The 2nd Annual International KreativEU Conference (CILRAID 2025) was held at the Faculty of Economics and Management, Opole University of Technology. The conference was part of a five-day gathering on June 2-6, during which the main event was the conference itself, accompanied by a series of meetings and side events. Organised in collaboration with local craft guilds, the Opole Centre for Economic Development, and institutions affiliated with the KreativEU (Knowledge & Creativity European University Alliance), the event convened under the guiding theme: Heritage, Innovation, Resilience, Business (HIRB).

The hybrid conference (in-person and online) gathered participants from across Europe and Central Asia, including representatives from Portugal, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Turkey, and Lithuania. Attendees included academics, local entrepreneurs, policy experts, and craft practitioners.

The conference offered an interdisciplinary forum to discuss challenges such as the aging generation of craftsmen, lack of succession, disappearing craft professions, and limited access to support instruments, as highlighted by experts in regional development. A key message was the urgent need for better support frameworks, especially for young people entering crafts, and policies to protect intangible cultural heritage.

The event reinforced international academic and practical collaboration, defined strategic priorities for the development of craftsmanship in Poland and abroad, and emphasised the value of crafts as a bridge between tradition and innovation.

Source:
Radio Opole - O zagrożeniach dla rzemiosła i ochrony dziedzictwa
https://po.edu.pl/wazna-miedzynarodowa-konferencja-o-rzemiosle-po-raz-pierwszy-w-polsce/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6pbNk0pnSo&t=58s