ACCENT SUD, which stands for Association pour la cooperation culturelle et l’économie numérique avec le sud de l’Europe is an association aimed at developing regional support, partnership opportunities and building a systematic and consistent dialogue between different stakeholders in the culture and digital economy transition, with a geographical focus in south Europe. ACCENT SUD is based in the south-west of France, close to the city of Bordeaux in the region of Aquitaine. ACCENT SUD positions itself as a centre of attraction in the field of digital economy transition. The ecosystem of the association, formed by the participating companies, research centers, public entities, associations and local initiatives provides a full range of enabling services and transnational projects.

This strategic geographical location allows the association to provide its services and support in a wider cross-border and macro-region covering central and south France, and the east part of Spain but also creating bridges with the Benelux economic area.

WE AIM TO

Developing Regional Support

The ecosystem that is originated by Accent Sud creates a significant advantage for everyone that benefits from it since it provides a full range of enabling services and transitional projects, that in turn help to increase the investment in culture and local development as well as the competitiveness of the regions in southern Europe.

This business ecosystem will make use of its partners’ knowledge to create leading practices and an increasingly large workforce that understands the practical elements of building greener, more connected, and more social regions while at the same time enabling smarter investments to correct the imbalances between regions.

By sharing common goals, having an efficient structure to benefit all partners, and being culturally aligned Accent Sud’s stakeholders hope to make their regions more competitive and smarter, through innovation, digitalization, digital connectivity, exchange of intelligence, and support to small and medium-sized business.

Creating Partnership Opportunities

ACCENT- SUD positions itself as a Centre of attraction for local organizations, companies, government organizations, and human resources in the field of digital economy transition.

The ecosystem of the association, formed by the participating companies, research centers, public entities, associations, and local initiatives provides a great opportunity to form connections and partnerships between stakeholders that share the same values and interests. Participants in this business ecosystem create more value collectively than they could create individually and understand the practical elements of building and operating an efficacious ecosystem process.

Building a systematic and consistent dialogue between different stakeholders in the culture and digital economy transition fields.

Accent Sud hopes to mitigate the lack of exchange of wisdom between different European regions in the fields of culture and digital economy transition. By creating an open dialogue between the different stakeholders’ Accent Sud is building the path for the pursuit of digital transformation and assembling a framework that allows them to start up, scale up, collect, and use data, innovate, and cooperate on fair terms.

This will not only help the development of different regions but also create bridges between them to obtain more efficient and substantive results, boosting their productivity and global competitiveness.

OUR MANIFESTO

Introduction

Accent Sud is a young non-profit organization. We want to build our daily work on a set of values, beliefs and principles. We want them to guide us in the choices and decisions we make. This is the foundation of our culture. 

Our purpose

We want to make a real and meaningful impact in the following areas:

Knowledge economy & Digital transformation
Accent Sud contributes to a society that resolves problems and ensures growth through knowledge which entails highly specialized skills and competences in specific areas. It capitalizes on digital technologies that have a potential to optimize many industries and processes, making them more inclusive and more sustainable. 

Culture and Art
Accent Sud uses culture and art as powerful tools of societal transformation. Very often, solutions to complex problems do not lie in technology only but in changing societal attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that are not always logical and rational. Art has a power to communicate without words. Its place must not be in art schools, galleries and journals, but everywhere in our society. 

Climate change and environmental protection
However, there is no purpose in any endeavours unless we secure the wellbeing of our common home planet Earth and that of the human beings. Accent Sud is dedicated to development and deployment of sustainable solutions that would allow the economy to flourish without damaging the climate and harming the environment, end the unbounded exploitation of natural resources and careless pollution. 

Cross-sectoral cooperation
Accent Sud seeks to change the world where science is left in journals and academic conferences, business seeks ever growing profits, governments make undeliberate policies and the art lives in a world apart. We want to unite and align all the actors, because together they have infinite potential for powerful and lasting change. 

Our values


Trust 
We believe to be able to consistently demonstrate actions which align with our vision and values, and this is how trust is born. It means for us freedom and encouragement to put our imagination, creativity, and passion to work. It also means responsibility and accountability. 

