Category Archives: News

Creative Europe Desk Serbia at the Conference in Skopje

At the invitation of the Creative Europe Office of Northern Macedonia, representatives of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia participated in the conference Creative Europe at Home. The Head of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia Dimitrije Tadić presented at the conference the results of participation of Serbia in the Creative Europe programme and reflected on the very successful collaboration both of organisations and institutions from Serbia and Northern Macedonia and the collaboration between desks of these two countries. Within the discussion concerned with the topic of cultural products, the Head of the Desk presented the publication (Re)positioning the Region of Southeast Europe through Culture published by the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, unifying the results of a survey research conducted in all countries of the region and recommendations on improving regional cooperation.

A representative of success stories from Serbia at the conference was Andrija Stojanović who presented the project of the Cultural Centre Studentski grad from Belgrade – They Live, Students Lives, revealed through context – based art practices.

The Conference Creative Europe at Home took place in the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje and the Youth Cultural Centre (MKC) in Skopje.

The online conference Cultural Cooperation in the Western Balkans

 

Please join the Cultural Relations platform online conference to discover 13 new collaborative cultural projects, showcasing ground-breaking creativity and creating sustainable connections across the Western Balkans and the EU.

In 2019, Creative Europe launched the Call for proposals: Cultural Cooperation Projects in the Western Balkans. The call aimed to increase cultural cooperation within the region and with EU Member States, and strengthen the competitiveness of the cultural and creative industries in the Western Balkans. This event marks the launch of the 13 projects selected by the European Commission out of 350 applications. The collaborative, creative and interdisciplinary projects cover a diverse range of sectors and contribute to the crosscutting objectives of the European Commission. The Cultural Relations Platform is supporting the visibility and maximising the results of these projects internationally.

Please find more information here.

Invitation for translators from Serbian

 

Dear colleagues,

During the past seven years of Serbia’s participation in the Creative Europe programme, over 300 literary works of European writers have been translated into the Serbian language. Since the focus of the programme is increasingly shifting towards the support to translation from “small” into “big” European languages, publishing houses are looking for experienced translators from Serbian into the officially recognised languages within the European Union.

With the aim of enhancing cooperation and making communication easier, the Creative Europe Desk Serbia and the Association of Literary Translators of Serbia will work on creating an electronic map of translators from the Serbian language in the following period.

If you recognise yourself in this call, please fill the short questionnaire until 31st May, in English or in Serbian. Following this we will inform you about the outcome of your application.

If you have questions, you can send us an email to kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs.

Kind regards,

Teams of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia

and the Association of Literary Translators of Serbia

Igor Koruga: i-Portunus Opportunity for Professional Education

What is your experience with the i-Portunus programme? Which project did you succeed in realising?

During 2019 I was selected for the programme Das THIRD Research – DAS Graduate School, at the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam. This is a unique educational model for small groups of up to six theatre and dance artists globally, preparing them for research possibilities of the third cycle of education (doctoral studies) through refinement of their individual art research propositions, sharpening their national and/or international aspirations, defining their belonging and also financing those possibilities. Such an environment, created by internationally engaged artists, is generating collective collaboration with the aim of improving individual art practices, collective production of knowledge and exchange between colleagues and public display of art work. My art research explores “negative” feelings – such as despair, anxiety, depression – as prominent traits of today’s society (and the current global pandemic), observing how to fight for their stronger public display – not only as medical conditions but also as new forms of solidarity, collectivism, politicism… At the same time, the project is also concerned with the topic of care and immunity as alternative social-political and ethic engagement and activity in the public space.

The i-Portunus programme of mobility enabled me to travel to the planned meetings of the Das Third Research programme, during the first semester (October – December 2019) including the attendance of the annual symposium gathering all past generations of attendees of this programme, and also members of the communities of the University of Arts and the local dance scene in Amsterdam.

Did participating in the programme open new opportunities for you?

Coming from the socio-cultural context with a low level of development of contemporary art, this mobility enabled me to be located and to work in conditions offering continuity in improvement, self-reflection and articulation of one’s own artistic work and methods. Special beauty was reflected in all of this taking place mostly collectively, through mutual communication and exchange with other colleagues artists and professionals from around the globe, bringing their different work, life and social-political conditions and professional experiences. During my stay in Amsterdam, I had contact with the local dance/art scene in Amsterdam (through public events and dance performances, student presentations at dance academies, local conferences/plenums, through meeting artists and other).

What influence did this opportunity have on the development of your career?

Long-term result of this grant has been better connection with the international dance scene, especially with actors from the local scene in Amsterdam. In sharing my work and practice with artists from other international environments, the need for further cooperation (at least among some of us) naturally developed. I offered my entire professional knowledge and experience in working between different public cultural-artistic institutions and independent art scenes in Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Berlin, and Stockholm as an independent author and choreographer, dance dramaturg, performer, pedagogist and cultural worker to the Amsterdam dance scene. At the same time, it was very useful for my work to present it in the socio-cultural context, which is new and different in comparison to the Belgrade one. I had the opportunity to hear a lot about new and current theoretical discourses, methods of choreography research, to participate in some artistic research within my group and acquire new knowledge about current topics and new artistic tendencies within the sphere of choreography and dance in Europe. Currently I’m attending the third semester of the same programme and I am hoping to soon access one of the doctoral programmes for choreography and dance.

 

Igor Koruga is an independent artist in the field of dance and choreography. He is working as an author, pedagogist, dance dramaturg, choreographer for dance in theatre, and a cultural worker on the independent cultural-artistic scene in Belgrade. He is dealing with application of choreography as an interpretational tool for socio-cultural phenomena, ideologies and different socio-political and ethic aspect conditioning the current ways of artistic production and knowledge. He is a member of the Association Station – Service for Contemporary Dance and the Association of Ballet Artists of Serbia (UBUS), as well as the international network Nomad Dance Academy in the Balkans.

i-Portunus houses: New program of physical, virtual and hybrid mobility is coming soon

Together with Kultura Nova Foundation (Zagreb) and Mitost (Berlin), European Cultural Foundation will soon launch a new pilot mobility scheme. The pilot, being part of the i-Portunus mobility schemes initiated and co-funded by the European Union, will focus on physical, hybrid and virtual mobility.

The Corona pandemic challenges mobility in the cultural sector everywhere in Europe. Hosting co-productions and borderless travel that were essential routines in arts and culture until a year ago remain drastically limited. This current reality, together with a global changing vision on mobility in the context of our climate, triggered the interest of the European Cultural Foundation and its partners to focus on this.

While the consortium strongly believes in the value of making real-life contacts across European borders, hybrid forms of cultural mobility and virtual collaboration may provide another form of transnational exchanges. As long as the pandemic lasts, but also in view of a less travel-intense, more equally accessible and greener future of cultural mobility.

Keep an eye on their website, as more to follow soon!

i-Portunus 2021 – Music and Cultural Heritage



Who can apply?


•    composers, musicians and singers, preferably in classical music, jazz, and traditional music genres


•    artists, creators and cultural professionals active in cultural heritage



What can you apply for?

Short-term mobility in the context of:


•    international collaboration


•    a production-oriented residency


•    professional development activities

When: mobility between 16 July and 30 November 2021, conditions permitting.


Duration: between 7 and 60 days.
Maximum grant per person: 3.000,00 EUR.


Deadline for submission of applications: 15 April 2021.
 


To apply:

Create an account at my.i-portunus.eu and fill in the online application form.



IMPORTANT INFORMATION:


i-Portunus first call for music and literary translation is still open until 28 February 2021,
while i-Portunus call for architecture is open until 14 March 2021.
 


Further information: www.i-portunus.eu/

Perform Europe starts with you

Perform Europe is currently in a Research and Development phase. The first open call for touring and distribution grants will be released in June 2021. Meanwhile, there are several ways for you to get involved

Do you want to contribute towards designing a new international touring and digital distribution scheme for the performing arts in Creative Europe countries? Take part in our extensive and very important survey. Your inputs and experiences will help us to collect information on the current situation and shape future recommendations.

Everyone working in the performing arts as a creator, producer, artist manager, presenter or programmer in one of the 41 Creative Europe countries should get their voice heard!

Take the survey.

Perform Europe is launched!

Perform Europe is a highly-anticipated project which will support experiments to make international touring of the performing arts more sustainable, inclusive and balanced. The aim? To collectively test and design a future European support scheme for cross-border touring and digital distribution of the performing arts.

Over 18 months, Perform Europe will explore and test sustainable touring practices – on artistic, human, social, economic and ecological levels. It will also promote the digital world as an exciting domain for experimentation in the performing arts.

We will seek to reach out to diverse groups of performing arts professionals and audiences, who usually do not take part in or benefit from international touring of the performing arts. And we will strive to achieve a balanced representation of various players.

What is happening between the start of 2021 and summer 2022? In a nutshell:

• Research on the needs of the sector,
• Launch of the Perform Europe Digital Platform and call for applications,
• Networking and creation of touring partnerships on the Digital Platform,
• Awarding of grants to selected partnerships,
• Touring – both physical and virtual,
• And finally, release of conclusions on how such a support scheme can become part of Creative Europe 2021-2027.

i-Portunus 2020-21: mobility in the fields of architecture, music and cultural heritage

Pilot project of the Creative Europe programme i-Portunus continues to fund mobility of artists and cultural professionals with another project cycle.

Alongside two open competitions in the fields of music and literary translation, two additional ones opened, namely: competition for support of artist mobility projects in the field of architecture, and competition for support of mobility in the fields of music and cultural heritage.

Who can apply?

Architects and other professionals active in the field of architecture can apply (individuals or groups of up to 5 people), over 18 years of age, all levels of education and experience, who are legal residents in one of the countries of the Creative Europe programme.

What kind of projects are supported by the competition?

Projects of continuous mobility are supported (one return trip to one destination or one trip encompassing several destinations) or projects of segmented mobility (several trips to different destinations).

Short-term mobility is supported in the context of:

• international cooperation;
• residencies oriented towards new production;
• activities of professional development.

When can projects be realised?

Projects are related to mobility of artists and cultural professionals between 16^th June and 30^th November 2021, if conditions allow. Projects can last between 7 and 60 days.

What is the amount of support that can be expected?

The maximum amount of mobility project funding is 3000 Euros per person.

How to apply?

In order to apply it is required to create an account on my.i-portunus.eu and fill in the application form. The deadline to submit applications is 14^th March 2021.

Additional information can be found on the website of the i-Portunus project: https://www.i-portunus.eu/

I-Portunus is a new initiative of the European Commission related to testing a support model for the development of mobility in culture across Europe.

Happy New Year 2021!

Dear colleagues, associates and friends,

The year behind us brought us a new experience from which we all learned a lot about what culture and art represent in everyday life and about all the paths found by good ideas.

At the same time, it brought us new possibilities for our region, such as the competition for cultural cooperation in the Western Balkans within which, activities of thirteen projects are starting on 1^st January.

The next year opens a new cycle of the Creative Europe programme, which will be accessed by the Republic of Serbia in July, and for which we will be jointly preparing in the following months.

Until then, we wish you to rest and recover and with success start the New Year 2021!

Kind regards,

Team of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia

Reporting in European projects – what should you know?

A mandatory activity in any successful European project within the Creative Europe programme is compiling and submitting the financial and the narrative reports about project realisation.

The task is more complex when it comes to partner projects, and due to an increasing number of European projects realised by institutions and organisations from Serbia, we want to help resolve all legal and other questions.

All legal-financial questions that you submitted in the questionnaire will be answered by Ana Ćosić, an economist and the coordinator of financial affairs of the MEDIA Desk Serbia, who possesses significant experience in this field.

The presentation is available on the YouTube channel of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia.

Online presentation: General Financial Project Management

When dealing with the task of financial management of a project it is useful to understand all the general notions concerned with financial management, the phases included in financial management of a project, then how to organise the project team in accordance with the requirements of the task.

This and similar topics will be covered by Luka Kulić, representative of the Gallery of Matica Srpska, who possesses a multi-year experience in implementing European projects in culture, primarily within the Creative Europe programme.

The presentation can be viewed on our YouTube channel.

About the cycle

Successful implementation of European cultural projects implies constant improvement of knowledge and skills in various fields of management – from understanding the relevant legal framework and familiarity with best practices, to working in international teams and financial management.

Even though this knowledge is best acquired through project realisation, in order to get involved in project administration it is very important to be well-informed, i.e. to exchange knowledge and specific experiences. With the idea of answering the most important financial-administrative questions, we initiated a cycle of online presentations “Legal-financial framework of European projects in culture”.

The cycle is primarily intended for representatives of institutions and organisation new to the programme, especially those who are realising their first leadership projects, but it can be useful for those realising European projects within other EU programmes or only planning to apply.

Info Session – How to Apply for Funds Intended for Culture?

EU Info Point Novi Sad in cooperation with the Creative Europe Desk Serbia are organising a two-day info session about writing projects for funds intended for cultural programmes. The info session is organised in two stages, specifically on 16^th and 17^th December from 6 p.m. – 7.30 p.m. Participating in info sessions is free of charge, however, due to the limited number of seats it is necessary to register. The aim of the meeting is increasing the quality of project preparation in applying to programmes, with a special focus on the Creative Europe programme and the support to cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans.

Day 1.
On the first day the topic of the training will be project concept and idea development – how to form the core idea of the project, the starting point for the idea – the needs of culture and characteristics of the field of activity, how to define activities so they are varied, innovative and contributing to the realisation of the project idea; how to map the aims and target groups, whom the project is addressing and to whom it is referring; how to create a realistic and feasible realisation timeline plan; and how to create a partnership structure with other legal persons and individuals. The form of training is intended to be carried out through dialogue and with a focus on questions of participants.

Day 2.
On the second day the topic is managing a project – defining all obligations within the project, roles and work of the project team; financial and legal activities, budgeting and financial management; communication with relevant bodies of organisations and realisation of individual activities; communication and relationships with partners; promotion and dissemination of the project, public relations; modifications of the project; writing the narrative and the financial report. The form of training is intended to be carried out through dialogue and with a focus on questions of participants.

Info sessions will be led by Luka Кulić, employee of the Gallery of Matica srpska where he is tasked with organisation and production of exhibitions and other public events. Luka is also an associate of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia within the EU programme Creative Europe with regards to tasks of applicant education, applicant counselling, financial management, delivering lectures and workshops, writing the narrative and the financial reports and other activities.

More on applying can be found here.

Shortlist for 7 Most Endangered Objects of Cultural Heritage in 2021

Europa Nostra, a civil society organisation dealing with preservation of culture and nature, and the Institute of the European Investment Bank, published the list of 12 most endangered object of cultural heritage today, including the Dečani Monastery, denominated as “Kosovo*”.

The list of the most endangered ones was compiled based on historical importance and cultural value, as well as the urgency inherent in their being endangered. The list of 12 most endangered locations was created by the Advisory Board comprised of experts in history, archaeology, architecture, conservation, project planning and finances.

This year’s list includes:

Achensee Steam Cog Railway, Tyrol, Austria
Modern Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria
Cemetery Complex of Mirogoj, Zagreb, Croatia
Church of Saint-Denis, Hauts-de-France, France
Narikala Fortress, Tbilisi, Georgia
Green Space System, Cologne, Germany
Five Southern Aegean Islands, Greece
The Giusti Garden, Verona, Italy
The Ca’ Zenobio Palace, Venice, Italy
Dečani Monastery, Kosovo*
Central Post Office in Skopje, Northern Macedonia
San Juan de Socueva Chapel and Hermitage, Cantabria, Spain

These landmarks have been shortlisted for the programme “Seven Most Endangered Cultural Monuments of Europe for 2021”, which will be published in March.

Through this programme, initiated in 2013, the European network Europa Nostra is striving to preserve the endangered heritage of Europe, whereas it does not provide direct funding, but instead expert and activist support. For the first time since the initiation of the programme, localities on the list of the “Seven Most endangered Cultural Monuments of Europe 2021”, are eligible to apply for up to 10,000 Euros from the Institute of the European Investment Bank.

More info is available on the website of the European network Europa Nostra.

i-Portunus 2020-21: MOBILITY IN THE MUSIC AND LITERARY TRANSLATION SECTORS

Who can apply?

• composers, musicians and singers, preferably in classical music, jazz, and traditional music genres
• literary translators

What can you apply for?

Short-term mobility in the context of:

• international collaboration
• a production-oriented residency
• professional development activities

When: mobility between 1 June and 30 November 2021, conditions permitting.
Duration: between 7 and 60 days.
Maximum grant per person: 3.000,00 EUR.
Deadline for submission of applications: 28 February 2021.
 
To apply:
Create an account at my.i-portunus.eu and fill in the online application form.
 
Further information: https://www.i-portunus.eu/

Reporting in European projects – ask a question!

Bearing in mind that compiling and submitting the financial and the narrative reports on project realisation is a mandatory activity for any successful project within the Creative Europe programme, as well as the fact that this often creates confusion in deciding how to act, we are inviting you to resolve all dilemmas and questions together!

