CONCLUSIONS

5. CONCLUSIONS

Reading through these guidelines, setting up a new cultural and social centre must look like the most difficult thing in the world. It isn’t. It is basic work, day by day. And it’s a priceless enterprise. It’s like an academy of life. The experience will stay with you forever. On the golden nights that you make happen, you will discover art that shakes up your worldview and make friends who will make you understand that all this effort is worth it. Because without spaces like these, your city would suffocate.

As mentors, we have created trust, shared knowledge and forged bonds that survive well beyond this programme. Many times, when confronted with problems that seemed impossible to us, the teams behind these centres have amazed us – time and again, they come up with solutions that we could not have imagined. Which just goes to say: no matter the wisdom and experience we offer, these centres are living organisms capable of finding a way forward that cannot be captured in fixed methodologies.

Of the 13 emerging centres we have worked with so far, none has disappeared in the meantime. Some have expanded, some are teetering on the edge during this pandemic. When some of the founders leave, new faces enter, ready to reinvent the place.

We have been proud to work with the TEH Startup Support Programme so far and we’re looking forward to the next chapters. In the meantime, it has been a great pleasure to welcome these centres and their smart and fearless people into our network.

ISBN: 978-91-986797-4-8