Community (Dis-)Connections: How Culture Helps and Has Its Limits<\/b><\/p>\n
Culture Helps Solidarity<\/span> supports arts and culture professionals from Ukraine to sustain creativity, resilience, and community connection during and after the war. Running until 2028, the programme combines three grant schemes – individual grants, thematic project grants, and collaboration grants – with a rich programme of mentoring, learning, and peer exchange. It is co-financed by the EU through the Creative Europe programme and implemented by the European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam) with Insha Osvita (Kyiv), zusa (Berlin), and the VETERANKA Movement (Kyiv).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At least 60 Project Grants will be awarded across four thematic calls, with a minimum of 15 projects supported in this first round. Each project may receive up to \u20ac7,000. Three additional calls, each with its own thematic focus, will be launched over the course of the programme. More information about the upcoming themes can be found at the end of this call for proposals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Introduction & Thematic focus<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This first call for Project Grants is launched at a moment when community connections across Ukraine and within Ukrainian diasporas continue to be reshaped by the consequences of war. Forced displacement, relocation within the country or abroad, and the return of both women and men from military service have altered social landscapes, creating new forms of distance between people and disrupting familiar ties. Many communities are still in the process of forming new relationships, often without a shared sense of understanding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yet community connections remain central to people\u2019s support, resilience, and emotional wellbeing. They frequently develop under conditions shaped by trauma, structural barriers, and tensions between individual needs and collective action. These challenges affect many groups, including displaced persons, diaspora communities, families with children, and vulnerable groups such as veterans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cultural and artistic practices offer distinct ways of responding to these complexities. Socially engaged art, community based and dialogical practices, collaborative approaches, and the sensitive use of therapeutic elements can create spaces where people reconnect across differences, rebuild trust, and imagine new forms of belonging. Through creativity and empathy, artistic processes can help communities move beyond immediate limitations while also acknowledging the ethical and emotional boundaries of cultural work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This call supports cultural and artistic initiatives that respond to the changing landscape of community (dis<\/span>\u2011<\/span>)connection. We invite projects that help people navigate the social and emotional complexities of displacement, transition, and return by creating meaningful encounters, enabling shared cultural participation, and fostering renewed forms of solidarity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>What are we looking for?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This call supports small-scale cultural projects that <\/span>strengthen community connections<\/b> among people affected by the war in Ukraine. We invite initiatives that create opportunities for people to meet, share, and rebuild trust through cultural and artistic practices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We prioritise <\/span>cultural projects<\/b> that work with communities whose social ties have been disrupted or reshaped, including:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Projects may take many cultural forms, such as co<\/span>\u2011<\/span>creation processes, participatory or dialogical practices, collaborative or experimental art, community storytelling, or mobile and accessible cultural formats. What matters above all is that the proposed activities create genuine possibilities for people to <\/span>connect across differences<\/b>, strengthening <\/span>emotional wellbeing<\/b> in safe and appropriate ways. They should respond sensitively to the <\/span>specific dynamics and vulnerabilities<\/b> of the communities involved and reflect the call\u2019s overall thematic focus on building <\/span>community connection and renewed belonging<\/b>. Ultimately, we are looking for initiatives that use cultural practice to open space for shared experience and contribute to <\/span>new forms of solidarity<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What do we offer?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n We offer grants of up to \u20ac7,000.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Grants can cover a large variety of costs including production costs, marketing and advertising costs, rental and running costs for studios and cultural venues, IT, communication and production tools and materials, and – upon special request and where appropriate (e.g. when lost\/destroyed) – purchase of other goods, means, or services necessary for the implementation and execution of the project.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Grants can also be used to cover travel costs, expert fees, artists’ honoraria, legal services, staff- and operational costs. However, these amounts must all be proportionate and justifiable.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although co-financing is not mandatory, it is recommended that the grant is used to cover a maximum of 80% of the total project budget.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The project timeline may be up to 6 months. Activities related to the project may not take place before the start date (1 July 2026).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The submission deadline for proposals is Thursday, 16th April 2026, 13:00 Amsterdam time\/ 14:00 Kyiv time.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Deepen Your Understanding – Join Our Webinar<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n To explore the thematic focus in greater depth, we invite applicants to join our webinar:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Community (Dis-)Connections: How Culture Helps and Has Its Limits<\/span><\/i> Hosted by Insha Osvita, the webinar will present practices and stories from projects working with diverse communities in Ukraine, across Europe, and crossborder. It will highlight approaches to community engagement, explore how cultural tools can help address fragmentation, and examine where the limits of cultural work lie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Programme<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Participation in the webinar is optional, but it will be taken into account in the assessment and may positively influence the evaluation.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Eligibility Criteria<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Selection Criteria and Process<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Following an eligibility check, proposals will be assessed by <\/span>a <\/span>team of internal and external experts from a wide range of geographic, cultural and professional areas. At least fifteen projects will be selected for support in this round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Timeline<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Projects may <\/span>not<\/b> begin <\/span>before<\/b> 1 July 2026<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How to Apply?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n You can find more information -including the budget template- and submit your application via this link: <\/span>https:\/\/culture-of-solidarity-fund.grantplatform.com\/<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n<\/span>Date: Thursday, 5 March 2026<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Time: 15:00\u201318:00 Kyiv \/ 14:00\u201317:00 Amsterdam<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Language: Ukrainian with English simultaneous translation <\/span>
\n<\/span>Link to register: <\/span>https:\/\/form.typeform.com\/to\/Et6fyAM2<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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