Creative Europe Desk Serbia will organise a public, online presentation on the topic, which will be based on questions you send us. The invitation is intended for those who are at the end of the project path, but also for those who are just starting their projects, since it is important to anticipate all important details in a timely manner.

Please submit your questions and dilemmas in the short questionnaire that can be accessed on the link, and we will strive to answer all specificities of your questions in the presentation.

The call for submitting questions is open until 12^th December!

Results of the Competition “Bridging Culture and Audiovisual Content through Digital”

The results of the inter-sector competition call “Bridging Culture and Audiovisual Content through Digital”, published in January of the current year, have been published. Eight projects are supported with the total of 3,176,333.97 Euros, and the participants of one of them, “MUSE.ar” project led by the organisation Pro Progresione Kulturalis from Hungary, include UPT Lepenski Vir from Donji Milanovac. We are congratulating all institutions and organisations supported within this competition.

The list of support projects and organisations can be downloaded here.

Prior to establishing the Laboratory for Creative Innovation within the next cycle of the Creative Europe programme 2021-2027, European Commission initiated the pilot call “Bridging Culture and Audiovisual Content through Digital” to support cross-border, inter-sector activities. The aim of the competition was to support projects offering new forms of creativity by mixing different field of cultural and audiovisual professions, with the use of innovative inter-sectoral approaches and tools to achieve easier access, distribution and promotion of all field of culture and creativity, including cultural heritage.

Online presentation: Manners of paying subcontracting fees to artists and external collaborators

Realisation of every European project in culture implies subcontracting to external collaborators: artists, curators, researchers, educators and other professions necessary in a successful realisation of activities in various fields and concerning various topics dealt with by the Creative Europe programme. Bearing in mind that the legal-formal procedure of including external collaborators opens numerous questions to numerous cultural institutions and organisations, we decided to devote one of the presentations within the online cycle “Legal-financial framework of European projects in culture”.

Marina Kostić, advisor for collaboration activities of the Centre for the promotion of science will speak about the manners of paying the fees to external collaborators from Serbia and abroad, types of contracts and obligations implied (taxation, contributions, copyrights, etc.), proving the residential status and justifying these expenses. Centre for the promotion of science is a state institution and so far, it realised a large number of European projects within various project (Horizon2020, Creative Europe, Erasmus+ and the COST framework, etc.), and Marina is also involved in project realisation, within activities concerned with financial-administrative management.

You can watch the presentation on our YouTube channel.

About the cycle

Successful implementation of European projects in culture implies constant improving of knowledge and skills in various field of management – from understanding the relevant legal framework and being familiar with best practices, to working in international teams and monetary management.

Although this knowledge is best acquired through project realisation, in order to get immersed into project administration, it is very important to be well informed, i.e. to participate in the exchange of knowledge and specific experiences. With the idea to answer the most important financial-administrative questions, we initiated the cycle of online presentations “Legal-financial framework of European projects in culture”.

The cycle is primarily intended for representatives of institutions and organisation new to the programme, especially the ones that are realising the first ever leadership projects, but it can also be useful for those realising European projects within other EU programmes or only planning to apply.

Training for Project Implementation Held in Andrevlje

With the aim of successful implementation of projects supported within the competition “Strengthening cultural cooperation and competitiveness of cultural and creative industries of the Western Balkans”, Creative Europe Desk Serbia and the Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia organised training in the Congress Centre “Ceptor” in Andrevlje.

The training was attended by ten representatives of supported project, which was the maximum number of people allowed under the current epidemiologic measures. The call for participation was intended for all organisation realising European projects for the first time, more specifically:

– Biljana Jotić, Civil Association “Beoart Kontemporeri”, Belgrade
– Ilija Petronijević, Civil Association “Fenomena”, Belgrade
– Ana Konstantinović and Željko Maksimović, Civil Association “Eho animato”, Belgrade
– Dajana Vujaklija and Sanja Ćirković, Civil Association “Ink fest”, Novi Sad
– Aleksandar Stamenković, Association of comic book and written words lovers “Nikola Mitrović Kokan”, Leskovac
– Mirjana Utvić, Dušan Mitić and Jelena Joksimović, Civil Association “Škogled”

The programme of the training was designed so it answers the most important questions of project implementation:

– Presentations Practical advice on implementation of European projects in culture and Financial planning and managing the action plan of the project, were held by Dejan Vujinović, Art Director of the festival “Etnofest” and “Jazzirè” and manager of the project “2020 Troubadours”, supported by the sub-programme Creative Europe. The presentations had the aim to familiarise training participants with basic rules of administrative-financial realisation of EU projects, but also with specific experiences on the project “2020Troubadours” concerning domestic laws, that can be applied in the realisation of new projects in order to anticipate potential challenges;

– Presentation Successful communication and cooperation with partners, held by Luka Kulić, Gallery of Matica srpska, who was engaged in several projects within the Creative Europe programme. Through the presentation, participants were acquainted with the most important guidelines for realisation of successful cooperation with partner organisations, with obligations and rights of project partners, but also advice on expanding the area of influence through establishing informal partnerships during project realisation;

– Presentation Communication and Dissemination of Project Results, was held by Mirjana Žarković and Milan Đorđević, project managers of the Culture Desk Serbia. Through the presentation participants were familiarised with the possibilities of developing a successful strategy of communication and dissemination of project results, which implies precise defining of interested groups, clear outline of aims of the strategy and the action plan (selecting communication channels and communication style);

– Also, within the seminar a presentation was organised of the project “Strengthening entrepreneurial skills of cultural and creative industries for valorisation of cultural heritage and the development of sustainable tourism model in the Adriatic-Ionian region – CCI4Turizam” funded within the Intereg Adriatic-Ionian programme of transnational cooperation – Adrion 2014- 2020, with the aim of emphasising other funding possibilities through EU funds to participants. The presentation was held by Jovana Kontić, expert associate of the Foundation “European Affairs” of the AP Vojvodina.

Online presentation: Managing European Projects

Which tasks are included in managing a European project in culture? What doubts and problems can arise during project implementation? In what way can they be resolved? What qualifies a good project and what is implied by legal-financial activities? These are some of the main questions which will be covered in the first presentation of the online cycle “Legal-financial framework of European projects in culture”.

These and other questions will be answered by Luka Kulić, representative of the Gallery of Matica Srpska, who has multi-year experience in implementing European cultural projects, primarily within the Creative Europe programme.

The presentation can be viewed on our YouTube channel.

About the cycle

Successful implementation of European cultural projects implies constant improvement of knowledge and skills in various fields of management – from understanding the relevant legal framework and familiarity with best practices, to working in international teams and financial management.

Even though this knowledge is best acquired through project realisation, in order to get involved in project administration it is very important to be well-informed, i.e. to exchange knowledge and specific experiences. With the idea of answering the most important financial-administrative questions, we initiated a cycle of online presentations “Legal-financial framework of European projects in culture”.

The cycle is primarily intended for representatives of institutions and organisation new to the programme, especially those who are realising their first leadership projects, but it can be useful for those realising European projects within other EU programmes or only planning to apply.

Desk publications at the event What are you looking at?! at NGVA

The New Gallery of Visual Arts is dedicating the month of October to publications focussing on contemporary visual art and celebrates books through a cycle of talks with prominent writers, essayists and visual artists.

The exhibition space of the gallery will host an exhibition of publications from the fields of history, theory and critique of contemporary visual art, i.e. the publications of the Faculty for Media and Communication, Belgrade, University of the Arts, Belgrade, Publishing house “Orion Art”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Office for Culture Studentski grad, Art Gallery “Nadežda Petrović”, Čačak, the Official Gazette, Publishing House “Clio”, Geopoetika and the Creative Europe Desk Serbia.

The cycle of talks will be opened by the host of the programme Muharem Bazdulj on Wednesday, 7^th October at 6 p.m., who on this occasion wrote: “The programme of the New Gallery of Visual Arts is intended as a programme where writers also speak about visual arts and about their work in general, and in the space which is primarily intended for exhibitions, and not literary evenings. We want writers to paint paintings through their words, and for art works to be an inspiration for poetry. Precisely due to the unexpectedness of the primary framework, we are expecting a fortunate synergy of different art currents, and that with the help of real and imagined images in the background, writers can demonstrate the true power of words.”

Due to the current epidemiologic situation, the event will be realised with observance of all cautionary measures, wearing protective masks and maintain the safe distance, with a limited number of persons present in the exhibition space. The talks in the gallery can be attended by up to 20 persons, based on applications sent to the following email address: ngvujankovic@gmail.com

i-Portunus is back!

i-Portunus continues to fund the mobility of artists and cultural professional with another project.  This new i-Portunus project is managed by a consortium headed by the Goethe-Institut (with the collaboration from Institut français in Paris and Isolyatsia), and is funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

From the end of 2020 and till the end of 2021, this project will issue up to five Calls for Applications, providing financial support for the international mobilities of individual artists and cultural professionals.  The applicants must have a specific and well-defined objective such as international collaboration, creation and/or professional development and identify a host or hosting institution in another country as part of their mobility request.

More information will follow in due time on the official website.

Tête-à-tête Talks about Ideas for European Projects

The next cycle of the Creative Europe Programme starts in 2021, and the time until the first competition calls should be directed towards the best possible preparation of project ideas. This is why we are inviting everyone concerned with culture and art to jointly use the last days of the summer and nice weather for tête-à-tête talks about opportunities offered by the Creative Europe programme.

Every Friday from 11 a.m. we will host representatives of cultural institutions and organisations in the pleasant ambience of the garden of the Museum of Yugoslavia. Previous experience in international projects is not a requirement, because within the discussions we will consider initial ideas which can be developed into successful European cooperation projects.

Representatives of successful projects of the Creative Europe programme will be joining us, and with coffee, tea and French desserts you will hear about the experience of the entire process – from idea to project realisation!

You can register for the talks by sending an enquiry to our email address: kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs. Since organisational capacities are restricted by recommendations for health protection against the Covid-19 virus, every Friday we will be able to host up to five institutions and organisations.

The first talks will be held on Friday 18^th September, followed by every future Friday at the same time of the day.

Apart from exceptional exhibitions and a wonderful garden, the location of the talks was chosen bearing in mind that since 2014 the Museum of Yugoslavia started participating in Creative Europe projects and it represents one of the most active cultural institutions in this field in Serbia.

European Commission presents the Creative Europe Monitoring report 2019

The report highlights the achievements of the programme during 2019 and outlines the elements that will establish the next programme.

The Creative Europe programme aims to enhance the economic, social and international dimensions of the European culture and creative sector, to promote its diversity and boost its competitiveness.

The 2019 Monitoring Report describes the programme’s full deployment and highlights its main achievements. It shows that the value of the financial support provided by Creative Europe lies in the relationships and networks that make up our European cultural space, which can then fully bring European cultural diversity to all Europeans.

In its three sections, MEDIA, Culture and the Cross-sectorial strand, the programme has further developed specific measures in close dialogue with stakeholders in 2019. It also experimented with new forms of support in key areas:

– circulation of audiovisual content
– music diversity
– mobility of artists
– international cultural relations
– greening and
– gender equality

BRINGING CREATIVITY TO A WIDER AUDIENCE

To foster collaboration and cooperation in Europe, the Culture Sub-programme covers a wide diversity of sectors:
– performing arts
– books and publishing
– architecture
– design
– fashion
– visual arts
Thanks to its funding more than 3100 organisations worked together on 501 projects, leading to many co-creations and co-productions, and bringing European creativity and talents to a wider audience in 2019. It also contributed to further innovation in the digital field, to social integration and to inclusion of disadvantaged groups.

FINANCING CREATIVE PROJECTS WORTH A BILLION EUROS

Under the cross-sectorial strand, the programme brings about change through innovative and collaborative actions of different sectors.
Through the Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility, the programme strengthened access to finance. With the help of this new financial instrument managed by the European Investment Bank, 1547 small and medium sized enterprises in the sector were able to secure loans worth EUR 1.08 billion.

SUPPORTING AWARD WINNING MOVIES

The MEDIA Sub-programme, focusing on the audiovisual sector, supports the scaling-up and promotion of cross-border distribution of films in Europe and beyond. Supported by Creative Europe, 21 films received 40 awards at the 7 most prestigious film festivals around the world in 2019.

IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE RECOVERY-PLAN

From 2021 to 2027, a new programme will follow the current one that ends in 2020.
The report outlines the key elements that will establish the future Creative Europe programme to face unprecedented challenges such as international competition, the digital transition and the Covid crisis.

Responding to the effects of the coronavirus the Commission has suggested that the Culture and Creative Sectors should become an essential part of the Recovery Plan for Europe proposed on 27 May 2020, identifying the sector as one of 14 priority ecosystems.

Creative Europe Forum 2020

Niš, 26th June, Gallery of Contemporary Visual Arts Niš
Valjevo, 1st-2nd July, National Museum Valjevo
Šabac, 2nd-3rd July, National Museum Šabac
Turbulent happenings and instable circumstances stemming from planned and wanted changes, but also unforeseen, crisis periods, such as the current viral pandemic, place the task of contemplating the role and place in the society of cultural actors in front of them.

Under constant pressure of adjusting to demands of the environment and global changes, and also the shift in value systems and interests of the audience, the question of how culture and art can further developed is current.

This is why this year’s Creative Europe Forum 2020, taking place in three cities – Valjevo, Šabac and Niš, is designed to encourage discussion and contemplating possible forms of activity and development visions which will contribute to cultural institutions and organisations being actors of desired changes and trends in the environments of their activity.

Through several-days-long programme of strengthening capacities of cultural actors, we want to encourage ambition of the local environment and contribute to improving equal cultural development in Serbia. The spoken programme of the Forum was designed considering the needs and topics recognised as important on the local level, while the programme of strengthening capacities is directed towards joint work on strategic orientation of cultural institutions and organisations through workshops and in-house trainings led by representatives of successful stories of Creative Europe and experts in the field of culture.

The Forum will be realised in accordance with prescribed measures of health safety, and the programme is open for all interested parties from Valjevo, Šabac and Niš, as well as the surrounding areas.

Partners in the realisation of this year’s Forum are Gallery of Contemporary Visual Arts Niš, National Museum Valjevo, National Museum Šabac, IKOM Serbia, Civil Society Cooperation Office – Programme Europe for Citizens and the EU Info Network.

Programme of Creative Europe Forum 2020 in Niš

Programme of Creative Europe Forum 2020 in Valjevo

Programme of Creative Europe Forum 2020 in Šabac

Domestic Publishing Houses Once Again Most Successful in Europe

The results of the call for project proposals for literary works in 2020 have been published.

Publishing houses from Serbia are again at the top of the list of winners ̶ in the category of two-year projects, seven publishing houses were supported.
These are Publishing House “Darma” from Priboj, Publishing House “Arete” from Belgrade, Publishing House “Heliks” from Smederevo, Publishing House “Propolis buks” from Belgrade, Publishing House “Štrik” from Belgrade, Publishing House “Partizanska knjiga” from Kikinda and “Kontrast izdavaštvo” from Belgrade.

We are congratulating everyone for their success, and we are especially pleased that there are new publishers among the winners of the Creative Europe programme support. This year a record number of competition applications from Serbia has been supported, as many as 7 projects of literary translations, placing Serbia on the first spot by success in this year’s competition. Apart from Serbia, among the most successful are also North Macedonia with 6 supported projects, Spain with 5 supported projects, Poland with 5 supported projects and Italy with 4 supported projects.

The total grants awarded to publishing houses from Serbia amounts to 375,330.34 €. More info about the competition results can be found here (under the section “Topic conditions and documents”).

Online presentation: Experience of Božidarac as a Cultural Institution during Covid

A new one in a series of presentation within the online cycle “Cultural Programmes in Digital Space” will present the experience of a cultural institution during the crisis period caused by the pandemic of the coronavirus – how the regular activities took place and how contact with the audience ws maintained.

This topic will be covered by Vladimir Kljajić, Director of the Centre for Education and Culture “Božidarac 1947”. This institution was founded as a national university, and today they are realising numerous courses and seminars through which they continue promoting the concept of life-long learning.

The presentation can be viewed on our YouTube channel.

About the cycle

In the past period marked by the epidemic of Covid-19, the place of realisation of cultural needs of the audience was displaced into the digital sphere, due to temporary closing down of venues used by cultural institutions and organisations and ceasing of their regular programmes. This encouraged designing new ways of presenting archives and collections, concerts and plays, and also the organisation of people they are gathering.

Although the Internet cannot fully replace performing cultural and artistic programmes in a physical space, it can be an opportunity to perceive the importance of one’s own work in a different way and to further contemplate the spots of positioning on the cultural map of the city, region and Europe.

Therefore, the cycle of online presentations “Cultural programmes in digital space” is precisely related to improving the visibility of our institutions and organisations in the digital space by designing new formats of presenting cultural and artistic creativity and communication with the audience.

Results of the Public Call for Participation in the In-House Trainings

Based on the public call for participation in the programme of in-house trainings, fifteen cultural institutions and organisations have been selected with which we will work on strengthening the programmatic-organisational capacities in the ensuing months.

