The project “Cultural and creative ecosystem of Latvia as a resource of resilience and sustainability” is implemented by the research Consortium of the leading arts and cultural research, higher education and cultural heritage institutions - the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC); Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLAM); the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL); the National Library of Latvia (NLL), and the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA). The goal: to create new knowledge based on an interdisciplinary research approach about the 1) manifestations of the resilience of the cultural and creative ecosystem in the current processes, especially by shedding light on the dynamics of the cultural offer and accessibility in the face-to-face and digital environment, as well as the employment and education processes of the sector; 2) the connection with historical processes, emphasizing and evaluating the role of the Soviet period to understand the current culture and arts; 3) representations of the social and economic impact on the sustainable development of society. The new knowledge will be shared in 76 scholarly articles, 8 monographs, 77 international conferences, Master’s and Doctoral theses, and integrated into academic curricula of all levels. The team will develop 11 policy reports, ensuring knowledge transfer and an inclusive dialogue of researchers and cultural and creative sector, strengthening its self-confidence and resilience

Evidence from various sources shows that opera in Europe is developing from a traditional labour market, with jobs for a limited number of singers in opera houses with a stable amount of steady jobs and a conventional program, to a dynamic cross-arts playground, interdisciplinary and innovative, with contemporary repertoire and fresh ways of approaching tradition, attracting new audiences keen on being culturally engaged in new and unique experiences. This requires HEIs to train their opera students with innovative and more effective approaches, especially with regards to collaborative and entrepreneurial skills that will boost their employability as creative makers of opera, capable to act in a globalized professional field and with the appropriate skills and competences that are required by a flexible and multi-faceted labour market. This EOALAB Strategic Partnership set out to explore innovative learning and teaching methods (shared education) in the context of new opera making and cross-border education within educational networks. It was initiated by the European Opera Academy, which is a network of European music conservatories (part of Higher Education Institutions) that allows their students to participate in modules organized by all partners of the network. By doing so, the EOA’s goal is to foster entrepreneurial, collaborative, interdisciplinary required skills in order to create increased employability for young graduates who will operate in an ever changing job market. The project consisted of 7 HEI’s from 7 countries, including approximately 20 teachers and 40 students, plus the AEC, that executed 5 Intensive Study projects, held 20 Transnational Project Meetings of 3 different working groups, had 4 Steering Committee meetings, and 2 Multiplier Events with over 400 people attending, resulting in 3 main tangible results:1)a Manual on shared education with guidelines and checklists to develop new curricula. In particular, the manual addresses how to manage and balance academic offer and student mobility, how to deal with recognition of specific Erasmus+ study abroad and transfer of results, and it gives advice on the actual development of curricula according to the local needs, constraints and academic culture (fixed and full versus flexible and open). The Manual is available on the website of EOALAB, and includes materials from 2) and 3). 2)Innovative approaches to opera making : policy recommendations for HEls in opera training. In three Intensive Study Programs, in which students and staff of the participating HEIs participated and which took place in Maastricht (2019), Vilnius (2020) and Porto (2021), new ways of opera making and training were explored. The three ISP’s show a clear evolution in the way the HEIs envisioned opera making. The ISP consisted of both traditional processes of opera making, to ‘thinking-out-of-the-box’ in creating three minute opera’s where music students were challenged to make use of modern technologies.Apart from the ISPs, essays were written in which the tension between the old and the new were discussed. Reflecting on the evolutions in the opera labor market and the role the HEIs take in providing education that increases future graduates’ success in employment on the one hand, and finding the balance in study programs that require students to maintain fundamental skills whilst nurturing the new skills needed for the ongoing experiments in the artistic world.The IO furthermore proposes policy recommendations for HEIs which can be used as a basis for the internal debate on curriculum renewal.All three elements – policy recommendations, essays and articles, and micro-operas on video – can be found on the website.3)a Model for blended teaching activities on opera language teaching. This intensive five day course for teachers at HEI’s who want to teach Singers Russian or Italian serves, as a model for other languages (English, French, German). Besides guidelines for the set-up of a 3-5 days workshop/masterclass with suitable material for Italian and Russian, class materials about e.g. speech techniques, are included. Background interviews and surveys reflecting on the process of trial and error offer information about the choices of the method. All materials and the 3 results can be found on the website EOALAB.org. The outputs can also be found on the Erasmus Project Results Platform, including some extra dissemination materials as teasers and video materials. The dissemination further took place in two Multiplier events, two congresses of the AEC, one online and one onsite, and through sending newsletters and other channels. The impact of the project for students became clear from the very first moment they took part and were confronted with new ideas and methods. The HEI’s as they are linked to EOA in the first place, will adapt their curricula to the findings of the project, and new exchanges between several schools have started.