Deadline: 15-Jan-23
The Music in Africa Foundation (MIAF), in partnership with Goethe-Institut, invites organisations operating in Southern Africa’s creative and cultural industries to apply for grants within the Sound Connects Fund (SCF).
The Sound Connects Fund is a multifaceted initiative that aims to accelerate development and increase the capacity of the cultural and creative sectors in Southern Africa. It offers financial support in the form of grants and a comprehensive capacity-building programme aimed at recipients of the fund.
The fund will support projects across a wide range of disciplines including, but not limited to, performing arts, visual arts , animation, film, gaming, photography, videography etc.
Funding Information
- The SCF’s grant has the following requirements:
- The project length has to be up to eight months. Project implementation cannot exceed 8 months.
- The project budget has to be between €45 000 and €70 000.
- The project implementation and final reporting must take place between April 2023 and end of November 2023
Priority Projects
- The Sound Connects Fund supports projects and activities that
- Facilitate the rapid production and distribution of high-quality goods within and outside the region,
- Increase capacities among professionals
- Support rapid mobility and exchange among creators
- Enhance access to new markets
- Develop visual literacy (especially among under-represented groups)
- Promote advocacy aimed at protecting the interests of creators and support the existence of sustainable financing structures.
- The fund supports projects in a wide range of disciplines including, but not limited to, performing arts, visual arts, animation, film, games, photography and videography.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible for financial support, applicants must be formally registered in the local country, for example as an NGO/NPO, association, close corporation, private company, etc.
- For clarity, the basis is that the applicant must be an officially/legally registered entity in its local country. The word “organisation” is used as a broader term to refer to any business entity such as a company, an institution, association, etc. The list may include (non-exhaustive); arts organisations, arts venues, festivals, creative hubs and incubators, media houses, mobility circuits, recording studios, theatres, arts markets, fairs and conferences, creative sector businesses, etc.
- The organisation must have a proven history of operating in the creative sector in Southern Africa.
- The organisation must have been in operation for at least three years on the day of application.
- The organisation must be registered and operating in any of the following eligible countries:
- Similarly, the planned action must take place in the eligible countries only.
- The organisation must have directly implemented at least one project in the cultural and creative sector, for at least 50% of the amount of the grant requested.
- An organisation may only be awarded a SCF grant once. Thus beneficiaries of a SCF grant may not apply again. Previous beneficiaries are welcome to collaborate with other grantee projects on the condition that there is no financial gain.
- An organisation can partner or collaborate with another organisation from a non-eligible country provided that there is no financial benefit to the organisation from the non-eligible country that is derived directly from the awarded SCF grant.
- One of the key goals of the fund is to offer a robust capacity building programme to grantees. Grantees should therefore be willing to actively participate in this programme which will broadly include accessing learning initiatives, virtually and where possible face-to-face (travel).
- All applicants shall be required to indicate their key training needs or leaning interests.
- The premise of this call is that the action must take place in the eligible country(s) and it must be clear in the proposal and implementation that the beneficiaries of the action are based in an eligible country. Projects that include participation of beneficiaries in activities outside the eligible country (e.g. conferences, markets, festivals, etc.) will remain eligible on the condition that there is a clear demonstration of how such an action benefits the eligible country(s).
For more information, visit MIAF.