Representatives of the following institutions and organisations will have the opportunity to work directly with the team of the Culture Desk Serbia and representatives of success stories of the Creative Europe programme:

1. Centre of Contemporary Art Production “Viva Dance Academy”, Belgrade
   2. Creative Alternative Organisation “Parnas”, Novi Sad
   3. Civil Association “Klara i Rosa”, Subotica
   4. Association RE.KreAKTa, Belgrade
   5. Student Cultural Centre Kragujevac, Kragujevac
   6. “Inat” Centre, Belgrade
   7. Centre for Culture and Education “Božidarac 1947”, Belgrade
   8. Association of Fine Artists of Serbia, Belgrade
   9. Kid hub, Belgrade
   10. Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Art and Design, Novi Sad
   11. Faculty of Applied Arts, Belgrade
   12. Trade Union of the Journalists of Serbia, Belgrade
   13. Cultural Centre Šabac, Šabac
   14. Šabac Library, Šabac
   15. National Museum Šabac, Šabac

In the following days, the team of the Culture Desk Serbia will contact representatives of selected institutions and organisations in order for us to jointly define the dates of training realisation. We are thanking everyone for their interest, and we wish successful work to training participants!

Online presentation: Expanded Public Spaces of Education

The second in a series of presentation within the online cycle “Cultural programmes in digital space” is concerned with the topic of utilising different digital service in crisis periods, such as the current state caused by the pandemic of the virus in which organisational possibilities of all cultural workers are limited.

This topic will be covered by Darija Medić, creator and educator, who through language poetics, technology and art is exploring the field of correction/building identity and the labyrinth of contemporary technological practices. Darija works as a coordinator of digital art projects in the international organisation DiploFoundation, whose activities are based on developing capacity in the fields of digital policies and digital diplomacy. Also, she works as a researched in the production of the Centre for new media Кuda.org projects.

You can view the presentation on our YouTube channel.

About the cycle

In the past period marked by the epidemic of Covid-19, the place of realisation of cultural needs of the audience was displaced into the digital sphere, due to temporary closing down of venues used by cultural institutions and organisations and ceasing of their regular programmes. This encouraged designing new ways of presenting archives and collections, concerts and plays, and also the organisation of people they are gathering.

Although the Internet cannot fully replace performing cultural and artistic programmes in a physical space, it can be an opportunity to perceive the importance of one’s own work in a different way and to further contemplate the spots of positioning on the cultural map of the city, region and Europe.

Therefore, the cycle of online presentations “Cultural programmes in digital space” is precisely related to improving the visibility of our institutions and organisations in the digital space by designing new formats of presenting cultural and artistic creativity and communication with the audience..

Online presentation: How to create extraordinary theatre?

Within the online cycle “Cultural programmes in digital space” the first in a series of presentations is dealing with possibilities of adjusting theatrical performance to the digital space. During the time when public gatherings are not possible, this challenge is especially important – both for those creating a play, and for the audience. Bearing in mind that experience in this task has only started being acquired, numerous questions arise: can digital technologies replace physical space in performing a play? What are the advantages and flaws of stepping into the digital sphere and how to achieve a close connection with the audience through the web?

This topic will be dealt with by Tea Puharić, theatre and radio director and member of the founding team of extraordinary theatre – the first Internet theatre in Serbia. Extraordinary theatre was created during the pandemic period of physical isolation and limitations in movement, through spontaneous gathering of drama artists who wanted to find new ways to create theatre.

You can view the presentation on our YouTube channel.

About the cycle

In the past period marked by the epidemic of Covid-19, the place of realisation of cultural needs of the audience was displaced into the digital sphere, due to temporary closing down of venues used by cultural institutions and organisations and ceasing of their regular programmes. This encouraged designing new ways of presenting archives and collections, concerts and plays, and also the organisation of people they are gathering.

Although the Internet cannot fully replace performing cultural and artistic programmes in a physical space, it can be an opportunity to perceive the importance of one’s own work in a different way and to further contemplate the spots of positioning on the cultural map of the city, region and Europe.

Therefore, the cycle of online presentations “Cultural programmes in digital space” is precisely related to improving the visibility of our institutions and organisations in the digital space by designing new formats of presenting cultural and artistic creativity and communication with the audience.

Results of the competition for cultural cooperation in the Western Balkans

The results of the competition “Strengthening Cultural Cooperation and Competitiveness of Cultural and Creative Industries of the Western Balkans” have been published today. We are very glad that the participation of Serbia is present in all supported projects – there are the total of thirteen where five institutions and organisations from Serbia will participate.

These are two leadership projects – (NON)ALIGNED MOVEMENTS Strengthening contemporary dance in Western Balkans headed by the Civil Association “Station – service for contemporary dance” and the project Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkan headed by the Civil Association “Fenomena”.

Also, project partners include:

• Civil Association “KROKODIL” on the project Translation in Motion
• Organisation “Beoart Contemporary” on the project Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkan
• Civil Association “Novo kulturno naselje” on the project Some Call Us Balkans
• Civil Association “ARGH” on the project Balkan Translation Collider
• Centre of Belgrade Festivals – CEBEF on the project #synergy: Sharpening the capacities of the classical music industry in the Western Balkans
• Company “Meydan ltd” on the project Manifesta 14 Prishtina_Co- Producing Common Space and Shaping Formations of Solidarity in the Western Balkans and Beyond
• Association Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia on the project Regional Lab: New Culture Spaces and Networks as drivers of an Innovative and Sustainable Bottom-up Development of Regional Collaboration
• Civil Association “Eho Animato” on the project The Ways of the Heroes
• Institute of Archaeology on the project Immersive Storytelling Driven Cooperation for Cultural Heritage Dissemination in Western Balkans
• Civil Association “Skogled” on the project Redesigning playscapes with children in Western Balkans
• Association of comic book and written words lovers “Nikola Mitrović Kokan” on the project CAN for BALKANS – Comics Alliance Networking for Balkans
• Faculty of Dramatic Arts on the project ReCulture: Re-branding of Cultural Institutions in Western Balkans
• Civil Association “Ink Fest” on the project ReCulture: Re- branding of Cultural Institutions in Western Balkans

Congratulations for the exceptional results to all institutions and organisations which worked hard and whose efforts evidently paid off!

Information about other supported projects have been published on the website of the European Commission.

Public Call for Submitting Applications to Participate in the Programme of In-house Trainings in the Field of Culture

Creative Europe Desk Serbia is publishing a public call to all cultural institutions and civil society organisations to submit propositions to participate in the programme of in-house training, which implies direct work with the team of the public institution or civil society organisation applying.

Training is concerned with the following topics in the field of culture:

– nurturing programme excellence – new programme formats, tools, topics;
– diversification of funding sources and financial management of projects;
– employee and partnership development through inter-departmental and inter-sector connecting, networking and coproduction;
– development of the institution/organisation through international cooperation and European projects;
– “philosophy” and concepts of European cooperation.

Within the public call, a minimum of three cultural institutions or civil society organisations will be selected, and training will be realised by the end of 2020. Training will be organised in accordance with epidemiologic recommendations and measures of protection against the virus Covid-19.

The aim of the public call

The aim of the public call is raising programmatic-organisational capacities of institutions and organisations planning to participate in the Creative Europe programme, and also improving sustainability, success and programme excellence of projects being realised.

Criteria

The right to participate in the programme of trainings can be exercised by cultural institutions and civil society organisations meeting the criteria below:

1) they don’t possess significant experience in realising cultural projects supported by funds of the European Union;
2) they employ / engage some of different employee profiles required for project realisation (programme editors, managers, organisers / producers/ managers, experts in public relations, economists, lawyers, etc.)
3) they possess the potential for successful realisation of the project idea or the description of the problem encountered by the institution / organisation in its work.

Submitting an application

Those submitting an application must send the following required documents in the electronic format to kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs:

1) letter of application to the public call (free form, up to 500 words) with the indication of the topic the application primarily relates to;
2) description of the project idea or the description of the problem encountered by the institution / organisation in its work, which would be the basis of the training programme (free form, up to 500 words);
3) information about the submitter of the application (“ID” of the cultural institutions / civil society organisation, number and structure of engaged persons, list of domestic and international projects, etc.)

Deadline for submitting applications

Applications can be submitted by 10^th August 2020. Applications received after the defined deadline will not be taken into consideration.

Implementing Steps to Develop and Promote European Music Export

The purpose of this tender is to generate knowledge and spread understanding about as well as explore new approaches for the export of European music by piloting some actions of the strategy.

The results will inform possible future actions to implement the sectorial support for music and international dimension of the future Creative Europe Programme 2021-2027.

The implementation of the activities of this tender is expected to take place in a post-Covid-19 environment and therefore take into consideration the feasible options and potential limitations related to it.

Please find more info here.

Music Moves Europe – Innovative support scheme for a sustainable music ecosystem

To implement the 2020 Preparatory action “Music Moves Europe: Boosting European music diversity and talent” (with a budget of €2.5 million) this call for proposals addresses the need to support the green, digital, just and resilient recovery and post-Covid-19-crisis development of the European music ecosystem to help it become more sustainable.

The European music ecosystem belongs to one of the cultural segments that were hit the most by the corona crisis – with an unprecedented impact on the sector’s entire value chain and massive losses incurred. The crisis’ significant short-term consequences for the sector have been addressed with emergency action and safety nets at different levels. Additional steps are needed to help the sector recover in a more sustainable way, adjust to new realities and newly emerging trends, and ultimately become more resilient.

The Commission will select one consortium that will design and manage an innovative and effective support scheme that redistributes grants to recipients in the music sector, based on a needs assessment. The Commission expects to select the consortium by November 2020, to ensure that the funds can reach the recipients as early as possible in 2021.
This Call complements other national and EU initiatives and schemes that help mitigate the negative impact of the Covid-19 crisis on culture in general and music in particular.

Please find more information here.

Competition for the Europa Nostra Award 2021

The application for the European Cultural Heritage Award – Europa Nostra 2021 is now open. Application deadline is 1^st October 2020. Applications can be sent from countries participating in the Creative Europe programme, which include Serbia.

Applications can be submitted within four categories:

1. Preservation

Exceptional achievements in preservation, improvement and adjustment to new uses of cultural heritage.

2. Research

Exceptional projects of research, digitalisation and knowledge transfer leading to tangible effects in preservation and improvement of cultural heritage in Europe.

3. Dedicated care for heritage

Open for individuals or organisations whose dedication over a longer period of time (at least 10 years) is showing a high degree of dedication and civil engagement, alongside excellence in preservation and improvement of cultural heritage in Europe, exceeding the usual expectations in the given context.

4. Education, training, raising awareness

Exceptional initiatives concerned with education, training and raising awareness of cultural heritage with the aim of encouraging capacity building and local support, building awareness of the location and identity, and encouraging engagement and ownership of citizens.

More info can be found on the website of the European network Europa Nostra.

Results of the Public Call for Participation in the Seminar “Creative Europe Programme – Project Preparation”

Representatives of nine institutions and organisations from Serbia will have the opportunity to participate in the seminar of project proposition preparation for the Creative Europe programme, organised in cooperation with the Cultural Centre “Vuk Karadžić” in Tršić, from 13^th to 16^th July.

Every year, Creative Europe Desk Serbia is organising a seminar for project writing with the aim of achieving as good project preparation as possible of the institutions and organisations intending to apply for support of the Creative Europe programme, both during the current year and during the following years.

The topics covered by the seminar are contemporary practices and concepts in international cultural cooperation, cultural heritage and contemporary art; international project management; European cultural policy and priorities of the Creative Europe programme.

The seminar will be held in accordance with the prescribed measures of health protection, in open space within the complex of the Historic Landmark Tršić.

We invite all institutions and organisations not among this year’s participants to contact us so we can discuss project idea propositions. Team of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia is offering the possibility of scheduling an online meeting via Skype and Zoom.

We are thanking everyone for their interest, and we wish successful work on project ideas to seminar participants, and also establishing long-term professional connections at the seminar in Tršić!

List of seminar participants can be downloaded here.

Seminar programme can be downloaded here.

European Commission to support performing arts with €2,5 million for distribution

A call for tenders has been published to support the cross-border circulation and digital distribution of performing arts works.

The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of the performing arts sector as all hosting venues had to close down and most performances will only be able to resume after the summer break, under strict conditions. A new support scheme for the sector, focusing on theatre, dance, circus and street arts is therefore very timely.

The new call aims to support the cross-border circulation and digital distribution of performing arts works. This will help the sector recover and regain its European dimension, which is a clear added value of the Creative Europe programme.

The call for tenders worth 2,5 million euros should lead to the selection of a contractor or consortium in the fourth quarter of 2020 so that funds can reach the sector as soon as possible.

COMPLEMENTARITY BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION

The new support scheme will also address the following issues: the impact of mobility on the environment and the role of digital culture. The Commission will propose measures to mitigate the sector’s carbon footprint and will at the same time include a forward-looking reflection on the use of digital tools.

The live recording and streaming of the supported performances will be promoted as a complement to reach a broader audience and make touring more sustainable.

The call and its budget increase (from € 2 to 2,5 million) confirm the strong commitment of the European Commission to support the sector and help it build a more resilient and sustainable future.

Please find more info here.

Public call for participating in the seminar “Creative Europe – project preparation”

The Culture Desk Serbia in cooperation with the Cultural centre “Vuk Karadzic ” Loznica, will organize the seminar “Creative Europe Programme – project preparation” from 13th until 16th July 2020 in Tršić. The call is intended for all institutions and organizations from Serbia planning to apply for the Creative Europe programme.

The topics that will be covered by the seminar are contemporary practices and concepts in the international cultural cooperation, cultural heritage and contemporary art; management of international projects; European cultural policy and priorities of the Creative Europe programme.

The seminar will be held in accordance with the prescribed health care measures, respecting the precautionary recommendations in order to prevent all participants and safely maintain the program.

Aim of the seminar

The aim of the seminar is raising the quality and preparing projects to apply for the creative Europe programme, raising the programmatic – organizational capacities of institutions and organizations from Serbia, but also contributing to decentralization in the field of culture. Apart from this, the seminar will be organized for the sake of enhancing communication, cooperation and exchange of experiences of cultural institution and organization representatives from cities and counties of Serbia.

Criteria

The main criteria for the selection of participants are the quality of project proposals and potential partnerships.The quality of project propositions is measured against: compliance with topics and priorities of the Creative Europe programme, innovative nature of the concept and its professional basis.

Conditions of the public call

1. The number of vacancies is limited;
2. Up to two persons from a single institution or an organization can apply to participate in the seminar;
3. The Culture Desk Serbia and the Cultural centre “Vuk Karadzic ” Loznica will cover food and lodging expenses, however participants of the seminar will cover their travel expenses.

Submitting an application

You can find here the application form.
The application for the seminar should contain the following information (up to three pages):
– A short description of the project the institution or the organization wants to apply with for the Creative Europe programme or if they believe the project proposition has a potential to be used for applying;
– A list of potential partners on the project;
– A short description of the institution/organization (mission, aims, main activities);
– An indication of the position of the person or persons applying to participate in the seminar.
The application should be sent to the email address of the Culture Desk Serbia: kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs.

Deadline for applications

Applications can be submitted until 3rd July 2020. Applications received after the defined deadline will not be taken into consideration.

Call for experts to support the European Capitals of Culture

The ‘Capacity Building for European Capitals of Culture’ project is seeking professionals from a variety of disciplines to join its pool of experts. The expert group will help bridge gaps in skills in the implementing teams of European Capitals of Culture.

The project consortium is looking for experts in different fields to help meet key capacity building needs of the European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) action. Organising teams of each ECoC will be able to tap into this expert pool when searching for specific knowledge and skills.

In particular, experts are sought in the following areas:

• audience development

• conflict resolution

• change management

• legal (including intellectual property rights and licensing agreements for culture)

• monitoring and evaluation in the cultural sector

Experts in management, communications, coordination and international relations are also needed.

Please find more information here.

Presenting the Creative Europe programme in NGVA

Within the cycle “Places of Artistic Work Contextualisation” realised during three weeks in July by the New Gallery of Visual Arts in Belgrade, gallery systems, their position, funding resources and their presence in the projects of the Creative Europe programme will be discussed by Dimitrije Tadić, advisor for visual arts and multimedia of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia and the Head of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia.

The discussion will also cover the results of the five-year-long realisation of the Competition for Financing Art Works from the Field of Visual Arts and the effect on enrichment of collection of public institution and empowerment of gallery collections.

The discussion will take place on Thursday, 11^th June at 6 p.m. in the premises of the gallery (60 Krunska St). Editor and moderator of the programme is Anica Tucakov, an art historian.

This mini cycle comprised of three talks represents an announcement of the educational programme which will be dedicated to re-examining of structural elements of visual arts in our region and the global frameworks, overview of past practices and the field of the gallery definition of scene. The central thematic axis of the programme, which will be realised starting September, consists of the relationship artist – gallery – collector.

