Culture for Local Development

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw, acting under its flagship brand Culture.pl, and the European Solidarity Centre in Gdansk already for three years have been implementing the project Culture for Local Development for cultural managers from Eastern Partnership countries and Poland. The Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and the Creative Europe Desk Ukraine became partners of the project in 2018 and coordinated parts of the project, which took place in Ukraine.

The project consists of a series of workshops, summer school and special programme for project graduates. It aims to create a network of professionals in the field of culture, equip the participants with the skills in project management and leadership, as well as to develop a participatory approach towards project implementation.

The project’s target audience includes activists who:

o  manage cultural projects;

o  cooperate with local communities and believe that culture can help bring social changes;

o  wish to enter the international arena;

o  wish to develop new creative skills.

In May 2018, the first phase of the project took place in Kyiv and Tbilisi. Selected on the basic of an open call, candidates took part in a series of intense workshops led by experienced mentors. The workshops focused on deepening the participants’ knowledge of socio-cultural project management and broadening their ability to cooperate with international partners while developing local programmes. During a travelling summer school in Poland participants attended workshops and study visits in Warsaw, Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot and Lodz. Moreover, in November, participants were eligible for competing for financial support facilitating the implementation of their projects.

Partners of the Culture for Local Development are:

●       Ukrainian Cultural Foundation

●       Creative Europe – Desk Ukraine

●       Creative Georgia

●       Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova