First Europe is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and is realized in four European countries. Project partners are Y Csoport Kulturális Egyesület (capofila), Pro Progressione, Dobrodošli u Arheološki lokalitet Lepenski Vir and ECCOM. 

First Europe aims to bring prehistoric society closer to contemporary audiences by creating a dialogue between a unique European heritage and the performing arts. Starting from the archaeological site of the Mesolithic Lepenski Vir in Serbia, one of the oldest human settlements ever discovered in Europe (hence the name of the project), the project wants to reinterpret and actualize some aspects related to prehistoric life, using art as a mediation tool. 

Through the re-elaboration of three themes (The relationship between man and nature, rituals and the arts), two directors and a composer have the task of creating creative frameworks for live performances. The final choreographies of the performances will be developed during the so-called Opera Hackathons, a word composed of “Opera” to outline the artistic genre, and “Hackathon” by analogy with the intense process of co-creation that this type of events, born in the IT world, allow. Through these experiments, we want to explore new and innovative forms of community involvement and audience development. 

The outcome of the project are three hackathons, held in Belgrade, Budapest and Italy, each with a final live performance open to the public. 

ECCOM’s role is to outline the communication strategy, which allows a wide visibility of the project, and the audience development plan, based on the involvement of communities through immersive strategies and innovative experiences. Finally, ECCOM also takes care of the monitoring and evaluation phase, through qualitative and quantitative data collection.