Results of the Competition European Cooperation Projects 2020

The results of the competition European Cooperation Projects 2020 have been published today, with the total of 15 projects supported including 15 participant organisations from Serbia.

These are two leading projects: “THEY: LIVE, Student lives revealed through context-based art practices” led by Cultural Centre “Studentski grad” Belgrade and “Opera: Past, Present, Perfect”, led by MOTO – Music Opera Theatre Organisation from Belgrade.

Also, project partners will also include:

¥ Faculty of Dramatic Arts Belgrade with the project “Stronger peripheries: a southern coalition”
¥ Centre for the Development of Circus Arts “LUDIFICO” with the project “BETA CIRCUS – Boosting European Trends and Artists in Circus Arts”
¥ Association KROKODIL with the project “Be (P)Art. Grow with Arts”
¥ Nišville Foundation with the project “Roma Jazzing Europe”
¥ DAH Teatar with the project “Future Academy on Tour in Europe”
¥ Madlenianum opera and theatre with the project “Opera: Past, Present, Perfect”
¥ Association Superstar Culture with the project “Giving (Back) the Credit to the Heritage Communities”
¥ Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade with the project “Culture as a Unique Resource to Inspire, Outreach & Understand Science”
¥ Cultural Centre of Vojvodina “Miloš Crnjanski” with the project “House. Music. Europe.”
¥ Association “WEMSICAL SERBIA” with the project “Trans-European Music Organisations Linked Organically”
¥ Association “Kulturanova” Novi Sad with the project “What’SAP – Exchange of Social Art Practices”
¥ Association “Kulturanova” Novi Sad with the project “Invisible Lives”
¥ Station – service for contemporary dance with the project “Advancing performing arts project – FEMINIST FUTURES”
¥ Association “BAZAART” with the project “B-AIR Art Infinity Radio – Creating sound art for babies, toddlers and vulnerable groups”
¥ Public media institution Radio-television of Serbia with the project “B-AIR Art Infinity Radio – Creating sound art for babies, toddlers and vulnerable groups”

We are congratulating all institutions and organisations who worked hard and the efforts of which paid off on their exquisite results!

The competition was entered into by 391 project proposals (321 small cooperation projects and 70 big cooperation projects), out of which 380 were forwarded for evaluation. The total of 113 project were supported (93 small projects and 20 big projects), while 5 projects entered the reserved list.

Information about other supported projects were published on the website of the European Commission.

Competition for Literary Translation 2020

The competition call for translation projects of literary works is open in the category I and it lasts until 5^th May 2020.

The competition is offering an opportunity for publishing houses to translate literary works of European authors from one into another officially recognised European language. The aim is to support cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe, promote transnational circulation of high-quality literature, and also to improve access to literary works, in a manner that enables access to new audiences.

Apart from the mentioned aims, the competition also encourages translation of literary works compliant with the priorities listed below:

– promoting translation of works of European literature;

– encouraging translation from less present languages (which are comprised of all languages in countries participating in the Creative Europe programme, except for English, German, Spanish (Castellan) and French) to English, German, French and Spanish (Castellan), as a contribution to wider circulation of literary works;

– encouraging translation of works belonging to less present genres, such as literature for young audiences (children, adolescents and young adults), in addition to comic books/graphic novellas, short stories and poetry;

– encouraging appropriate use of digital technologies in distributing and promoting literary works;

– encouraging translation and promotion of books awarded with the EU Prize for Literature (EUPL), so that for every awarded title 1 point is automatically obtained (therefore, the maximum of 10 automatic points if all titles have been awarded with the EU Prize for Literature);

– increasing the visibility of translators (in relation to this, publishing houses are obliged to publish biographies of translators in the publications they translate).

Within this call, support is offered to two-year-long projects with a clearly defined editorial strategy, proposing translation, publication and promotion of a “package” of 3 to 10 literary works (fiction). With regards to participation of Serbia, the direction of translation must be from a selected EU/EFTA language into Serbian or from Serbian into the selected EU/EFTA language. Applicants can apply for support amounting up to 100 000 Euros, which represents the maximum of 50% of allowed expenses. Allowed expenses include translation, production and promotion of works of European fiction.
If you are interested in applying and want to learn more:

– carefully read the call of the competition and the application guide;

– get acquainted with technical steps in applying, in order to successfully submit your competition application;

– take a look at which projects obtained support during the previous years;

– subscribe to our newsletter, in order to regularly receive information about the competition and invitations for workshops and trainings we are organising;

– Culture desk Serbia is offering free advice and support to publishing houses from Serbia when applying. If you intend to apply, we can arrange a discussion about your application, or have a consultation over the phone or Skype.

Competition documents can only be submitted electronically, via the portal of the European Commission (Portal Electronic Submission System) that can be accessed here, by selecting the competition call in the section Search Funding & Tenders.

More details about the competition procedure and the required documents can be found on the website of the Executive Agency for Culture, Education and Audio-visual activities (EACEA), managing the Creative Europe programme.

For help in relation to this competition call, or if you have specific questions about the application process, please send an email to: EACEA-CREATIVE-EUROPE-TRANSLATIONS@ec.europa.eu

If there are technical problems in submitting the competition documents, please send an email detailing the problem to: EC-SEDIA-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu or call: +32 229-92222.

The required documents can be downloaded here or on the participant portal when applying.

Online Programme of Literary Translation Projects Preparation

Dear colleagues’ publishers,

Bearing in mind the hard and unpredictable period for the entire sector of culture, Creative Europe Desk Serbia will continue offering help in any way possible to domestic publishing houses intending to apply for support of the programme during the current year or in the future. Although we are working remotely during this period, we are inviting you to use all possibilities of online communication, to collaborate on developing your projects and European cooperation.

The deadline of the currently open call for literary translations has been postponed to 28^th May, which is a significant stretch of time for project preparation. With the desire to continue collaborating in different circumstances, Creative Europe Desk Serbia is initiating an online programme that can be followed on out YouTube channel.

The programme is comprised of three presentations covering the following topics:

Developing the reading audience through European projects

Within the competition for literary translation of the Creative Europe programme, special attention is given to the strategy of promoting books and audience development. A project can be an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with your permanent reading audience in new ways, but also to address a new group of audience you want to win over – the local community, people with special interests (sports people, nature lovers, food lovers…). Ana Pejović, cultural manager with exceptional experience in the field of literature, publishing and translation, and especially in terms of international cooperation and working with the audience will speak about this topic. The video presentation has the aim to emphasise the possibilities for audience development in the local context, with focus on examples from the domestic environment and from other countries.

The presentation can be followed on our YouTube channel.

Key advice for successful preparation of literary translation projects

With the intention of nurturing good communication and exchange between publishing houses which are experienced and the ones that want to apply for the first time, the second segment of the programme was designed in accordance with the peer-to-peer principle and dedicated to key advice in shaping a project idea, which will be discussed by Marija Vukosavljević, an editor with years-long experience in publishing and obtaining support of the Creative Europe programme. The presentation is designed so it emphasises the key aspects of shaping a project from an idea to an application, with regards to programme priorities and possibilities offered by this competition.

The presentation can be followed on our YouTube channel.

Financial planning of literary translation projects

For successful competition application, it is necessary to design a good financial plan of the project, which will account for all the required expenses of translation, publishing and promotion of literary works. The last segment of the online programme is precisely dedicated to designing a budget, and since the new form has been simplified, you will be able to draft the financial plan of your project at the same time. Ana Ćosić, coordinator of financial affairs of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia will be speaking about this topic.

The presentation can be followed on our YouTube channel, by subscribing here. Additional materials can be downloaded here.

If you want to get replies to specific questions about your project – interpreting competition propositions, clarifying the competition form, help in designing the project concept – you can still schedule a one-on-one video consultation via Skype with the team of Culture Desk Serbia. Send us an email to arrange a time.

We are at your disposal for all questions and we are rooting for you this year as well!

Kind regards, Team of the Culture Desk Serbia

Answers of the European Commission to Frequently Asked Questions

The Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture published answers to frequently asked questions concerned with the Creative Europe programme during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The questions are categorised with regards to calls, selected projects and current users of the programme, as well as general questions.
More on questions and answers can be read in the FAQ document.

Applying Deadlines Extended

Due to difficulties in working and communication brought about by the Corona virus, deadlines for applications for three competitions of the sub-programme Creative Europe Culture have been extended:

– The competition “Strengthening Cultural Cooperation and Competitiveness of Cultural and Creative Industries in the Western Balkans” is open until 28^th April at 5 p.m.
– Two competitions Music Moves Europe, for support to projects of education in the field of music and support to projects of co-creation, have been extended until 30^th April at 1 p.m.

The deadline for application to the call for projects of translation of literary works remains to be 5^th May, as it was announced earlier. More information about the competitions can be found on our website, in the News and Events section.

Team of the Culture Desk Serbia is offering support to cultural institutions and organisation interested in applying. Follow the posts on our website, soon there will be announcements of calls for online training. If you need advice, you can contact us with a call to schedule a Skype meeting at any time that suits you.

Photo: Victor J Blue, The New York Times

Coronavirus: consequences for the European Commission Programme Implementation

European Commission published guidelines for programme users with regards to all changes in projects conditioned by the coronavirus.

If the spreading of coronavirus COVID-19 disrupted project realisation or compliance with legal obligations, the first step for all programme users is to notify the Executive Agency (EACEA) by sending an email to the responsible person on the project who they are usually contacting or by sending an email to the official contact of the action with a detailed description of the problem and its influence on project implementation.

In any case, the following flexibility measures will apply:

1) Granting current activity expenses

In cases where individuals are prevented from participating in programmes, meetings and events, for example due to recent contact with a person infected with the virus, or who recently visited an area considered high risk, EACEA can consider eligible* travel expenses or accommodation expenses which cannot be cancelled and which are not refunded from other sources, with the condition that programme users submit appropriate accompanying documents (primarily the proof that they asked for a refund and were denied one).

2) In the case COVID-19 is preventing the conducting of activities

If compliance to contractual obligations is disrupted due to COVID-19 (for example due to unavailability of key staff, impossibility of performing work in the zone affected by the virus or any other case which can be considered to be force majeure), EACEA can accept the replacement of activities or delayed execution. It is required that the programme user submits a justified request to amend the agreement, including extending the period of its implementation/execution.

Documents

Programme users should collect and keep all the relevant documentation that can be required at a later time to prove / justify any decision made concerning project realisation (especially from the financial standpoint).

* under the condition they comply with the general conditions of eligibility defined in the agreement.

Follow the website of EACEA in order to stay informed about all the novel measures.

Info Day at the City Museum of Subotica

The Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia is organising an info day about the competition for the support to projects of cultural cooperation in the Western Balkans, at the City Museum of Subotica on 9^th March at 10 a.m.

The programme of the info day will be focused on presenting the currently open calls for project proposals, and primarily the Competition for Cultural Cooperation Projects in the Western Balkans. This is an opportunity for anyone intending to apply to ask questions and clarify competition propositions and the applying process.

We are inviting representatives of all cultural institutions and organisations from Subotica and the surrounding area – public cultural institutions and civil society organisations dealing with culture, educational, scientific and researcg institutions as well as independent artists, curators and cultural managers to attend the info day and get acquainted with opportunities offered by the Creative Europe programme.

See you in Subotica!

Info Day in the Gallery of Matica srpska

Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia is organising an info day about the Competition for the Support to Cultural Cooperation Projects in the Western Balkans, in the Gallery of Matica Srpska in Novi Sad, on 10th March at 1 p.m.

The programme of the info day will be directed towards presenting the currently open calls for project proposals, primarily the Competition for Cultural Cooperation Projects in the Western Balkans. This is an opportunity for all those who intend to apply to ask questions and resolve dilemmas related to competition propositions and the applying process.

We invite representatives of all cultural institutions and organisations from Novi Sad and the surrounding area – public cultural institutions and civil society organisations dealing with culture, educational, scientific and research institutions, and also independent artists, curators and managers in culture to attend the info day and get familiar with the opportunities offered by the Creative Europe programme.

See you in Novi Sad!

Info Day in Kanjiža

Considering that the deadline for submitting project proposals within the Creative Europe programme for the support to cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans has been extended, the Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia is organising an info day in Kanjiža, on 9^th March starting at 1 p.m. in the Educational-cultural institution “Cnesa”.

The programme of the info day will be focussed on presenting the currently open competitions, and primarily the Competition for Projects of Cultural Cooperation in the Western Balkans. This is an opportunity for anyone intending to apply to ask questions and clarify propositions of the competition and the applying process.

We are inviting the representatives of all cultural institutions and organisations from Kanjiža and the surrounding area – public cultural institutions and civil society organisations dealing with culture, educational, scientific and research institutions, as well as independent artists, curators and managers in culture to attend the info day and get acquainted with possibilities offered by the Creative Europe programme.

The educational-cultural institution “Cnesa” is located at 9 Main Square.

See you in Kanjiža!

Competition for Cultural Cooperation in the Western Balkans Deadline Extended

Dear colleagues,

Through the decision of the European Commission, the applying deadline for the public call “Strengthening cultural cooperation and competitiveness of cultural and creative industries of the Western Balkans” has been extended until 31^st March at 5 p.m.

More on the competition can be found here.

The decision of the European Commission can be accessed here.

Kind regards,

Team of the Culture Desk Serbia

Presenting the Competition for the Western Balkans in Banjaluka

Creative Europe Desk Bosnia and Herzegovina is organising a one-day event of presenting the competition “Strengthening cultural cooperation and competitiveness of cultural and creative industries of the Western Balkans” and a discussion about project ideas on Friday, 6^th March at 1 p.m., in the premises of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Banjaluka.

Within the programme of the event, Dimitrije Tadić, Head of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, will present the research (Re)positioning the Region of Southeast Europe through Culture, published by the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, which was taken into consideration in designing the competition for the Western Balkans.

To participate in the event, you can apply by sending an application to the email address: zoran.galic@kreativnaevropa.ba

See you in Banjaluka!

List of Potential Partners from Italy

Dear colleagues,

If you are preparing a project for the currently open competition of cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans, and you are searching for partners from Italy, take a look at the list of institutions and organisations interested in participating as partners. In order to establish contact with them, you can contact Anna Conticello from the Creative Europe Desk Italy at the email: anna.conticello@beniculturali.it; europacreativa.cultura@beniculturali.it.

1. Teatro di Roma

www.teatrodiroma.net

Main field: theatre, research, community engagement

Associazione Teatro di Roma is a publicly owned theatre (one of 6 National Theatres in Italy) having the following objectives: to promote, support and develop culture, staging dramatic and cultural performances in the territory of the Metropolitan City of Rome, with particular regard to the promotion of traditional art theatre and the growth of contemporary artists; to support research and experimentation, with a particular focus on the involvement of new generations of artists and spectators. One if its main activities consists in promoting performing arts amongst youngsters and disadvantage groups (disabled persons, immigrants and refugees) through specific projects driven by a participatory approach, designed with the support of local, national and international partners pursuing similar goals. It handles the teaching and ongoing training and development of artistic and technical managers through its Drama School.

2. European Institute of Design

Main filed: design, fashion, smart cities

www.ied.it

For more than fifty years, the Istituto Europeo di Design has been operating in the fields of education and research in the disciplines of design, fashion, visual communication and management. Today, the IED is a constantly expanding international network that issues first-level academic diplomas and organises three-year courses, Masters courses, continuous professional development and advanced training courses. Since 1966, the IED has developed innovative and diversified teaching methodologies, focused on synergies between technology and experimentation, creativity, strategies and integrated communication, market issues and a new form of professionalism. Thus does the Istituto Europeo di Design offer young professionals working in the fields of Fashion, Design and Communication the knowledge and the effective tools they need to cater for the constantly developing requirements of the working world.

3. Associazione Enti Locali per le Attività Culturali e di Spettacolo (Local Authorities Association for cultural activites and events) di Sardegna

www.assoentilocali.it

Main interest: cultural material and immaterial heritage / performing arts

The Association of Local Authorities collects 80 Municipalities in the Sardinia region. It aims to facilitate and support the production of cultural and entertainment activities aimed at local development; to plan the distribution of live performances and cultural initiatives related to them; to promote in the region the conditions to provide the community with stable, continuous, qualified and widespread initiatives to include them in the general renewal process and cultural and touristic development of Sardinia; to realize initiatives for the valorization of the cultural and archaeological structures of Sardinia, in collaboration with public and private agencies; to support the testing of new didactic methods with particular regards to the performing arts; to establish at national and European level forms of collaboration with all the agencies and organisms operating in the sector; to promote and to favour performing arts schools that will contribute to the professional training of the cultural operators.