Transparency 
As a team we have no secrets and we do not hide anything under the carpet. When we disagree, have concerns and uncomfortable topics, we discuss them. This is the attitude we hold with our partners, clients and sponsors. 

Equality and Inclusion 
We are a small and so far, 80% female team. However, gender has not been a parameter of choice for our team members: we are open to all kinds of profiles, regardless of gender, colour, diet, religion, or anything else that makes a person feel different. We seek to never judge and stereotype anyone. The two things that matter to us are adherence to our vision and values, and good performance. 

How we work


Mind & Heart
We understand that the world dominated by logic and reason alone cannot evolve in a balanced and healthy way. That is why we use the heart in everything we do: empathy, compassion and imagination. It makes our work much more meaningful and more substantial. 

Pursuit of Growth and Learning
At Accent Sud, we want to ensure that every employee is at the right place, finds enough meaning and purpose in their work and feels both fulfilled and challenged. We seek to provide maximum opportunities for professional growth and learning. 

Work-Life Balance
At Accent Sud, we do not support the philosophy of success defined by “hard work” that comes at the cost of sacrificing personal well-being and other commitments and priorities we have in life. We seek to work “smart”: prioritizing tasks that require limited investment of time but provide maximum impact, using the rule of 80/20. We combine it with a clear vision and regular communication. It does not mean that peaks of workload never happen to us. They do, and then we give extra effort and make sacrifices, however we see them as exceptions to the rule, and we allow ourselves to rest. 

Full Remote (so far)
We made this choice both out of necessity and our own preferences. While we benefit from the freedom and convenience this way of work brings, we are conscious of its disadvantages as well, such as lack of communication, a feeling of disconnection, and blurred limits between personal and professional life. We compensate for it through regular online meetings and occasional physical meetings and setting our personal rules and boundaries. 

Full Flexibility
Because we trust that each of us has self-discipline and understand that what is productive and convenient for one is not necessarily such for another, we adapt collectively to our individual needs, leaving maximum space for personal freedom. 

Flat Structure
As a small organization we enjoy flat organizational structure. We give autonomy and voice to each other, with each of us participating in decision-making processes when it is needed and appropriate. Because much of our work relies on and at the same time directly or indirectly contributes to Democracy, we support it at the heart of our organization. 

WHO WE ARE

Co-founder and President at ACCENT SUD, she holds a Master of Arts in Cooperation, Development and International Trade Market by the University of Turin (Italy) and she is PhD candidate in Arts Thinking at the University of Aveiro (PT). She is an expert in regional innovation policies and private sector development. With more than 15 years of experience in coordinating and managing European and international projects, Chiara has an extensive experience in supporting innovation, interregional development, smart specialization and cohesion policy, organizing events and training all over Europe involving academy and policy makers at local, regional and national level. Chiara is also experienced in stakeholder engagement and participatory events, evaluating public policy, research and data collection activities, as she coordinated a number of studies, including the recently published studied on climate adaption and regional resilience. Since 2016 she is board member of Startup Regions Europe Network (SERN) and since 2009 Project Manager at Inova+ International.

Co-founder, Vice-President and Secretary of ACCENT SUD, he holds a Batchelor of Arts (BA) in Linguistics and Social Development, attended several professional courses in the areas of Export Markets Management, Marketing and Sales management and Negotiation skills and is one of the managing partners of Strategic Development and Project Management, a consulting company based in Angoulême, France. He has over 20 years experience in the international cooperation sector, working for several major donors, including the EU, ABD, DFID, EC, GIZ, SIDA, World Bank, UEMOA and UNIDO and in almost all regions of the globe including Africa, Asia, Eastern and Central Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. João has, therefore, developed a substantial and proven track record in PROGRAMME and RESOURCE MANAGEMENT including: project cycle management, log-frame, result oriented monitoring, annual workplans, ToR drafting, NKEs supervision, procurement tenders and grants coordination, as well as ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: business enabling environment, public-private dialogue and partnership, one stop shops for business licensing and registration, institutional strengthening, strategic planning, income generation, business start-up, and professional training and in TRADE and INDUSTRY comprising: agri-business competitiveness, value chain development, extension services, export promotion, business upgrading and restructuring, innovation and packaging, business development services, clusters, entrepreneurship, marketing management, HR development (training, coaching & mentoring), export promotion and facilitation. 

