European Local Culture

Guidelines for Applicants

About the ‘European Local Culture’ Call

The call is introduced as a response to the need to reimagine the role of local culture in a broader European context and to strengthen the integration of Ukrainian communities into the common cultural space of Europe.

The aim of the call is to support the development of local cultural ecosystems and local cultural projects as a component of the European cultural space through the creation of new competitive cultural products, reimagining local heritage in a modern European context, preserving and popularising regional cultural heritage, promoting cultural diversity, empowering indigenous peoples and ethnic communities, as well as ensuring equal access to cultural practices and cultural heritage for all citizens of Ukraine, in particular internally displaced persons. The call is also aimed at strengthening the role of culture in the sustainable development of communities and enhancing their social cohesion.

Programme Priorities:

• Digital Transformation: leveraging digital technologies for the creation, distribution, and promotion of cultural products; developing the digital competencies of artists and cultural practitioners; expanding access to cultural experiences through digital solutions; and integrating European best practices in digitisation.
• Sustainable Development and Environmental Responsibility: minimising the environmental footprint of projects, promoting sustainable practices within the cultural sector, and embedding sustainability principles into the core of cultural products.
• Inclusion and Gender Equality: engaging vulnerable and underrepresented groups, ensuring the accessibility of cultural products, and fostering equal opportunities across all project stages.

European Local Culture Call Priorities:

• creation of new local cultural products that represent regional identity within a European context and popularise both tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
• development of the cultural potential of communities and enhancing their capacity to generate competitive cultural products geared towards sustainable local development;
• integration of modern approaches, innovative practices, and technologies into local cultural initiatives in combination with elements of traditional culture;
• promotion of cultural diversity, including the culture of national minorities and communities, and supporting their harmonious coexistence within the framework of European values;
• advancement of the cultural integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) through their engagement in local cultural processes and practices.

Total budget of the call*: 200 000 EUR (9 554 000 UAH)**

Minimum grant amount: 3 000 EUR (150 000 UAH)

Maximum grant amount:  8 000 EUR (400 000 UAH)

Supported sectors:

• Audio arts
• Audiovisual arts 
• Visual arts
• Cultural heritage
• Cultural and creative industries
• Literature 
• Performing and stage arts 

A combination of several sectors is possible, provided that they complement and reinforce one another by integrating different forms of cultural initiatives into a single coherent concept within the framework of a cross-sectoral project. 

Eligible cultural products under this call include:

• art objects (creation and integration into public space);
• performances and performance projects;
• expositions and re-expositions (in particular using multimedia technologies, VR/AR);
• guided tours and virtual tour products (interactive guides, 3D tours, etc.);
• interactive maps and digital mapping of cultural heritage;
• creative spaces (laboratories, workshops, experimental platforms);
• art exhibitions (offline and online formats);
• mobile cultural initiatives (traveling exhibitions, cinemas, libraries, performances);
• residencies for artists and cultural practitioners;
• digital cultural products (3D models, AR/VR/MR solutions, multimedia installations, digital archives and catalogs)

* Project ‘Cultural Horizons’ is the result of a collaboration between the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (Ukraine) and Cultural Vistas gGmbH (Germany). Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

** Please note that the programme budget in UAH may be adjusted upwards or downwards depending on changes in the average monthly accounting exchange rates published on the European Commission’s website (InforEuro), calculated on the date of the decision to open negotiating procedures for projects within the respective call's budget.