4. Balletto di Roma (Rome’s ballet)

https://www.ballettodiroma.com/en/

Main interest: dance

Balletto di Roma is a dance training and production centre that welcomes students coming from all over Italy and ensures that they will follow an academic path of professional level. The Company has always promoted the production and diffusion of the Italian “auteur” dance, with a repertoire focused nowadays on innovation and research, though maintaining a strong attention to the history and tradition that have made it well-known but also opening up a dialogue with international partners. Balletto di Roma was born in 1960 from the artistic partnership between two icons of the Italian dance: Franca Bartolomei and Walter Zappolini. In the last years, thanks to the joint efforts of the Manger Luciano Carratoni and the Artistic Director Francesca Magnini, the strengthening of the research planning and of the partnerships has allowed to conjugate at its best the tradition with the innovation and to develop the presence of the Company in Europe and in the world.
Balletto di Roma is project leader in 2 EU cofunded projects: “CLASH! When classic and contemporary dance collide and new forms emerge” cofunded by the Creative Europe Program (http://clashproject.eu/) and “UP2DANCE – updating professional profiles towards contemporary dance” cofunded by Erasmus+ program (just kicked off). They are both entitled to support classic dance company to open to contemporary practice.

5. Europa InCanto

https://www.europaincanto.com/

Main interest: opera

The Music Association Europa InCanto was born in 2012 by the conviction of its founders that being educated in music and learning to appreciate it from young age can make us better people. The main goal of Europe InCanto then is to spread the music culture between the new generations, working with and for young people. On this regard, Europa InCanto has developed several musical education projects. Among these we point out the Ars InCanto project, formulated to accompany students to the knowledge of all arts, music, painting, theater and dance to the realization of an essay created directly by pupils. The flagship of the Association is the Scuola InCanto project, which is spread throughout the national and European territory and which has enabled the creation of a true teaching method for the knowledge of Opera by song and play.
It is part of RESEO and Opera Europa, the 2 main network for opera and opera disseminationa amongst youngsters, at EU level. Europa INCanto is leader of the Creative Europe cofunded project: “Opera InCanto”, aimed at narrowing young audiences to the opera.

6. PAV

http://www.pav-it.eu/

Main interest: contemporary dramaturgy

PAV collaborates with artists and institutions in the conception and realization of cultural projects. Since its foundation in 2000 in Rome, PAV has specialized in the production, organization and administration of festivals, reviews, shows and conferences. He works transversally with national institutions, theaters, embassies, companies and individual artists, combining projects of institutional relevance with continuous monitoring and support for the independent scene. These different areas of action have always dialogued and interacted with each other in a natural way: this interaction has proved to be a decisive resource in many projects and in general throughout the entire working path that has been structured thanks to these connections. This composite and multifaceted activity has allowed PAV to develop a privileged observation point and a multifaceted look at contemporary theater.
PAV is project leader in the large scale, Creative Europe cofunded project: “FABULAMUNDI – Playwriting Europe”, one of the most relevant projects on contemporary dramaturgy at EU level (http://www.fabulamundi.eu/en/)

7. Teatro Eliseo (Eliseo theatre)

http://www.teatroeliseo.com/

Main interest: theatre / cinema / digital arts

The Teatro Eliseo is a permanent cultural center for the Capital but also for the rest of the territory because the Eliseo is now a brand that includes productions of: Theater, Cinema, Television, Music; events and cultural events on art, science, economics. Complete the range of Eliseo Cucina activities. The highest and most authoritative testimony of managerial reliability is undoubtedly represented by the recognition received by the Ministry of Economy and Finance which has created a stamp of thematic series: “The Italian artistic and cultural heritage”; dedicated to the Teatro Eliseo on the centenary of the inauguration. A space in the city of Rome but with international horizons, because only culture can restore identity and the desire to look to the future with optimism.

8. Parco Archeologico del Colosseo

https://parcocolosseo.it/en/

Main interest: archaeological heritage

The Parco archeologico del Colosseo was established in 2017 by the Ministry of Culture, with the purpose of creating an institution endowed with special autonomy to ensure the protection and valorisation of the central archaeological area of Rome. The territory within the remit of the Park contains both areas and monuments of direct state competence (Colosseum, Domus Aurea, Arch of Constantine and Meta Sudans, the Roman Forum and the Palatine), both in Rome (Circus Maximus, Imperial Forums), as well as the rich ecclesiastical patrimony.

The mission of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo is a constant work of education to memory, expressed in its relationship with an extremely varied public and a commitment to establishing a continuous relationship with the

Public consultations in Sarajevo about cooperation projects in the Western Balkans

Creative Europe Desk for Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, is organising public consultations concerned with the topic of the current competition of Creative Europe for the Western Balkans on Wednesday 4^th March from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. in the space of the Creative Europe Desk BIH (Bosnian Cultural Centre, 24 Branilaca Sarajeva St, Sarajevo).

During the public consultations, Aida Kalender, Head of the Creative Europe Desk for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Dimitrije Tadić, Head of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia will be answering the questions of cultural professionals intending to apply.

The application for Public consultations is mandatory, and you can register by sending an application to the email address: aida.kalender.ced@gmail.com

See you in Sarajevo!

Info day about the Creative Europe Programme in Čačak

Creative Europe Desk Serbia in cooperation with the Art Gallery “Nadežda Petrović” is organising an info day about the Creative Europe programme and the currently open competition “Strengthening Cultural Cooperation and Competitiveness of Cultural and Creative Industries of the Western Balkans”, on Friday 28th February at 1 p.m. in the premises of the gallery (6 Cara Dušana St).

With the aim of adequate informing of the cultural public about the programme and the competition procedure, i.e. what he easiest way is to secure financial support within the programme, there will be a presentation delivered by Dimitrije Tadić, Head of Creative Europe Desk Serbia.

The presentation is intended to representatives of cultural institutions and organisations from Čačak and the surrounding places – managers and employees of museums, theatres, libraries, archives, cultural centres and other cultural institutions and civil society organisations.

There will be mention of programme priorities, applying conditions and specific questions related to past participation of Serbia in the programme. At the same time, the event is also an opportunity to discuss project ideas of institutions and organisations from Čačak.

Programme of the info day:

13.00 – 14.00 Presenting the Creative Europe programme and the Competition for Cultural Cooperation in the Western Balkans, Dimitrije Tadić, Head of Creative Europe Desk Serbia

14.00 – 14.15 Break

14.15 – 15.00 Discussion about project ideas, points awarding system and competition procedure

Results of the Call for Participation in Training in Andrevlje

This year’s call for participation in training for project writing, organised by the Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia received a big number of applications from all over the country. We thank everyone interested for their applications.

Due to limited time and accommodation capacities we are not able to accept all applications. The list of participants can be seen below. We are looking forward to working together in projects within workshops and lectures.

The topics the seminar will deal with are contemporary practices and concepts in international cultural cooperation; management of international projects; European cultural policy and priorities of the Creative Europe programme. Within the seminar programme, representatives of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia Dimitrije Tadić and Milan Đorđević will speak about the mission of the programme and current opportunities to apply, the representative of the project Troubadorurs2020 Dejan Vujinović will speak about the experience of applying and realising a project, and Jovana Rapajić, representative of the Antenna office of Culture Desk Serbia will speak about the competition procedure and important advice in applying.

List of participants

Seminar programme

We invite all those who are not among the selected participants to contact us and schedule a meeting to chat about applying possibilities, and also to follow the announcements of our future events we will organise with the aim of aiding project preparation of domestic cultural institutions and organisations.

Results of the Call for Participation in Training in Andrevlje

This year’s call for participation in training for project writing, organised by the Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia received a big number of applications from all over the country. We thank everyone interested for their applications.

Due to limited time and accommodation capacities we are not able to accept all applications. The list of participants can be seen below. We are looking forward to working together in projects within workshops and lectures.

The topics the seminar will deal with are contemporary practices and concepts in international cultural cooperation; management of international projects; European cultural policy and priorities of the Creative Europe programme. Within the seminar programme, representatives of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia Dimitrije Tadić and Milan Đorđević will speak about the mission of the programme and current opportunities to apply, the representative of the project Troubadorurs2020 Dejan Vujinović will speak about the experience of applying and realising a project, and Jovana Rapajić, representative of the Antenna office of Culture Desk Serbia will speak about the competition procedure and important advice in applying.

List of participants

Seminar programme

We invite all those who are not among the selected participants to contact us and schedule a meeting to chat about applying possibilities, and also to follow the announcements of our future events we will organise with the aim of aiding project preparation of domestic cultural institutions and organisations.

Desk Creative Europe Serbia at the regional conference in Skopje

Regional conference dedicated to the topic of promotion and networking of cultural cooperation in the Western Balkans was held on 5th and 6th February 2020 in Skopje.
The main focus was the new call within the Creative Europe programme – Strengthening cultural cooperation and competitiveness of cultural and creative industries of the Western Balkans, with an emphasis on complex regional and European cultural policies, and also on strengthening capacities of cultural institutions and organisations.

Dimitrije Tadić, Head of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, presented the opportunities to get connected with organisations from Serbia, as well as the regional research (Re)positioning the region of Southeast Europe through Culture conducted by the Desk in 2018. On the second day of the conference Aleksandar Popović, the President of the Managing Board of the Independent Cultural Scene spoke about cultural cooperation in the Balkans and the independent scene in Serbia.

This event was organised by the Creative Europe Desk North Macedonia in cooperation with the European Commission and the Delegation of the European Union in Skopje.
The two-day seminar participants, apart from representatives of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, also included representatives of Desks from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia and North Macedonia, as well as numerous representatives of the cultural sector from the area of the Western Balkans.

Training on project writing in Andrevlje

Antenna office of Culture Desk Serbia is organizing training for applying to the new Creative Europe call for proposals „Support cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans“, which will held on March 2 and 3, 2020 at the Center for Economic and Technological Development in Andrevlje.

The program of the training is intended primarily for representatives of institutions and organizations preparing documentation for applying for a Creative Europe program to support cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans, as well as for all interested cultural professionals who wish to be informed and trained for the other cooperation calls.

The topics that the seminar will cover are: The mission of the Creative Europe program and the proposals for calls for proposals to support cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans; Financial planning and project management; Scoring and evaluation; Application procedure and tips.

The goal of the training

The aim of the training is to improve the quality and preparation of projects for applying for a Creative Europe program to support cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans, to increase the program-organizational capacity of Serbian institutions and organizations, as well as to contribute to demetropolisation in the cultural field. In addition, training is organized to promote communication, cooperation and exchange of experience of representatives of cultural institutions and organizations from Serbian cities and municipalities.

Eligibility criteria

The basic criteria for the selection of seminar participants are the quality of project proposals and potential partnerships. The quality of project proposals is measured in relation to: consistency with the themes and priorities of the Creative Europe program to support cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans, innovativeness and professional soundness of the concept.

Terms of public invitation

1. The number of places is limited to 25 participants;

2. Up to two persons from one institution / organization may apply for training;

3. Antenna Culture Desk Creative Europe Serbia covers the costs of accommodation and meals, and the seminar participants provide funding for their travel expenses.

Applying

Here you can download the application form.

The application form must contain the following information (up to three pages maximum):

– Brief description of the institution / organization (mission, goals, main activities);

– Indication of the workplace of the person (description of the workplace or assignment) or persons applying to attend the seminar.

– A brief description of the project with which the institution or organization wishes to apply for a Creative Europe program to support cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans or considers that the project proposal has the potential to compete;

– List of potential partners in the project;

The completed, signed and scanned application must be submitted to kreativnaevropa@vojvodinahouse.eu

Application deadline

Applications may be submitted by February 18th, 2020 at 3 p.m. Applications that arrive after the deadline will not be taken into consideration.

Western Balkans Contest Info Days – New Cities

In order to successfully prepare for the open call for cooperation projects in the Western Balkans, Culture Desk Serbia organizes info days in Kragujevac, Knjazevac and Pirot, as follows:

• February 12th at 1pm in the premises of the University of Kragujevac

• February 18th at 1pm in the premises of the Homeland Museum of Knjaževac

• February 19th at 1pm in the premises of City Hall Pirot

The program of the info day is dedicated to presentation of the Creative Europe program mission and guidelines for the new open call for the Western Balkans cooperation projects, which will be presented by Dimitrije Tadic, Head of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia.

We invite representatives of institutions and organizations preparing the application for the Western Balkans Cooperation call for proposals, as well as all interested cultural professionals who would like to be informed about funding opportunities within Creative Europe programme.

Culture Desk Serbia, as part of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, is the national office that implements in Serbia the EU’s main program for culture, Creative Europe. One of the important goals of Creative Europe Desk Serbia is to contribute to the demetropolisation of Serbia, which is why CEDs activities take place not only outside Belgrade, but also outside major city centers.

We warmly welcome you and look forward to the info days!

Culture desk Serbia Team

Regional conference on EU-Western Balkans cultural relations in Skopje

Creative Europe Desk North Macedonia invites you to be part of the two days promotional and networking event dedicated to ,,Creative Europe – Western Balkan’s Window Call and the Regional Cultural Cooperation’’ to be held in Skopje on 5 th and 6 th of February 2020 at European House in Skopje.

The event is organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of North Macedonia (Creative Europe Desk Culture- Sub Programme) in cooperation with the European Commission (DG EAC), Delegation of European Union in Skopje, Creative Europe Desks and the cultural organizations from the respective Western Balkan’s and EU countries as follows: Republic of Albania, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia, Hellenic Republic, Kosovo* , Republic of Serbia and Republic of Slovenia.

The main focus of the event will be pointed on the new EU Western Balkans Cooperation Call, together with the no less important view on the policy context of the regional and EU cultural cooperation in the process for supporting the capacity building of the cultural and creative sectors. 

We would be grateful if you could actively participate with your professional experience during the event.

Please find here the Agenda of the event.

Training for applying to the Western Balkans cooperation call for proposals

Dear colleagues,

We would like to inform you that Culture Desk Serbia will organize a training for applying to the new Creative Europe open call for support of cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans. The training will be held in Belgrade, February 13th, at the EU Info Center (Kralja Milana St. 7).

The training is intended for representatives of the organizations who are preparing the application for the Western Balkans cooperation call, as well as to all interested cultural professionals who wish to be informed in priorities of the Creative Europe program.

We kindly ask all interested to submit their registration by February 10th by completing a short questionnaire which can be accessed here: https: //forms.gle/7MMda3HeUmRAVrSo9.

If you have a project proposal, you can send us a few days early, and we will select one project to follow as part of the training program. In this case, please fill out the form, which can be downloaded here and sent it to the following e-mail address: kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs by the expiry of the registration deadline.

We warmly welcome you and look forward to seeing you at the EU Info Center!

Culture desk Serbia Team

AGENDA

Thursday, February 13, EU Info Center, Kralja Milana St. 7

13.45 – 14.00 Registration of participants

14.00 – 15.00 The Mission Creative Europe programme and priorities of the WB call
Dimitrije Tadic, head of Desk Creative Europe Serbia
Mirjana Zarkovic, Project Manager Culture Desk Serbia

15.00 – 16.00 Project design and evaluation
Milan Djordjevic, Project Manager Culture Desk Serbia
Mirjana Zarkovic, Project Manager Culture Desk Serbia

16.00 – 16.30 Coffee break and brief consultation

16.30 – 17.30 Budgeting
Ana Cosic, MEDIA Desk Serbia Financial Coordinator

17.30 – 18.00 Discussion and questions

Two info days on the Call for Western Balkans cooperation projects

Culture Desk Serbia in cooperation with the EU Info Network is organizing two info days for a new call for proposals for the Creative Europe program, dedicated to support cultural cooperation projects in the Western Balkans, namely:

– in Niš, on Wednesday, January 29 at 1pm at the EU Info Corner (Vozdova 5);

– in Novi Sad, on Friday, January 31 at 1 pm, at the amphitheater of the Rectorate of the University of Novi Sad (Dr. Zoran Djindjic 1).

The info days are intended primarily for representatives of institutions and organizations preparing documentation for applying for the Western Balkans Competition, but also for all interested cultural professionals who wish to be informed in the priorities of the Creative Europe program.

We kindly ask all interested to submit their registrations by January 28th, by completing a short questionnaire which can be accessed here: https://forms.gle/pZAekqd9S7oaLLBW7

We warmly welcome you and expect you in Niš and Novi Sad!

Culture desk Serbia Team

Bridging culture and audiovisual content through digital

Within the specific objective to foster policy development, innovation, creativity, audience development and new business and management models through support for transnational policy cooperation, the cross-sectoral strand of the Creative Europe Programme, shall provide support to testing of new and cross-sectoral business approaches to funding, distributing and monetising creation.

In its proposal for Creative Europe post-2020 the Commission proposed establishing a Creative Innovation Lab for cross-sectoral collaboration and innovation. In this light, and drawing on the results of a recent workshop with stakeholders, pilot projects will be supported in 2020 which explore the potential for cross-sectoral collaboration in view of the Creative Innovation Lab, by supporting activities at the cross roads between different cultural and creative sectors, including audiovisual), including through the use of innovative technologies.

Support will be given to projects:

a) featuring new forms of creation at the cross roads between different cultural and creative sectors, including the audiovisual sector, and through the use of innovative technologies, including virtual reality,
or

b) fostering innovative cross sectoral approaches and tools to facilitate access, distribution, promotion and/or monetisation of culture and creativity, including cultural heritage.

