Multicultural Festivals as Enterprises

This track widens the concept of multiculturalism and examines how it can be applied, integrated or emphasized through diverse festival business and entrepreneurial contexts. Open to festivals of any arts, culture, heritage or creative genres, this track aims to celebrate multiculturalism and superdiversity through enterprising engines that innovatively integrate unique players critical to the implementation and sustainability of the festival idea. Students will be exposed to expanding notions of diversity and equality set against existing communities, national population trends and international mobilities. Students will be challenged to consider multiculturalism in the digital, physical, hybrid and any other environments that will be conducive to develop a creative enterprising festival landscape.

Multiculturalism and festivals track prepares students to develop the entrepreneurial mindset required to celebrate diversity through successful creative enterprise. Students will innovate revenue streams and re-imagine new financial partnerships to the idea of festivals and festivalisation.

This module prepares students to identify core components of multiculturalism, super/diversity and/or equality as the foundational core of a proposed festival idea which can include but not limited to race, ethnicity, languages, traditions, age, gender and online/offline identities. Students will connect current global/national/community understanding of multiculturalism to the problem of the current festival scene and innovate conceptual frameworks into actual festival application. 

This module further equips students with research skills to conduct market research of global events and digital festivals. Students will identify similar competitors and zoom into the significant gaps in the field, focusing on business sustainability, revenue streams and potential financial drawbacks.

Topics covered:

• Seminar 1: The Landscape of Multiculturalism in Festivals
  This session exposes students to dynamic perspectives of multiculturalism and how diversity drives entrepreneurship Students will learn the duality of festivals and multiculturalism – how the festivalisation provides encounters with ‘the other’, and how social inclusion/exclusion effectuate festivals.

• Seminar 2: Spotting Economic Opportunities in Festivals
  This session excites students to spot economic opportunities and financial vitality of festivals across digital and physical spaces. Students analyse how tourism, events, and gaming industries converge and evaluate how such intersections generate novel economic opportunities within evolving market ecosystems.

• Seminar 3: Problem Definition & Needs Assessment
  This session exposes students to multiple approaches on festival research to identify areas of intersection with entrepreneurship, business models and creative enterprise. Students will identify current festival trends and overlapping environments in order to draw out unresolved needs of the society and festival audiences. This session aims to help students define a clear problem statement for their creative business in multiculturalism and festivals.

• Seminar 4: Creative Ideation & Brainstorming Techniques
  This session allows students to brainstorm and share inspirational festival case studies that celebrate cultural diversity, represent multiculturalism and/or emphasize social inclusion with respect but not limited to ethnicities, communities, identities through any form of artistic genres or heritage forms. Students will be equipped with skills to ideate beyond the current physical and digital festival offerings to develop attractive concepts for financial investors and/or key funding partners.

• Seminar 5: Crafting Value Proposition
  This seminar equips students with the tools to design a persuasive value proposition tailored to multicultural and festival-based ventures. Using frameworks such as the Value Proposition Canvas and insights from cultural policy and audience development, the session explores how to articulate unique offerings that resonate with diverse communities, stakeholders, and funders. Students will develop and refine their own value propositions through scenario planning and collaborative exercises.

This module equips students with the knowledge and skills to develop robust sustainable business proposals for multicultural and festival-based creative ventures. Building on Semester 1 concepts and market studies, students will translate strategic planning, market positioning, and operational frameworks into actionable proposals tailored to diverse cultural contexts.

Through case studies, industry engagement, and guided workshops, students will explore core aspects of marketing, partnership building, resource mobilisation and audience development across cultural and demographic segments. The module addresses operational planning, risk management and compliance, alongside the preparation of detailed financial projections to ensure long-term sustainability. Students will identify potential challenges to sustainable economic growth and propose solutions to mitigate risk and ensure adaptability. This module will mirror industry expectations, preparing students to pitch confidently to funders, government agencies, and private partners within the multicultural and festivals sector, locally and internationally.