European Cultural Foundation

17/06/2026

From info sessions, private messages on social media and official email requests, we've rounded up the most common questions we get asked about Individual Grants. Scroll the carousel, and if you haven't found yours - write to [email protected]

And we also remind you that the deadline of this round is already June 29, 14:00 Kyiv time. We're waiting for your applications.

The project «Culture Helps Solidarity» is co-financed by the Creative Europe program of the European Union and is implemented by European Cultural Foundation (Netherlands), Other Education (Ukraine), Рух Veteranka (Germany) and zusa (Ukraine).

15/06/2026

11/06/2026

Yesterday, the European Cultural Foundation (ECF)'s archives opened to the public at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) in Florence. This is an important moment for ECF because it makes our history available as a public resource for researchers, educators and everyone interested in how culture has helped shape European society over the past seventy years.

We are also launching the ECF Fellowship, a new annual programme supporting research and creative work with our historical archives. The Fellowship offers two grants: €5,000 for an Academic Research Fellowship and €10,000 for an Artistic Research Fellowship, both of which support research stays at the HAEU.

To mark the opening, we asked Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian at the University of Oxford and author of Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge under Attack, to reflect on why archives matter. His book helped inspire The Europe Challenge, and his reflections offer a powerful reminder of why preserving and opening knowledge matters for democratic life.

Read the full interview in Common Ground 2026: https://culturalfoundation.eu/stories/common-ground-2026/

Learn more about the ECF Fellowship: https://culturalfoundation.eu/stories/new-fellowship-programme-to-research-the-ecf-historical-archives/

11/06/2026

Where does local action meet European impact? Inside the library. 📖✨

The Libraries at the Heart of Europe summit brought together 220+ voices from across 20 countries.

Through a buzzing marketplace of ideas and deep-dive panels, we explored how libraries are responding to today’s urgent challenges. From building deeper connections with their neighbourhoods to understanding Artificial Intelligence, libraries are acting as dynamic catalysts, protectors, and community builders.

Thank you to everyone who brought their curiosity, generosity, and joy to Amsterdam.

Visit the link in our bio to read the full recap and download our new resources!

🤝 Delivery partners: lnadvisors .ncy aarhuspubliclibraries

💡 Supported by: & the European Commission

10/06/2026

OPEN CALL: Today, our archives open to the public at the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence. In the accompanying video, Glenn Micallef, European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, reflects on the people behind Europe’s cultural story: students crossing borders, artists and writers creating spaces of understanding, and generations of Europeans discovering one another through culture.

To encourage new research and creative work with this legacy, we are launching a new annual ECF Fellowship today. The programme supports academic and artistic research into ECF’s historical archives, with two Fellowships awarded each year: €5,000 for academic research and €10,000 for artistic research.

Fellows will work at the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence, embedded in the international scholarly community of the European University Institute.

Learn more and download the Fellowship Open Call: https://culturalfoundation.eu/stories/new-fellowship-programme-to-research-the-ecf-historical-archives/

10/06/2026

The 4th Round of Individual Grants by Culture Helps Solidarity programme is now open!

All details: https://culturalfoundation.eu/stories/culture-helps-solidarity-open-call-for-individual-grants-4th-round/

Be sure to participate in the info session tomorrow, 11 June at 14:00 (CET) / 15:00 Kyiv time.

Participants can join a Q&A session about the application process and criteria.

You can register via this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KFv1A3wERfuftDH-Hi09Xg

📩 Apply for the 4th open call of Individual Grants
We are opening the forth call for individual grants within the «Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність» project. For those who did not manage to apply for the previous rounds of individual grants - the forth round has already been opened.

Conditions are unchanged: we provide up to 1200€ for psychological support for cultural professionals and activists who support people who have been forced to relocate and/or are returning from military service – helping them to (re)integrate into new communities. Funds can be used for psychotherapy, retreats, visits to museums and theatres, art therapy activities and workshops, etc.

🔹 Deadline for applications: 29 June 2026, 13:00 (CET) / 14:00 (Kyiv) time
🔹 Info session: 11 June at 14:00 (CET) / 15:00 Kyiv time
🔹 Please find more details about the open call and the Info session registration links in the comments below.
___
The “Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність“ is a project co-funded by the EU Creative Europe Programme and implemented by the European Cultural Foundation (NL), Інша Освіта / Insha Osvita​(UA), zusa (DE) and Рух Veteranka (UA).

09/06/2026

When libraries connect across borders, local challenges start to look different. A project tackling loneliness in one town can inspire work on participation in another. A conversation about digital skills can become a conversation about trust, belonging and democratic life.

From 3 - 5 June, more than 220 people gathered at OBA Amsterdam Oosterdok for Libraries at the Heart of Europe, a European Cultural Foundation gathering with participants from The Europe Challenge and BUDDIES. Together, they explored how libraries are helping communities respond to Europe’s social, digital and green transitions.

The Europe Challenge is supported by Arts Council England, Fondazione Cariplo and The Scottish Library & Information Council, and co-funded by the European Union.

Learn more: https://culturalfoundation.eu/stories/libraries-at-the-heart-of-europe/
Libraries for Europe 📸: Ridderhof Fotografie

08/06/2026

Запускаємо 4 раунд індивідуальних грантів у межах “Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність” — 1200 євро на психологічне відновлення.

Грант призначений для професіонал_ок культури, які підтримують людей у вимушеному переїзді та/або поверненні з війська. Кошти можна витратити на психотерапію, ретрити, походи на виставки, арттерапію або інші активності, які допоможуть вам відновитися.

Звертаємо увагу, що маємо обмеження у 140 заявок на раунд, тож краще подаватись не в останній день перед дедлайном.

Дедлайн: 29 червня, 14:00 за Києвом.

11 червня о 15:00 проведемо інфосесію. Зареєструватись на неї і подати заявку можна за посиланням у коментарях.

Проєкт «Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність» співфінансується програмою Creative Europe Європейського Союзу та реалізується European Cultural Foundation (Нідерланди), Іншою Освітою (Україна), zusa (Німеччина) та Рух Veteranka (Україна).

08/06/2026

Behind every cultural project supporting people affected by war are individuals carrying their own experiences of uncertainty, loss and exhaustion.

The latest round of Culture Helps Solidarity Individual Grants is now open, providing wellbeing support for Ukrainian artists, cultural workers, activists and volunteers working with displaced people, refugees and other vulnerable communities.

The programme is implemented by the European Cultural Foundation, Інша Освіта / Insha Osvita, zusa and the Рух Veteranka, and co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme.

Learn more and apply: https://shorturl.at/uXf2s

05/06/2026

Who shapes the digital spaces where democracy now unfolds?

From 4 - 6 June, the PublicSpaces Conference 2026 brings together technologists, policymakers, journalists, artists and activists to explore how digital public space can be built around democratic values, not commercial interests.

The European Cultural Foundation is proud to support this year’s theme, Technology for Democracy, because a healthy democracy needs digital spaces that enable participation, trust and informed debate.

Learn more: https://culturalfoundation.eu/stories/publicspaces_conference_2026/