The focus should be on the following aspects:

– problem solving approach and addressing challenges for the cultural and creative sectors;

– audiences and the user experience are of paramount importance in scoping the problem;

– technology is an enabler in addressing key problems, rather than an objective on its own;

– support innovation as regards the creation, distribution and promotion of creative content,

– addressing cross-sectoral collaboration as well as the use of enabling technologies is also an objective

The proposal must be submitted by a consortium composed of at least 3 legal entities coming from 3 different countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and presenting a diverse range of expertise across several cultural and creative sectors, including audiovisual.

The results of the undertaken actions should be shared with stakeholders and policy makers through the organisation of a public workshop and assessment of the impact of the action.

Guidelines, application and evaluation forms, model agreements:

GUIDELINES of the CALL for Proposals: ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/other_eu_prog/crea/wp-call/call-fiche-eacea-28-2019_en.pdf

GUIDE FOR APPLICANTS: https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/other_eu_prog/crea/guide/crea-guide-applicants_en.pdf

VISUAL APPLICATION PACKAGE: https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/other_eu_prog/crea/tpl/pt/pt-eacea-28-2019_en.pdf

MODEL GRANT AGREEMENT: https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/other_eu_prog/eplus/mga/eplus_mga_en.pdf

Deadline: May,14th 2020 17:00 (Brussels Time)

Please find more information here: https://bit.ly/2TG38EB

Register your organization in our database

Dear colleagues,

Due to the open call for cultural cooperation projects within the Western Balkans, a large number of organizations from the region and the European Union are in search of adequate partners from Serbia.

Organizations in all fields of culture and the arts, especially those in development, that do not have significant experience in international cooperation are sought.

In order to increase the visibility of our organizations and create new opportunities for networking, on our site we have created a database of organizations interested in participating in the Creative Europe program.

We invite you to register your organization by briefly presenting your organization’s area of ​​work and major projects. We will promote the database throughout the duration of the competition in all European countries participating in the program, so you can expect proposals for cooperation through the contact you provide when registering.

If you have any questions about registering or finding a partner, please email us at kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs.

Your Creative Europe Europe Desk team

Happy New 2020!

Dear colleagues, associates and friends,

It is with great delight that we thank you for your work and a very successful 2019.

We are very proud that the number of participants in the programme in the past year increased significantly, and also a record number of organizations applied for new projects – as many as 74!

The year was also marked by new initiatives within the Creative Europe programme – one of them is the i-Portunus competition for mobility which enabled a great number of artists from Serbia to travel and realize their projects in various European countries.

In the following period what awaits us are new possibilities and opportunities for European cooperation – competition for cooperation projects within the Western Balkans, competition for literary translations and the competition for music coproductions, and we are waiting for you on 3^rd January to work together.

We wish you to enjoy your deserved vacation and that we continue forward with the same energy – Happy New 2020!

Team of Culture Desk Serbia

Creative Europe Desk Serbia

Music Moves Europe: coproduction in the field of music

The competition is concerned with support of artistic creativity in the field of music, primarily to projects implying the process of cooperation of individuals in creation of verses and songs with the aim of commercialisation and generating revenue.

The intention is to work on enhancing international cooperation between artists, song writers and producers from different countries participating in the Creative Europe programme for the sake of joint work in music pieces intertwining their talents, skills and empowering the creative potential of the entire team.

The competition is a part of the wider initiative of the Creative Europe programme – Music Moves Europe, within which residential programmes, song writer camps and other artistic programmes are recognised as a good opportunity to display European cultural diversity through music, because they contribute to the development of new artistic practices, innovative approaches to creation and research in the field of music.

The general aim of this call is to identify and support at least 10 innovative and sustainable pilot programmes of coproduction for songwriters and musicians clearly depicting European values, in order to make the development of the European music repertoire easier.

A specific aim of this competition is related to the organisation of the European camp which will gather cultural professionals and creative individuals to improve the skills of participants in song writing. The camp should offer the opportunities to learn from experienced professionals, improve creative writing skills, enable cooperation with other participants of the camp, aid the building of network of song writers among the participants, promote networking with successful professionals from the music industry and help participants successfully obtain experience of the creative process and business knowledge in this field. Project proposals should paint a clear vision of how the produced works of music will be presented and reach the audience.

Also, in order to help artists successfully step into the music market, project proposals should encompass at least two out of several complementary aims listed in the competition announcement.

Maximum grant per project can amount to 50,000 Euros, which represents no more than 85% of the total value of the project. Project proposals can be submitted by institutions and organisations individually or in a partnership consisting of at least two legal persons.

More on the details of the competition (specific aims, proposed activities, propositions in relation to partnerships and other) can be found on the website of the European Commission in the application guide.

Competition ”Strengthening cultural cooperation and competitiveness of cultural and creative industries of the Western Balkans”

The competition “Strengthening Cultural Cooperation and Competitiveness of Cultural and Creative Industries of the Western Balkans” was opened on 17th December 2019 and it lasts until 31st March 2020.

The general aim of the competition is to offer encouragement to reconciliation and building of neighbourly relationships in the Western Balkans through cultural cooperation

Specific aims of the competition are:

● Strengthening cross-border cooperation within the Western Balkans region and member states of the EU;

● Strengthening competitiveness of cultural and creative industries in the region.

Therefore, the following priorities have been defined for the selection of projects:

1. Strengthening capacities of cultural and creative industries to be active on the transnational and international levels;

2. Increasing transnational circulation of art works and mobility of actors in culture and art;

3. Improving intercultural dialogue between artists, cultural professionals and the wider public.

Since the competition is financed from the EU programme IPA II, project participants can only be EU member states and the Western Balkans countries. Only legal persons can apply and the projects must be partnerships. Project partnership must be comprised of at least five partners (project leader + four partners), with at least two partners from two different countries of the Western Balkans and at least two partners from two different EU member states.

The minimum amount of grants per project will be 100 000 €, and maximum 500,000 €. The requested amount of the grant can represent up to 85% of total expenses of the project. The remaining amount (15%) will be secured by the submitter of the project proposal.

Minimum duration of the project is 24 months and maximum is 48 months. Project activities must commence between 1st January and 31st March 2021.

One should bear in mind that this competition call will not accept applications already submitted for the previous competition call for European cooperation projects.
Manual for applicants, all required conditions and documentation can be accessed here.

Creative Europe Desk Serbia and the Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia are at your disposal for help when applying. Contact us to schedule a meeting and we can together consider possibilities to apply.

We also invite you to follow announcements on our website about the events we will organise in the future, with the aim of ensuring the best possible preparedness of domestic institutions and organisations to apply.

Reporting in European projects – what should you know?

A mandatory activity in every successful European project and within the Creative Europe programme is creating and submitting a financial and a narrative report about project realisation.

This task is more complex when it comes to partner projects, and due to the increasing number of European projects realised by institutions and organisations from Serbia, we want to help in answering all legal and other questions.

We invite all interested parties, and especially organisations currently realising projects within the subprogrammes Culture and MEDIA of Creative Europe, to come and share their experiences and get answers to all questions they are encountering in preparing reports

The training will be delivered by Ana Ćosić, economist and coordinator of financial affairs of the MEDIA Desk Serbia, who possesses significant experience in this field. The event will be realised on Friday, 20th December at 2 p.m. in the premises of and in cooperation with the EU Info Centre (7 Kralja Milana St).

In order to participate it is necessary to apply first, and you can apply by Tuesday 17th December: https://forms.gle/XB6GVZ63rTRtCRPW6

See you in the EU Info Centre!

Series “Smart – Exciting – Creative Cities”

UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management of the University of Arts in Belgrade in cooperation with the Kolarac Foundation, OEBS Mission to Serbia and Creative Europe Desk Serbia is organising the third staged discussion entitled “Creative Cities: European Perspective”.

The topic of the third staged discussion are experiences of leading organisations from Serbia dealing with public spaces and creativity on the European level: Belgrade International Architecture Week (BINA), Nova Iskra and Novo kulturno naselje.

Their international experiences in working on projects dealing with creative cities will be presented and they are supported through the main EU programme for culture, Creative Europe, and the discussion is intended for cultural professionals wanting to deal with developing similar initiatives. The BINA project is dealing with creating the “shared” within public city spaces in Europe; Nova Iskra is working on developing cuisine as the new branch of local creative economies, and Novo kulturno naselje is working on internationalization of cities through cooperation with artists. Promotion and creation of a new European identity is the shared topic of all projects, and there will also be discussion with regards to the questions below:

– In what way do European cultural organisations really help people live in their cities?

– Which approaches are supported by the European Union?

– Which are specific experiences and learned lessions from Serbia?

– How is shared space defined in Europe? How is this space created?

– What is the relationship between the economic, social and cultural development of cities and communities living in them?

– What are problems and successful strategies and practices in working with local communities?

Participants of the discussion

Jelena Ivanović Vojvodić, Belgrade International Architecture Week, Belgrade

Shared cities

Relja Bobić, Nova Iskra, Belgrade

Food is Culture

Marko Jozić, Novo kulturno naselje, Novi Sad

Magic carpets

Moderator: Nina Mihaljinac, lecturer at the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management in Culture

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet and speak with the leading experts and practitioners dealing with public spaces, creativity and managing international projects!

See you at Kolarac!

Results of the Competition for Literary Translations 2019

The results of the competition for literary translations 2019 have been published today. Publishing houses from Serbia are again at the top of the list of winners ̶ in the category of two-year projects five publishing houses have been supported.

These are the Publishing House IPC Media with the project Unifying Strength of Diversity: European Literature Through Time, Genres and Languages, Publishing House Urban Reads with the project Different is Okay – The Best of Urban Europe, Publishing House Zavet with the project 8 Books to Remind You that All Borders Are Fictional, Publishing House Odiseja with the project Perfect Reads for Generation Z and Publishing House Prometej with the project Literary Carousel – a Genre Ride.

Congratulations to everyone for their success, and we are very glad that there are new publishers among those who have received support of the Creative Europe programme. This year we received a record number of competition applications from Serbia, as many as 20 project proposals, which is double in comparison to other countries.

Apart from Serbia, among the most successful are also Slovenia with 6 supported projects, as well as Poland and North Macedonia with 4 supported projects each. The statistics of the total results of the competition shows that the majority of projects are translations of novels (42%), followed by children’s fiction (24%), short stories (11%), comic books (9%), poetry (7%) and drama (6%).

The total amount of awarded funds to publishing houses from Serbia is 251,275 €. More information about the results of the competition can be accessed on the website of the European Commission.

Info Days about EU programmes – new cities

The project “Support to participation in EU programmes”, funded by the European Union, in cooperation with the Development Agency of Serbia and the Regional Development Agency Southern Banat, is organising Info days about EU programmes (Creative Europe, HORIZON 2020, Europe for Citizens, EaSI, REC, Third Health Programme, COSME, EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Erasmus+, Customs 2020, Fiscalis 2020).

A team of experts with experience in applying and implementing projects funded by EU programmes will hold presentations about applying opportunities and ways to find adequate partners, and also suitability to apply with a specific project for a targeted programme. Presenters will also share useful links, and also source of information for each programme.

Info day is intended for representatives of companies, regional development agencies, business associations and organisations, local self-governments, faculties, scientific institutions, non-governmental organisations and everyone else interested in applying to participate in some EU programme.

Apart from the earlier announced events in Subotica, Pančevo and Požarevac, info days will take place in this order:

● Belgrade, 22nd November 2019 at 10 a.m., in the amphitheatre of the Academy of Hotel Management, the College of Hotel Management, 70 Knez Višeslava St;

● Belgrade, 26th November 2019 at 10 a.m., in the premises of the Commece Chamber of Serbia, 23 Terazije St, hall 1, 8th floor;

● Leskovac, 27th November 2019 at 11 a.m., in the premises of the College of Business Studies, 8 Vlade Jovanovića St;

● Vranje, 28th November 2019 at 11 a.m., the great hall of the City Parliament, 1 Kralja Milana St;

● Novi Sad, 2nd December 2019 at 10 a.m., in the premises of the American Corner, 2b Kej žrtava racije St;

● Niš, 3rd December 2019 at 11 a.m. in the premises of the Startup Centre at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering, 14 Aleksandra Medvedeva St.

In the beginning of December, events in Zaječar and Kragujevac are also planned, and soon more information about them will be available.

Applications are to be delivered to the address a.sljivic@idi.ie, and all additional information can be obtained from Aleksandra Šljivić on 011/334 21 15 and 061/605 95 54 or by contacting her on the mentioned email address.

Info Day about EU programmes in Požarevac

The project “Support to participation in EU programmes”, funded by the European Union, in cooperation with the Development Agency of Serbia and the Regional Development Agency Southern Banat, is organising an Info day about EU programmes (HORIZON 2020, Creative Europe, Europe for Citizens, EaSI, REC, Third Health Programme, COSME, EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Erasmus+, Customs 2020, Fiscalis 2020).

A team of experts with experience in applying and implementing projects funded by EU programmes will hold presentations about applying opportunities and ways to find adequate partners, and also suitability to apply with a specific project for a targeted programme. Presenters will also share useful links, and also source of information for each programme.

Info day is intended for representatives of companies, regional development agencies, business associations and organisations, local self-governments, faculties, scientific institutions, non-governmental organisations and everyone else interested in applying to participate in some EU programme.

The Info day will take place on Monday, 18th November 2019 at 10 a.m., in the Parliament hall of the City Government of Požarevac, 2 Drinska St.

Deadline for applications is 15th November 2019 by sending an email to a.sljivic@idi.ie, and for all additional information you can contact Aleksandra Šljivić on 011/334 21 15 and 061/605 95 54 or the mentioned email address.

Info Day about EU programmes in Pančevo

The project “Support to participation in EU programmes”, funded by the European Union, in cooperation with the Development Agency of Serbia and the Regional Development Agency Southern Banat is organising an Info Day about EU programmes (HORIZON 2020, Creative Europe, Europe for Citizens, EaSI, REC, Third Health Programme, COSME, EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Erasmus+, Customs 2020, Fiscalis 2020).

A team of experts with experience in applying and implementing projects funded by EU programmes will hold presentations about applying opportunities and ways to find adequate partners, and also suitability to apply with a specific project for a targeted programme. Presenters will also share useful links, and also source of information for each programme.

Info day is intended for representatives of companies, regional development agencies, business associations and organisations, local self-governments, faculties, scientific institutions, non-governmental organisations and everyone else interested in applying to participate in some EU programme.

The Info day will take place on Friday, 12th November 2019 at 10 a.m., in the premises of the Regional Chamber of Commerce of the South Banat county at 1a Zmaj Jovina St in Pančevo.

If you are interested in attending the Info day about EU programmes, please apply by Friday, 8th November 2019, by sending an email to a.sljivic@idi.ie. For all additional information, contact person is Aleksandra Šljivić, who can be reached at 011/334 21 08 and 061/605 95 54 or via the mentioned email address.
The programme of the Info day can be downloaded here.

Info day about EU programmes in Subotica

The project “Support to participation in EU programmes”, funded by the European Union, in cooperation with the Development Agency of Serbia and the Regional Development Agency “PANONREG” from Subotica, is organising an Info day about EU programmes (HORIZON 2020, Creative Europe, Europe for Citizens, EaSI, REC, Third Health Programme, COSME, EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Erasmus+, Customs 2020, Fiscalis 2020).

A team of experts with experience in applying and implementing projects funded by EU programmes will hold presentations about applying opportunities and ways to find adequate partners, and also suitability to apply with a specific project for a targeted programme. Presenters will also share useful links, and also source of information for each programme.

Info day is intended for representatives of companies, regional development agencies, business associations and organisations, local self-governments, faculties, scientific institutions, non-governmental organisations and everyone else interested in applying to participate in some EU programme.

The Info day will take place on Wednesday, 13th November 2019 at 10 a.m., in the premises of the Open University Subotica in room 211 at 15 Trg cara Jovana Nenada St.

If you are interested in attending the Info day about EU programmes, it is required that you register by Friday, 8th November 2019, at the email a.sljivic@idi.ie. For all additional information, the contact person is Aleksandra Šljivić, who can be contacted on 011/334 21 08 and 061/605 95 54 or via the mentioned email.

The programme of the Info day can be downloaded here.

Prepare to Apply with our Help

The new call for European cooperation projects was opened this month, and there is four weeks left to prepare projects. Also, two competitions of the initiative Music Moves Europe have been opened – call for cooperation of small music spaces and call for promotion of music diversity and talent.

Teams of Culture Desk Serbia in Belgrade and the Antenna offices in Novi Sad can help you in clarifying the competition procedure, designing project ideas and finding partners. Apply for one the free events we will organise in the following period where we will prepare to apply.

In Novi Sad, Senta, Sombor and Subotica we will organise info days about the programme where you can hear more about the priorities of the competition, deadlines to apply and success stories experiences.