Vice-secretary at ACCENT SUD, she is an English, French, and Spanish into Portuguese freelance translator who holds a master’s degree in Specialized Translation and Interpreting, completed in 2015. She specializes in the areas of e-Commerce, e-Learning, Information Technologies, Research & Innovation. Working as a freelance translator since completing her degree in Administrative Assistance and Translation in 2012, she embraces the opportunity of workingwith Mentortec SA as an administrative assistant and translator in 2015. In 2017, Priscila decided to expand her professional horizons in Paris, France, as a successful full-time freelance translator, working on a variety of translation projects with international companies like Microsoft, Yamaha, Fred Perry, Maisons du Monde or Nestlé. 

General Delegate at ACCENT SUD, she has over 15 years of experience in the CCS and especially in the film industry, managing international projects, as strategic consultant for European business, affairs and funding schemes, in the production of international professional events (festivals, workshops, markets and conferences), and coordinating international training courses. Working with various private and public stakeholders, she has an extensive view on how to foster synergies in cooperation processes, connecting professionals, universities, public bodies and audiences. She is also a keynote speaker and panel moderator. She has also an extensive experience in managing and representing European associations, as EUROVOD (European Video On Demand platforms association) and CICAE (International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas), developing the associations and their projects co-funded by the European Commission, public relations & political representation, administration, team and event management.  She holds a Master’s degree in Science of the Performing Arts and Multimedia Production, a Bachelor’s Degree in Techniques of the Performing Arts (Venice Ca’Foscari university, Italy), and several professional trainings certificates.

Advisor at ACCENT SUD, she is an experienced consultant in the field of Human Resources, helping organisations to increase engagement, productivity, diversity and inclusion, while reducing stress and absenteeism. She is likewise a writer, covering subjects around workplace wellbeing, personal development and mental health. As an advocate of neuroscience, she wants to translate its scientific findings into the real world, to help people and organizations increase their potential to change, grow and innovate. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Twente University, the Netherlands, with her thesis dedicated to SustainableDevelopment. She likewise has training in Applied neuroscience and mindfulness-based stress reduction. The areas where she feels most enthusiasticto work is consulting, writing, policy design, and more.

Adele is an experienced consultant with more than 25 years’ experience as a facilitator, trainer, designer of bespoke training and team manager. 

Expert on Integrated Approach to Sustainable Urban Development, she has worked in local economic development, culture and tourism and rural development in the public sector in several UK municipalities. She has worked with national, regional and local authorities and stakeholders around Europe to co-design local strategies and action plans, build the capacity of individuals and groups, develop exchange and learning tools to support community development and learning.

She has worked with hundreds of cities across the European Union to support their journey towards more integrated and sustainable public policies.

She currently works as a Capacity Building Lead Expert for the European Urban Initiative organising peer reviews for EU cities.

Elena Stefanatou is a professional with a passion for communication and a robust educational and professional background. She began her academic journey at the University of Athens, where she studied Communication before moving on to Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, France, and the Keio University in Tokyo, Japan for her Master’s studies. She is currently pursuing another Master’s degree in “Sciences of Language” with a focus on sociolinguistics. 

Elena’s prior work experiences at Cicero Advertising in Athens, Greece, and the Alliance Francaise in Canberra, Australia, honed her communication skills, social media management, and content creation abilities. She also possesses a background in media production, having worked as a Translator at French Connection Films in Paris and contributing to the Worthit Show during the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

In her role as Marketing Manager at EBAN – European Business Angel Network since September 2021, Elena plays a crucial role in developing marketing strategies for new services and maintaining visibility for existing ones. She joined Accent Sud team as Communication Officer in October 2023.

Proficient in Greek, English, French, and German, and with working knowledge of Italian, and Japanese, Elena’s language abilities, along with her digital skills, make her a valuable asset in communication, marketing, and media.