ALICE starts discussions with Slovakian stakeholders

On 16 January 2020 in Bratislava, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak republic held its first stakeholders’ meeting with SMEs and freelance workers from the animation sector. The main objectives of the meeting were to present the ALICE project in detail, give an update about the on-going work and begin involving the stakeholders in the implementation of the project.  
After revisiting ALICE’s purpose to create a favorable ecosystem for the animation sector across Europe, the representatives of the Ministry of Culture emphasized the crucial importance of local stakeholders’ contributions to the success of the project. They called on the participants for a critical, open and on-going dialogue aimed at identifying the challenges and obstacles to inter-regional collaborations, and to co-develop realistic solutions to improve regional policies. The value of international collaborations and the need for strengthening connections within project partners’ territories was acknowledged in the session.   
During the second part of the meeting, the participants were presented with practical information about their expected contributions over the life of the project. The first consultation phase will focus on identifying the key issues hindering the growth of the sector around different themes including production, distribution, education and training. The second phase will be dedicated to co-building an action plan with concrete proposals for policy changes in order to tackle these issues, fostering collaborations with the project partners and developing of a favorable ecosystem for European co-productions. 
The conversations showed the participants’ willingness to work hand in hand to help move ALICE forward.