The XX Anniversary International Economic Forum: Presentation by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation of support and cooperation opportunities

Dialogue between Ukrainian and foreign businesses and open possibilities of their effective cooperation in the B2B format, including national and European support as part of the creation and implementation of innovative, international and regional cultural projects, are among the key features of the XX Anniversary International Economic Forum 2021.

About the post-pandemic world: from new challenges to sustainable economic development, capitalisation through value added, investment in values and international technical assistance as a tool to influence the social and economic development of communities, were discussed in Lviv by the political elite of Ukraine, the diplomatic corps in Ukraine, Ukrainian businesses, representatives of state and European institutions, leading international companies, trade missions from more than 20 countries.

“7% of projects supported by UCF state grants are in the state sector, while 93% are in the non-state sector: individual entrepreneurs and NGOs. Business in the cultural sector can also be profitable, if there is a good idea for the project, a desire to implement it better and a well-drafted application for support by the Foundation,” the Executive Director of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation Vladyslav Berkovskii assured.

Outlining the main advantages and opportunities for cooperation in culture and business, the Head of the Foundation noted that in a month or a month and a half Ukrainian Cultural Foundation will announce the official start of grant season 2022. Expected among the final list of Programs will be “Cultural Heritage” with at least three LOTs for the request of the present: “Digitalisation”, “Cross-sectoral research” and “Cultural heritage provision”, as well as – a Program with a focus on regional support.

“We are launching another initiative – regional support through co-financing: 50% from the local budget and 50% from the budget of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, which will be used exclusively to support local cultural projects of a particular region,” Vladyslav Berkovskii said.

In addition to state support, projects in the field of cultural and creative industries can also receive funding under the large program of the European Union, the Head of Activity Department of the EU Program Office “Creative Europe” of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, Alona Dmukhovska said.

“At the moment, there are enough competitions (and they are cyclical) that are related to virtual and augmented reality, blockchain and data arrays. And any application from Ukraine will have just as much chance of being supported as an application from Germany or Spain,” Alona Dmukhovska emphasised.

In the vast majority of EU competitions, it is a requirement to have an international consortium (association of several legal entities).

“The good news is that there are no restrictions on the legal persons that can apply for the “Creative Europe” competitions. That is, it can be a commercial organisation, state, profitable or non-profitable”, – Head of Activity Department of the EU Program Office “Creative Europe” drew attention of the participants of the International Economic Forum.

In general, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation since its launch has received over 10,000 grant applications and supported 2,300+ cultural projects with over UAH 2 billion of allocated funds. And every year these figures will only grow.

More about the XX International Economic Forum: https://economicforum.lviv.ua