Call for Proposals: Culture of Solidarity Fund
About
The Culture of Solidarity Fund is a public-philanthropic partnership launched in 2020 by the European Cultural Foundation as a rapid response tool to support cross-border cultural initiatives of solidarity to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, five application rounds were launched, with various partners. Based on this network and infrastructure, the Culture of Solidarity Fund Ukraine was swiftly launched in March 2022 to support cultural emergency requests from Ukraine.
The Culture of Solidarity Fund supports cultural initiatives that, in the midst of turmoil and crisis, reinforce European solidarity and the idea of Europe as a shared public space. The European Cultural Foundation believes that imaginative human gestures of everyday solidarity that unite us across social networks, cities and countries are precisely the culture of solidarity that ought to be nourished during times of crisis and beyond.
The new edition of the Culture of Solidarity Fund welcomes European transnational collaborative initiatives that address the theme of just transition and environmental sustainability from a specific cultural angle.
Climate change is the most pressing concern of our time. A successful systemic transition from resource-intense Western lifestyles to more sustainable models requires a radical change in individual and societal values relating to work, the environment, and social justice. However, such a transition must be fair and equitable. Culture plays an important role in this context because it shapes people’s beliefs and behaviours. Cultural and art organisations, community media, activists, and creative sectors have a unique ability to foster solidarity, raise critical questions, and build consensus.
By considering the cultural context and specific values of communities, these actors can develop transition strategies that are fair, equitable, and respectful of the needs and aspirations of all affected, ensuring that no one is left behind.
Call for Proposals
The call is open to organisations based in Europe and actively engaged in the cultural, creative, or allied sectors. In keeping with their mission to create solidarity through culture, the Fund specifically welcomes actions in line with the theme of this call that forge European transnational and/or translocal collaborations, and thereby build cross-border alliances of solidarity.
For this edition, they are looking for new ideas and experimental initiatives that address just transition from an inherently cultural angle by:
- raising public awareness of the complexities and urgencies of adapting to climate change and other environmental emergencies in a systemic way;
- reinforcing democratic decision-making processes against growing political polarisation by creating a safe environment for open communication, candid exchange and respectful dissent on these issues;
- designing creative solutions for changing ecosystems;
- encouraging holistic working approaches and culture-driven cooperation between public and private stakeholders who are key actors in social and economic transformation.
The Fund has grants available in three amounts:
- up to €10.000
- €10.000 – 20.000
- €20.000 – 30.000
Grants can be used to finance a wide range of activities, from seeding entirely new initiatives to scaling up existing ideas to a European level.
Although co-funding is not a prerequisite for receiving a grant, a balanced budget with diversified resources can significantly improve the feasibility of the project.
Grants can cover production, rent, online co-working and communication tools. They can also be used to cover consultancy, staffing and operational costs. However, it is highly recommended that these do not exceed 80% of the total requested budget unless clearly justifiable.
The project timeline may be up to 12 months. Activities related to the project may not take place before the start date.
The deadline to submit your application is 11 September 2023 at 13.00 CEST. Proposals will be assessed and selected at the end of October 2023 and the start date for selected projects is mid-November 2023.
Click here to read the full call for proposals.
