IP, Discoverability and Partnerships: Reviving the International Promotion of European Values Through European Animation Industry Ecosystem

Project Information

ANIMA MUNDI

Grant agreement ID: 101178027

DOI

10.3030/101178027

EC signature date 1 October 2024

Start date 1 February 2025

End date 31 July 2028

Funded under

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 3 990 678,30

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ANIMA MUNDI (IP, Discoverability and Partnerships: Reviving the International Promotion of European Values Through European Animation Industry Ecosystem)

Reporting period: 2025-02-01 to 2026-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

European animation is an underutilised force in global cultural and creative industries, with potential to highlight European diversity and foster international cultural relations. It has been challenged by fragmented visibility, weak international partnerships and intellectual property (IP) issues. The EU-funded ANIMA MUNDI project aims to unleash the full potential of the European animation industry ecosystem. The project will develop an international visibility brand and dashboard for policymakers and industry stakeholders of the European animation, discoverability mapping, and practical IP and partnership toolkits. With a particular focus on youth audiences, ANIMA MUNDI seeks to establish European animation as a powerful vehicle for promoting EU values and culture across EU Member States and worldwide.The consortium is a strategically designed multi-stakeholder team of five core academics and eight key stakeholders. The leading academic partners have strong transdisciplinary expertise between scholarship and policy-industrial stakeholders. ANIMA MUNDI also incorporates policymakers and key industry beneficiaries which have an interest and are drivers in promoting European values through CCIs: (i) Animation in Europe, European federation of Animation producers associations in the EU (ii) CEE Animation, bringing together regional activities for promotion and development of animation and its talents in Central and Eastern Europe; (iii) CITIA, organising structure of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the world’s largest Animation festival; (iv) UNIFRANCE, the Europe’s leading public organisation promoting French-European films worldwide; (v) Bridging Visions and its program Bridging the Dragon, key association connecting European and Asian film professionals; (vi) CUTAWAY, operator of the VOD platform CINESQUARE, available in Southern Europe and the Western Balkans; (vii) two key consultancy agencies, KEA European Affairs and LMF. The Specific Objectives of ANIMA MUNDI are to:
1: Provide an interdisciplinary mapping and assessment of the ways in which it is possible to increase the visibility of and access to European cultural content internationally, focusing on the EAIE and involving a wide set of stakeholders in the reflection;
2: Pilot the transformative impact of European Animation to promote EU priorities, culture and fundamental values abroad, by investigating narratives, practices and innovative Hubs of creativity, not limiting to what is but also to what could be and what would be, in the form of a future studies approach, with a special focus on children and youth;
3: Co-test the potential of European Animation to strengthen cooperation among stakeholders involved in the CCIs at different levels and to establish strategic alliances with other sectors (video games, etc.), supporting the CCI ecosystem.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the first reporting period, the project achieved significant progress toward its objectives. Careful and effective project management ensured the timely submission of deliverables and the successful completion of all planned milestones. Work Packages (WPs) 1, 4, and 12 have been fully completed, resulting in a total of nine deliverables. At the same time, three key WPs - 5, 7, and 9 - have been successfully initiated, with several core activities already underway, including interviews, survey design, and workshops preparation for the WPs 6, 8 and 10. The ANIMA MUNDI research teams adopted a combined quantitative and qualitative approach, encompassing comprehensive literature reviews and the establishment of infrastructure for data collection and analysis. Through active engagement with industry professionals and stakeholders, the project has begun to generate valuable insights exploring and supporting the promotion of the European animation industry both across EU Member States and internationally. In parallel, the foundations for communication activities have been established, including the development of the project’s brand identity, logo, and visual language. Additionally, key communication channels - such as the project website and social media platforms - have been launched, contributing to steady community growth through consistent engagement and targeted outreach based on initial stakeholder mapping.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

During the first reporting period, the project has undertaken a series of coordinated research, stakeholder engagement, and mapping activities that lay a strong foundation for achieving results beyond the current state of the art. Key actions include the development of a large-scale evidence base through the preparation of an online survey targeting animation professionals and stakeholders, supported by a comprehensive contact database of over 6,000 contacts across 20 European countries. This has been complemented by an extensive review and analysis of more than 100 policy and legal documents, as well as the delivery of report D5.1 which synthesises insights from a robust body of primary EU legislative and policy sources alongside a wide range of secondary literature. In parallel, the project has ensured active stakeholder involvement through the organisation of “set-the-stage” workshops and ANIMAR focus groups, engaging 65 professionals from across the European animation industry. These activities have contributed to testing research assumptions and refining project directions. Further engagement is being fostered through the preparation of five IP-Thlons focused on the internationalisation of European animated intellectual property, expected to involve around 60-70 participants. The project has also made significant progress in mapping and analytical work. This includes the identification of 216 policy initiatives supporting the international promotion of animation works across 9 EU and 7 non-EU countries, forming the basis of an emerging comparative policy mapping tool. Additional research tools have been developed to deepen the project’s analytical capacity. These include the preparation of four sets of questionnaires addressed to market players operating in the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, as well as in the EU, aiming to collect data on key challenges related to the import and export of European animated works. Furthermore, targeted interview questionnaires have been designed to investigate (i) current initiatives undertaken by non-EU countries to support the international promotion of their animation ecosystems, and (ii) the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats affecting the international promotion of the European animation industry ecosystem. Moreover, audience research has been initiated through the design of a survey targeting 500 respondents to capture evolving audience trends. Collectively, these actions contribute to generating new, structured knowledge, strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration, and supporting evidence-based policy and industry strategies.
For further information, please see the technical report submitted in the framework of the first reporting period.