The World Crafts Council Europe (WCCE) organized its annual conference on Thursday 20th June of 2024. It took place in Barcelona, Spain and it was co-hosted by the Consortium of Commerce, Crafts and Fashion (CCAM). The conference was held in English and on site simultaneously translated to Catalan.

Click here to watch the Conference

The title of the 2024 annual conference was State of Crafts: Key Pillars in the Contemporary Craft Sector. The meeting was opened by Roger Torrent, Minister of Business and Work of Catalonia, and included the participation of more than 30 craft organizations across Europe in addition to a great programme of speakers, with the aim to create a public discussion on the importance of crafts in the Old Continent. Guest speakers included:

• Paulo Ribeiro, Founder and Director of Contemporania;
• Jessica Guy, Strategic research lead at Distributed Design, Fab Lab Barcelona;
• Graciela Melitsko Thornton, Creative Green Consultancy and Training Programme lead at Julie’s Bicycle;
• Rosa Muñoz, Brand, trends and futures consultant at Ohayō;
• Ana Cristina Mendes, Deputy Director of CEARTE & WCCE Vice-President;
• Laura Miguel Baumann, Secretary General WCCE.

This year’s theme focused on highlighting key issues in European crafts today. It explored what other sectors and society can learn from crafts, shared positive stories to attract a wider audience, and emphasized important topics like sustainability, entrepreneurship, knowledge sharing, heritage, and aesthetics in the craft world.

For more information: https://wcc-europe.org/whats-on/news/state-of-crafts-key-pillars-in-the-contemporary-craft-sector/