Government benefit from VIROO®, promoting collaborative learning and technological advancement. These impacts align with Virtualware’s commitment to sustainability, contributing to positive economic, social, and environmental outcomes.
The growth and collaboration
In the next 5 years, we aim to disrupt every industry by expanding VIROO’s usage and fostering sustainability. Our primary goal is to enhance VIROO, increasing its user base through a pay-per-use model. We target 200 organizations using VIROO by 2025, enhancing their competitiveness and sustainability. We aspire for VIROO to become the technological standard in Virtual Reality, driving us toward our goal and purpose. We plan to strengthen international presence through collaborations with global partners, organizations and universities.
Thematic Areas
+
Organizers
Collaborators
Coordinator