Within the Creative Europe Forum 2019 in Belgrade we will organise special preparatory programmes:

• Project writing workshop with Milena Dragićević Šešić (Kolarac, 7th November at 10 a.m.);

• Partner find session where desks of Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, United Kingdom, Georgia, Luxembourg, Romania, Tunisia, Ukraine, France and Montenegro will present calls for partnerships and opportunities to cooperate with their countries of origin (Kolarac, Small Hall, 7th November at 2.30 p.m.);

• Public consultations about project ideas (Library at Kolarac, 7th November at 4.30 p.m.);

• Presentation of the competition for Western Balkans (Kolarac, Small Hall, 7th November at 10.30 a.m.);

• Discussion about opportunities to establish European and Regional cooperation (Kolarac, Small Hall, 7th November at 11.15 a.m.);

• Presentation of national, regional and EU sources for co-funding of international projects (EU Info Centre, 7th November at 5 p.m.).

In order to participate in the Forum it is required to apply. We invite you to take a look at the programme and also participate in other programmes within the Forum.

If you have questions or you need help, you can contact us via email, Facebook, Instagram, Skype or Twitter.

Info Days in Vojvodina

This year’s competition for projects of European cooperation is currently open, and there is a little more than a month left to prepare the competition application. Throughout the year the Desk and the Antenna Creative Europe Serbia are helping all institutions and organisations planning to apply, so we are inviting you to use all opportunities for help offered in order to prepare you projects as good as possible. 
 


Projects of European cooperation are an opportunity to acquire additional funds for the realisation of your ideas, to connect with key actors on the international scene and to build credibility of your organisation on the international plan. The competition supports projects of institutions and organisations active in the field of culture, and it assumes cooperation of at least two partner organisations from Europe with a focus on audience development, improving mobility or strengthening capacity for work. So far, several dozens of projects of European cooperation have been supported with over one hundred institutions and organisations from Serbia participating.
 


With the aim of good informing of all interested cultural professionals, the Antenna of the Culture Desk Creative Europe Serbia is organising three info days about the competition Projects of European Cooperation 2020 within the Creative Europe programme, which will take place in the following cities: 
 


29.10.2019 starting at 12 p.m. – CC “Laza Кostić”, Sombor

30.10.2019 starting at 12 p.m. – Institute for Culture of Vojvodina Hungarians, Senta

04.11.2019 starting at 12 p.m. – Gallery of Matica Srpska, Novi Sad 
 


The programme of the info days will include discussions about priorities and aims of the Creative Europe programme with a special reflection on the currently open call for projects of European cooperation, competition procedure, designing the project idea and concept, and also specific experiences and advice.
 


The call is for all institutions and organisations from Serbia planning to apply for the Creative Europe programme, regardless of whether they already participated in European cooperation projects or they are just planning their international activities within this one or the next competition calls.

The agenda can be downloaded here.

Call for Volunteers at the Creative Europe Forum 2019

After Niš and Novi Sad, Creative Europe Desk Serbia is organising the 5th Creative Europe Forum in Belgrade, and the topic of this year’s event is: In what way can projects and models of organisation in culture encourage cooperation, fighting hate, stereotypes and different forms of social inequality. With the idea of the necessity of strengthening cooperation and networking, the Forum implies horizontal ways of learning, exchange, inclusion and connecting of domestic and foreign professionals in the domain of culture.

Creative Europe Forum 2019 is an international conference taking place on 7th and 8th of November in the Foundation of Ilija M. Kolarac, EU Info Centre, Nordeus Centre and Club DIM, a with the aim of more successful realisation of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia wanting to expand their team.

We invite young people, students of the faculties of art and social sciences who like to talk and speak English, participate or follow events in culture and art, and who are especially interested in international cooperation and meeting relevant cultural professionals, to send their short biography and statement of motivation to participate in the Creative Europe Forum 2019 to the email address kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs at latest by Wednesday 30th October at noon.

The programme of the Forum is organised in three blocks: Critical thinking and media literacy, Participatory management in culture, Horizontal knowledge, and in the application you can note which topic is of interest to you. The selected candidates will have an opportunity to get included into the tasks of: 1) promoting events (distributing promotional material and sending invitations, social media management, help with spatial branding and other), 2) organization of the Forum (technical and other support in relation to the programme of events), 3) communication with participants and giving information about the event programme (greeting guests and participants, information about special parts of the programme and other).

Participation in the Forum can bring you:

– professional experience in organisation of international events;

– spending time and the possibility of meeting cultural professionals from Serbia and Europe (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Georgia, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Ukraine, Montenegro);

– certificate of volunteer internship at the Creative Europe Desk Serbia.

Candidates selected based on applications will be invited for an interview on 1st November at noon in the premises of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia. For more information you can write to us at the listed email address, and if you wish to get familiar with our work, follow us on Instagram (@kreativnaevropa), Facebook (@kulturadesksrbija) or Twitter (@CEDSerbia).

Creative Europe Desk Serbia is the implementing body of the main programme of the EU for Culture Creative Europe which is comprised of two offices – Culture Desk Serbia, established within the Ministry of Culture and Information and MEDIA Desk Serbia, established within the Film Centre of Serbia. More info: kreativnaevropa.rs.

Public Call to Submit European Cooperation Projects 2020

The public call to submit projects within the competition European Cooperation Projects of the Creative Europe Programme is open. Within this call you can apply in two categories:

– European cooperation projects of smaller scale (category 1): minimum 3 partner organisations (one from the EU), up to 200.000€, which represents 60% of allowed expenses;

– European cooperation projects of larger scale (category 2): minimum 6 partner organisations (one from the EU), up to 2.000.000€, which represents 50% of allowed expenses;

In relation to past calls, an important novelty is that the minimum of partners per category must be comprised of legal entities active in the sector of culture. Moreover, soon a new competition for the Western Balkans will be published, so one should bear in mind a single project cannot be submitted for both competition calls.

In designing projects, project ideas should be aimed at one of the three goals of the competition:

– Strengthening capacities of European cultural and creative sectors to be active on the transnational and international levels, and also to promote transnational circulation of art works;

Transnational mobility of cultural professionals, and especially artists;

– Contribution to audience development through design of new and innovative ways of working with the audience, and also improving the availability of cultural programmes and content, with a special focus on children, youth, people with disabilities and marginalised groups of audience;

– Contribution to innovation and creativity in the field of culture through testing new business models and promotion of new influences on other sectors.
In order to achieve the listed goals, the competition defines the following priorities:

– Promoting transnational mobility of artists and professionals with the aim of establishing cooperation on the international level and internationalising their work;

– Work on audience development as means to improve access to European cultural and art works, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and also creating possibilities for better access to art works for children, youth, persons with disabilities and representatives of marginalised and socially sensitive groups;

– Support to building capacities of institutions, organisations and individuals through innovative approaches to creation, development and testing innovative models of generating revenue, management and marketing in the cultural sector, and especially in terms of using digital technologies and developing skills of professionals in the field of culture to utilise digital tools;

– Improving intercultural dialogue, promoting common values of the European cultural space and mutual understanding; respect for other cultures, thus contributing to social integration of migrants and refugees;

– As legacy of marking the European year of cultural heritage in 2018, one of the priorities remains raising awareness of shared history and values, and also strengthening the sense of belonging to common European space.

The competition is open until 27th November 2019 at noon, Brussels time.

Manual for applicants, all requirements and documents can be found here.

More information about the call can be accessed on the website of the European Commission.

If you have a prepared project idea, and you are looking for partners, we advise you to consider options we offer in the partner search section on our website. If you need help, please contact us. The list of countries participating in the programme can be found here.

Creative Europe Desk Serbia and the Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia are at your disposal for help when applying. Contact us to schedule a meeting and together consider the possibilities to apply. We also invite you to follow announcement on our website about events we will organise in the following period, with the aim to allow as good as possible preparation of domestic institutions and organisations when applying. There are several more days left to apply to participate in the project writing seminar we are organising in Andrevlje near Novi Sad.

Results of the Call for Workshop Proposals

Dear colleagues and associates,

Firstly, we want to thank you for your interest and the very interesting workshop topics for cultural professionals that you proposed to realise jointly within the Creative Europe Forum 2019. We are glad the call was inspirational for you, which is attested to by the big number of received proposals from various fields (cultural heritage, cultural tourism, contemporary art, digitalisation, audience development).

The choice was not simple, and when making the selection priority was given to applications in which the working methodology was clearly explained and the topics of which were more suitable to the planned programme of this year’s Forum.

The selected teams which will lead the workshops are:

– Workshop “Digital tools in education and hetiage”, Rade Milić, Aleksandra Nikolić and Jovana Mijatović, Civil Association “Centre for Urban Development”, Belgrade,

– Workshop “The World of Art from a Personal Perspective”, Stevan Vuković, curator, Tijana Savatić, poet and Šejma Fere, visual artist

– Workshop “How to Create Your Own Live Set”, Nemanja Stojanović and Jelena Stanković, Civil Association “Šablon” Subotica

– Workshop “Literary Publishing”, Aleksandar Šurbatović and Tijana Petković, ”BLUM” Publishing, Belgrade

Teams and workshop ideas which were not selected this time will be taken into consideration for future events of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, which we will organise throughout the year.

Soon, calls to apply for workshops within the educational part of the programme of Creative Europe Forum 2019 will be published, so we invite everyone interested to follow announcements on our website and social media accounts!

Desk at the Indirekt Festival in Belgrade

During the Indirekt Festival in Belgrade, Dimitrije Tadić, Head of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia will present current opportunities to acquire funding for projects in the field of music that can be applied for by production houses, music spaces and artists.

Apart from this, we will speak about the mission and priorities of the programme, and also specific advice that can help all interested organisations more easily access support of the Creative Europe programme.

Indirekt is an independent music and art festival with two home cities – Umag (Croatia) in June and Belgrade (Serbia) in October. This year Indirekt Showcase Beograd is happening for the fourth time in Belgrade, in four venues with 22 impressive performers and numerous brilliant lecturers and discussion participants from Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Italy, Austria and Hungary.

The session is dedicated to the Creative Europe programme and is taking place in Beogradski market (19 Žorža Klemansoa St), on 4th October at 4.45 p.m.

Desk at the OPENS FundCon 2019 in Novi Sad

OPENS FundCon is a fundraising congress taking place in Novi Sad from 20th to 22nd September. The congress organised by the European Youth Capital 2019 will gather socially responsible companies, foundations, embassies, representatives of EU funds and civil society organisations.

The agenda of the congress is designed to include the needs of the civil sector, encourage discussion and offer different points of view of the topic of sustainability. The first day of the Congress is dedicated to marketing strategies, the second day of the Congress is reserved for fundraising, and the third day is dedicated to human resources. The programme is comprised of workshops, masterclasses, sessions, panel and a resource café.

The event is primarily intended for representatives of civil society organisations from Serbia, youth offices, but also representatives of companies wanting to start socially responsible business practices, representatives of institutions and individuals dealing with project management, meaning that several people from one organisation can apply.
The participants will have an opportunity to gather knowledge, ideas and contacts, and also to hear more about different support programmes.

Representatives of the Culture Desk Serbia will present current competitions and future competitions within the Creative Europe programme. We invite representatives of cultural institutions and organisations to apply to participate in the workshop within which we will discuss project ideas for competitions of the Creative Europe programme.

You can find a detailed plan, programme, schedule and how to register on this link: https://fundcon.opens2019.rs/

Trainings for Financial Management of European Projects in Culture

With the aim of achieving as good results as possible in competitions which will be opened in the following period, Creative Europe Desk Serbia in cooperation with the EU Info Centre in Belgrade is organising two trainings for financial management of international projects in culture on 8th and 9th October in Belgrade.

The reason to organise trainings is the need to demystify procedures of realising European projects in culture, because the ways of administering the legal framework and financial rules of international projects differ in relation to national projects which are familiar to the majority of domestic cultural professionals.

In the years long work in cultural institutions and organisations, we recognise the need for better understanding and cooperation between carriers of programme activities of the project from the one side, and financial managers from the other side, in creating and realising budgets of European projects, managing administration and compiling financial reports.

The programme of the training will be based on conditions of applying to the calls of the Creative Europe programme, and since the nature of administration and working in the public and civil sectors is in a certain sense different, the training will be split into two segments organised in two days:

– On Tuesday, 8th October at 2 p.m., a training intended for employees of public cultural institutions will take place – primarily, employees in financial departments of museums, theatres, galleries, cultural centre, institutes, universities and other, wishing to expand their knowledge and share their experiences in terms of financial management of European projects in culture;

– On Wednesday, 9th October at 2 p.m., a training intended for professionals in culture working in the civil sector will take place, more precisely intended for representatives of civil associations, foundations and endowments wishing to acquire or expand knowledge about financial planning and realisation of European projects. Also, freelance managers in culture interested in designing budgets of international projects are invited.

In order to apply to participate, it is necessary to send an application at latest by 30th September containing:

– First and last name of the person applying;
– Name of the institution /organisation in culture they represent;
– Whether they have experience in realising EU projects in culture;

Applications should be sent to the email kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs, with the indication of which workshop you are applying for. We emphasise priority will be given to representatives of institutions and organisations which so far have no experience in realising European cultural projects, and also that only up to two representatives can apply per institution/organisation.

Trainings will be led by Kostić, expert associate for administering international projects at the Centre for the Promotion of Science. Marina Kostić acquired experience in terms of planning, monitoring and reporting on finances in European cultural projects, and she is currently engaged in 12 international projects of CPS withing different EU programmes: Creative Europe, Horizon2020, Erazmus+, COST, FP7, LLP Comenius and others.

Project of Village Gostuša Revitalisation Winner of European Heritage Stories 2019 Recognition

After the Grand Prize of Europa Nostra in 2016, the project of village Gostuša revitalisation has been awarded again, this time as one of the 10 projects which received the award of European Heritage Stories.

The initiative European Heritage Stories was started last year withing the marking of European Year of Cultural Heritage. The idea is that apart from European visibility of local cultural heritage, financial support should also be awarded.

Gostuša is a village near Pirot which is prominent due to its architecture, because in building the houses no binding material was used, as instead houses were composed by laying of stone and wood only. The focus of the project is on revival and development of communities and environments preserving natural and cultural heritage.

The study of protection of village Gostuša near Pirot received in 2016 an award by the European Commission and the pan-European network of civil society organisations in the field of heritage “Europa Nostra”.

More on the entire initiative and other winners this year can be found here.

Annual Work Plan of Creative Europe Programme for 2020

European Commission published the Annual Work Plan for 2020 where all important information can be found about the Creative Europe programme in the next year: planned competition calls, intersectoral cooperation and support priorities.

With this plan, the aim of the European Commission is to open a window for the implementation of the new Creative Europe programme 2020-2027 which will rely on the experience of the current cycle and its priorities.

After preparing guidelines for the next programme, one of the most important tasks in 2020 will be preparing competition calls which will be open in the fourth trimester of 2020.

Regards the sub-programme Culture, the most significant part of the budget in the following year will be support though calls for projects of European cooperation. Projects of literary translation, networks and platforms and special actions (EU prizes), European Capitals of Culture, European Heritage Label, cooperation with international organisations, support to music and cultural heritage will also be supported.

Apart from the listed actions, in accordance with priorities of the new Agenda for Culture and preparations of the programme that will continue on the current one, two new actions are also planned: “Circulation of European performing art” and “Sector support to the field of theatre”.

More information can be found in the annual work plan of the Creative Europe programme for 2020, which can be downloaded here.

Third i-Portunus Mobility Contest

The third i-Portunus call for mobility of artists and cultural professionals working in the field of visual and performing arts is open.

The pilot scheme i-Portunus is the first initiative by the European Commission in organising mobility for artists and culture professionals. The results of all projects will be taken into account by the European Commission in developing a permanent action under the Creative Europe Programme 2021-2017 dedicated to supporting the mobility of artists and cultural professionals. This is the third and the last call within i-Portunus scheme this year.

The conditions for applying are simple, and the applications can be submitted by private entity.

The main objective of the mobility application must be one of the following:

• International collaborations: For example, you are working on a cultural production, such as an exhibition, a performance, a theatre piece, with an international partner.

• Production-oriented residencies: For example, the result of your mobility will be a public presentation of a newly created body of work – an exhibition, a performance, a publication, etc.

• Professional development: For example, you will take part in auditions, network meetings, showcases, workshops, master classes, and other types of training outside of formal education.

More information on the required documentation is available on the I-Portunus website. The deadline for applications is September 5th at 2 pm.

Please note that i-Portunus grants allows you to travel to all countries participating in the Creative Europe program. Please find here the full list of Creative Europe participating countries.

If you are looking for residency programs and similar opportunities to develop artistic, curatorial or research projects and collaborations, we encourage you to look for calls on existing platforms such as: On The Move, ResArtis, TransArtist, Touring Artists, North Africa Cultural Mobility Map, Call for Curators, Fully Funded Residencies, Rivet.es, World Art Foundations, Residences and Workspaces Guide, Berlin Sessions, Panic.

Creative Europe Desk Serbia as well as other CEDs in all European countries can help you prepare your application and find a partner organization where you can implement your project. We can arrange a meeting in our or your office, or we can meet up at some of our upcoming events.

