Deadline: 17-Sep-2025
The Creative Industries Fund NL and the Cultural Participation Fund are launching a compelling grant opportunity for organizations that cultivate design skills among children and young people.
This Open Call invites proposals for platforms that inspire creative participation in fields like product design, fashion, spatial and textile design, creative coding, and visual storytelling, with the broader aim of reducing barriers and widening cultural participation.
The call is specifically aimed at organizations, institutions, or platforms that have a strong understanding of their communities and the living environment of the target group. Many of these groups often emerge from the grassroots, ensuring a close connection with local needs and realities. Applicants should be able to reach new potential makers from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and create meaningful programs focused on education in or participation within design and creative culture.
To promote regional spread, space is reserved for at least one proposal from each major part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. These include the Caribbean territories of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, alongside the regions of Central (Flevoland, Utrecht), North (Drenthe, Friesland, Groningen), East (Gelderland, Overijssel), West (Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland), and South (Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Zeeland). This ensures that design-based learning opportunities are accessible across a wide and varied geographic scope.
Applicants may request up to €75,000 for initiatives lasting up to one year, starting no later than April 1, 2026. Activities may include creative education, strategy development, and organizational capacity building, all designed to nurture emerging makers aged from primary school through early adulthood. Funding may also cover up to 35 percent of project costs to strengthen institutional capabilities.
Applications are evaluated by an independent advisory committee and selected based on program setup, designer involvement, accessibility, integration within existing infrastructure, and long-term sustainability. Successful applicants will be notified formally and are expected to fulfill accountability obligations before project completion.
This initiative represents a valuable opportunity for educators, cultural organizations, and community platforms to ignite creative potential, foster inclusive design education, and shape the next generation of makers across diverse environments.
For more information, visit Creative Industries Fund NL.
