Cultural and civil society organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa are invited to apply for the Spaces of Culture 2026 Call for Proposals — a funding scheme supporting innovative, co-created cultural relations projects across Sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the EU-funded Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture programme and implemented by EUNIC, the call offers up to €50,000 per project for partnerships bringing together African civil society, European cultural institutes, and EU Delegations on equal footing.
Spaces of Culture is designed to foster genuine cooperation between African and European artists, creators, and cultural professionals — strengthening cultural exchange and cross-border collaboration built on dialogue, co-creation, mutual learning, and joint capacity building. The programme ensures African voices remain central throughout implementation.
Projects can take any format and may include festivals, performances, exhibitions, artist residencies, networking events, knowledge sharing activities, or digital and hybrid cultural initiatives.
Thematic Areas
The call supports contemporary and innovative projects across: Arts, creative industries, digitalisation, education, gender, heritage, human rights, social inclusion, sports, sustainability, tourism, youth, and more.
Who Can Apply:
Projects must be co-developed and implemented by a triangular partnership including:
- At least three key local cultural and/or civil society partners from the country of implementation
- At least three full EUNIC members — or two where no EUNIC cluster is present
- Involvement of an EU Delegation
The call is open to projects taking place in Sub-Saharan African countries.
What Strong Projects Will Demonstrate:
- Co-development and co-implementation by all partners involved
- Relevance to locally urgent topics and challenges
- Innovation within the local context
- Strong partnerships built to last beyond the project duration
- Concrete contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Special attention should be given to widening access for youth, people with disabilities, communities outside urban areas, and communities in fragile contexts.
Budget and Requirements:
- Up to €50,000 per project
- A minimum of 5% co-funding required from project partners
- Applications must be submitted in English to spacesofculture@eunicglobal.eu
- Applications must use the provided templates: application form, estimated budget in EUR, and partner support letters