Music Moves Europe – Cooperation of Small Music Venues

Preparatory Action Music Moves Europe: Boosting European Music Diversity and Talent

The Preparatory action “Music Moves Europe: Boosting European music diversity and talent” aims at paving the way towards the “sectorial support for music” as a new element for the next Creative Europe Programme post-2020. The present call for proposals aims at promoting a sustainable live music distribution through cooperation between small- and medium sized music venues in order to stimulate innovative collaboration models and to enhance venues’ role and identity in the local community. The general objective of this call is to increase the music venues’ capacity to remain competitive in a fast changing market and regulatory environment.

Deadline: 15 November 2019 at 13:00 Brussels time

For admissibility, eligibility, selection, evaluation of award criteria and submission modalities, please refer to the relevant sections in the guidelines of the call for proposals EAC/S17/2019, which could be found here.

Culture Desk Serbia at the Nišville Jazz Festival

During its 36th International Jazz Festival Nišville, taking place from 2nd to 11th August at the Niš Fortress, more than 300 musicians from over twenty countries around the world will make an appearance, alongside the first gathering of partner organisations on the JAIN project supported by the Creative Europe programme.

On Friday, 9th August at 4 p.m. in the building of the Symphony Orchestra in Niš a staged discussion “Jazz and Interculturalism” will take place. The speakers in the discussion will include Dimitrije Tadić, Head of the Desk Creative Europe Serbia, who will speak about the support of the Creative Europe programme to the development of intercultural dialogue in Europe and the importance of European cooperation.

The project Jazz And Interculturalism (JAIN) has the aim of establishing a creative and open artistic exchange by connecting young jazz performers of different cultural, social, economic and geographic origin, in order to nurture intercultural dialogue, international cooperation and transnational mobility. The project connects Serbia (Nišville Foundation), Albania (Cultural Association Syri Blu) and Italy (Jana Project) in identifying their differences and similarities though learning and sharing, exchanging ideas and communication, mutual understanding and opening through mobility, workshops, residences, joint performances, meeting new people and discovering “new worlds”.

Since the 1st festival in 1995, Nišville has been promoting intercultural dialogue as an inevitable characteristic of contemporary jazz music. The concept of the festival is based on presenting “traditional” jazz forms and their connecting with the global music tradition, with the focus on the music of the Balkans.

The main programme of the festival will take place on two connected stages at the Niš Fortress, and in the Fortress and the city numerous free stages will be organised: River, Open, Film, Welcome, Youth and Jam Session Stage. Throughout the festival days more than one hundred thousand visitors will follow music performances, films and theatre, art exhibitions and book promotions.

Participate in our Next Events Throughout Serbia

Culture Desk Serbia and the Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia re organising free seminars, workshops and info days all year long throughout Serbia, and we are also present in conferences, festivals and other important events. In order to be informed in a timely manner and in order to successfully prepare for current competitions and the ones that will be opened during the year, we want to divert your attention to some of our future activities.

Next week, after the seminar in Tršić we are organising from 5th to 8th August, we are coming to Niš, where within the Nišville Jazz Festival, together with representatives of the cultural sector from Niša we will participate in the staged discussion Jazz and interculturalism. At the same time, this will also be an opportunity to hear more about the new competition within the initative Music Moves Europe, supporting European music diversity and development of young musicians’ careers.

During the last week of August, after the opening of the third i-Portunus competition for mobility of individuals, on 26th August in Belgrade Eva Blaute will speak about applying conditions and how to best construct an application. Apply to participate and use the possibility to establish the contact.

In October we have another seminar for project writing we are organising in Andrevlje, and also Info Days of the Antenna of the Desk in Ruma (September), Vrbas (October) and Novi Sad.
After Niš and Novi Sad, Creative Europe Forum 2019 will be organised in Belgrade on 7th and 8th of November. The conference programme will be announced soon, and until then you can apply to participate in the programme as a workshop leader with the topic you choose on your won, which can be useful for other cultural professionals.

About the remaining activities of the Desk we will notify you through the newsletter, website and social media where we are present.

If by the end of the year, within your festival, conference or seminar, you intend to gather cultural professionals who might be interested in the Creative Europe programme, please contact us and we will gladly answer your call and present the competitions of the Creative Europe programme!

Music moves Europe – Boosting European Music Diversity and Talent Call on Professionalisation and Training

This call for proposals serves the implementation of the distinct activity “Professionalisation and Training” within the context of the Preparatory action “Music Moves Europe: Boosting European music diversity and talent” in accordance with the Commission decision C(2019)1819 of 12 March 2019 adopting the 2019 annual work programme for the implementation of Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions in the area of education, youth, sport and culture .

The overall aim of this call is to identify and to support at least 10 innovative and sustainable pilot training programmes for young musicians and professionals in the music sector that have a European dimension.

The proposals should demonstrate their contribution to the general objective by covering at least two of the following specific objectives:

1. Address the professional development needs to gain individual and organisational professional expertise, e.g. business-related skills, in order to increase the capacity of the young musicians and music professionals to succeed in the music market;

2. Help young artists and other professionals in the music sector to get a better understanding of the value chain of the music industry, e.g. to get an insight into different sub-sectors, especially where potential for mutual learning or exchange of best practice would be beneficial;

3. Promote transnational exchange or transnational approaches to ensure knowledge transfer, also in terms of its relevance to European/international careers or to European cross-border music initiatives;

4. Fostering sustainable co-operations and creation of networks.

Lessons learnt from these pilot training proposals should improve the sector’s capacity and contribute to its professionalization. These findings should feed into an integrated strategy for music support for the next generation of EU funding programmes after 2020, which should foster European diversity and talent, the competitiveness of the sector as well as increased access of citizens to music in all its diversity.

Please find more info here.

List of Participant of Tršić Seminar Published

Representatives of twenty three institutions and organisations from Serbia will have an opportunity to participate in the seminar “Creative Europe Programme — Project Preparation” we are organising in cooperation with the Cultural Centre “Vuk Karadžić” in Tršić, from 5th to 8th August.

Among them there are seven public institutions: Intermunicipal Historical Archive in Šabac, National Theatre Niš, College of Vocational Studies Belgrade Polytechnic, Belgrade, Historical Archive Niš, National Museum Užice, Šabac Library, Šabac and Cultural Centre “Studentski grad”, Belgrade; and twenty civil society organisations: Publishing House “Arete”, Belgrade, Startup Centre, Niš, MASCOM EC ltd, Belgrade, Civil Association for the Protection of the Environment “Majdaneko”, Majdanpek, Civil Association “Ink Fest”, Novi Sad, Civil Association “Young Ambassadors”, Niš, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities of Serbia, Belgrade, Civil Association “ProArtOrg”, Belgrade, Civil Society “Kruna”, Belgrade, Youth Centre “CK13”, Novi Sad, Civil Association “Budi aktivan 16”, Preševo, Civil Association ”Centar 424”, Hartefakt Foundation, Association “Arslokacija”, Belgrade and two independent researchers in the field of architecture.

Here you can download the programme of the seminar i list of participants.

The open call for participation in the seminar received 41 application. Due to limited temporal and accommodation capacities we are not able to accept all applications, which is why we invite all representatives of institutions and organisations who were not among this year’s participants to follow future events of the Desk.

In October this year the Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia will organise a seminar for project writing in Andrevlje near Novi Sad and this can be a new opportunity for everyone interested. Also, you can schedule a meeting with our project team in Belgrade – Culture Desk Serbia, and Novi Sad – Antenna of the Culture Desk Serbia.

We thank everyone interested for their applications, and we wish successful work on project ideas to seminar participants, as well as establishing long-term professional connection at the seminar in Tršić!

Call for applications for cultural professionals’ workshops

In the spirit of the idea about the importance of horizontal learning, we want to dedicate the educational part of the programme of Creative Europe Forum 2019 in Belgrade (7th-8th November 2019) to raising capacities of cultural employees through direct and mutual exchange of knowledge and skills.

If as an individual or a team you possess general or specific knowledge and skills that could be beneficial for a larger number of cultural professionals, we invite you to propose a topic and a description of a workshop you would like to organise within the Creative Europe Forum. Workshops developing general knowledge and skills in culture (e.g. audience research and development, digital tools, marketing and PR, new cultural practices and concepts, new business models, methods of working with artists, financial management of projects…) or specific knowledge and skills (e.g. exhibition architecture, creating a cultural map, use of specific software, and the like) will be considered.

Application requirements are:

1) biography of the lecturer or team members, up to 200 words per person;

2) programme topic and description (workshop or some other form of training) up to 300 words;

3) list of projects within which you developed this specific knowledge;

4) expected profile and number of participants (this number should not exceed 30);

5) list of skills attendees will acquire;

7) approximate list of technical equipment needed to realise the programme.

The plan is the workshop consists of an introductory part lasting for an hour which will be used to familiarise workshop participants with the topic, with two working blocks each lasting two hours, between which there will be organised lunch (the first work block: workshop work on a task or tasks and the second work block: presentation and discussion about the completed task or tasks). Organisational specificities would be agreed on with each workshop leader (duration, application conditions, prior preparation of participants, etc.).

Remuneration for a lecturer or a group of lecturers is planned.

Applications should be delivered by September 15th by sending an email to kreativnaevropa@kultura.gov.rs.

Priority will be given to individuals or teams who already participated in projects supported by European funds and organisations.

Information about the selected proposals will be published by September 25th on the website of Creative Europe Desk Serbia.

Results of the Second i-Portunus Call

In June 2019, i-Portunus initiated the second call for applications for short-term mobilities in the field of performing and visual arts. Through group and individual applications, 710 applications were received, encompassing 1.141 individuals. Each of the applications was evaluated by two independent evaluators, specialised for the relevant art field.

Support was awarded to six individuals from Serbia: Jovan Ćurčić (visual arts) traveling to Croatia, Igor Koruga (performing arts) traveling to the Netherlands, Iva Brdar, Ksenija Đurović and Ana Vuković (performing arts) traveling to France and Mirjana Dragosavljević (performing arts) traveling to Portugal.

With the support of the same fund, non-residential stay in Serbia was granted to Rita Góbi (performing arts) from Hungary, Mateja Smic (visual arts) from Ireland, Zulfikar Filandra (visual arts) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Seda Yıldız (visual arts) from Germany, Neza Knez (visual arts), Danilo Milovanovic (visual arts), Tone Poljanec (visual arts) and Luka Erdani (visual arts) from Slovenia!

Statistics of the last call and the complete list of supported artists and cultural professionals can be found on the official website of the i-Portunus competition.

Presentation of the i-Portunus in Serbia

Creative Creative Europe Serbia and the EU Info Center in Belgrade are organizing the presentation of the i-Portunus open call in Belgrade. The event will be held at the EU Info Center (Kralja Milana 7) on August 26 at 5 pm. Eva Blaute, a representative of the Gete Institute in Brussels and the i-Portunus team, will present a competition for mobility and answer questions related to the applications.

The i-Portunus call is a special initiative of the European Commission piloted by a team of European organizations led by the Geta Institute in Brussels, in order to test the model of supporting mobility projects for artists and cultural professionals across Europe. This is the first competition within the Creative Europe program where individuals (private entities) who work in the field of visual and performing arts can apply.

In addition to the presentation of the competition and the results so far, Eva Blaute will answer questions from the participants who are preparing for the competition in the third open call. Therefore, we invite all artists and professionals in the field of visual and performing arts to use the opportunity to get information about the competition, as well as representatives of residency programs and art colonies that can be the destination of many foreign artists who will be supported by this competition.

The next call for projects is scheduled for August 14th, with a deadline for applications by 5th September. More information about the competition can be found on the official website of the i-Portunus initiative.

Mobility scheme for artists and/or cultural professionals

Artistic and cultural mobility has increasing received policy attention both at European Union and national levels. Mobility has always been a policy priority under the European Agenda for Culture and a crucial component of the Creative Europe programme. More recently, Culture ministers have explicitly called upon the European Commission to investigate the possibility of setting up a specific mobility action for artists and culture professionals.

Some opportunities for the international mobility of artists and/or cultural professionals exist with the support of public institutions, private foundations and/or NGOs, at local, regional, national, European and international level. At national level the situation is quite varied and at EU level, several EU programmes and funding instruments offer various opportunities for cross-border mobility activities that may include the cultural and creative sectors. However, none are specifically focused on the needs of artists or cultural professionals but rather on formal education, entrepreneurship or volunteering. The Creative Europe programme supports the mobility of artists and/or cultural professionals but only within cooperation projects and platforms.

This Call for Proposals is the second initiative taken by the European Commission in organising mobility for artist, attempting to address these shortcomings and in line with the 2019 Annual Work Programme for the implementation of the Creative Europe Programme.

The first initiative is the pilot scheme i-Portunus, which is currently being implemented, following a Call for Tenders, by a consortium headed by the Goethe Institute. The beneficiaries selected under this Call for Proposals are requested to review the current i-Portunus projects and build upon it. In addition the beneficiaries will have access to the recommendations, electronic portal, electronic forms and other tools developed by the i-Portunus project, including the name and logo which will be delivered to the European Commission by the end of February 2020.

The general objective of this Call for Proposals is to develop and implement their own short-term individual mobility actions through the provision of financial support to artists and/or cultural professionals and produce recommendations to the Commission. The results of all projects will be taken into account by the European Commission in developing a permanent action under the Creative Europe Programme 2021-2017 dedicated to supporting the mobility of artists and cultural professionals.

The two grant agreements envisaged in this Call will be for a maximum grant of 750,000 each. The duration of the projects shall be 16 months.

Please find more information here.

Prepare for the Next European Cooperation Competition

This year’s competition for European cooperation projects is expected to be open from the beginning of autumn, and the next few months are sufficient time to prepare to apply. Throughout the year, Creative Europe Desk Serbia helps all institutions and organisations planning to apply, so we invite you to use all opportunities for help we are offering in order to prepare your project as good as possible.

The competition supports projects od institutions and organisations active in the field of culture, which assume cooperation with at least two partner organisations from Europe with a focus on audience development, improving mobility or strengthening work capacity. So far 76 European projects of cooperation have been supported, in which 100 institutions and organisations from Serbia participate. If you wish to become a part of a European partnership, we would like to bring your attention to several important steps until autumn:

1. Research the so far supported projects on our website and in the browser of projects in order to gain insight into possibilities offered by the programme. Getting familiar with supported projects can help you design an authentic response to the competition priorities. Apart from this, it is useful to research the last year’s application guidelines.

2. If you have a project idea, devote sufficient time to searching for the right partners for your project idea; these do not have to be organisations similar to yours, it is important that you recognise their strengths, share values and that there is mutual trust between you. Only such partnerships are successful because they guarantee longevity. If so far you did not establish personal contacts with European organisations, partners can be found in the database of calls for partnerships or by creating your own call. Also, contact European networks you recognise as important for your work and the project you are preparing – perhaps among their members there are some who are interested in cooperating with you.

3. If you need help in defining the concept and financial plan of your project, contact us to help you or apply for participation in trainings we organise. From 5th-8th August in Tršić, a project writing seminar will take place, and during the end of summer, there will be another one in Vojvodina. Every work day, you can schedule a meeting with our team in offices in Belgrade and Novi Sad.

European cooperation projects are an opportunity to acquire additional funds to realise your ideas, to connect with key actors of the international scene and to build credibility of your organisation on the international plan.

We are at your disposal for all questions, contact us!

Results of the European Cooperation Projects Competition 2019

The results of the European cooperation projects competition 2019 have been published today where the total of 15 projects have been supported, in which 14 organisations from Serbia will participate. These are three leader projects: Stories Behind Cities (Novi Sad, Rijeka and Timisoara) led by Art Association Inbox, followed by BITE – Introduction of new business model into European contemporary art operators to generate new young audience, led by Civil Association Bum, in which the Cultural Centre Belgrade and the organisation Color Media Communication participate as partners, and the project Beyond Quantum Music, in which the Musicology Institute SASA participates as the leader, and the Centre for New Art as a partner.

Also, project partners will be:

• Children’s Cultural Centre in the project Young Theatre on the Move;

• Association KROKODIL in projects: Reading Balkans: Borders vs. Frontiers, The Ulysses’ Shelter: Building writers-in-residence network 2 and Connecting Emerging Literary Artists;

• EXIT Foundation in projects Hub for exchange of music innovation in Central and South-eastern Europe and MOST – The Complex Strategy to develop the Balkan World Music Scene;

• Foundation Novi Sad 2021 in the project European Outdoor Arts Academy: School of Participation

• Association Kulturanova in projects: TRAINART – Building new skills for innovative business models in the performing arts sector, Z Elements: Artistic experiences and exchanges to attract a younger audience through Transmedia co-creations,

• Theatre laboratory Blue Theatre in the project Inclusive Theater(S);

• Centre for promotion of healthy lifestyles in the project A New European Generation – Exploring Freedom and Identity through Creative Integration;

• Foundation Fond B92 in the project Paint the Change.

Congratulations on exceptional results to all institutions and organisation which worked hard and it paid off!

The list of remaining supported projects was published on the website of the European Commission.