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Call for Proposals: Promote Worldwide a European way to Digital Innovation Rooted in Culture

Deadline: 15-Jul-2024

The European Commission (EC) has launched the call for proposals to promote worldwide a European way to digital innovation rooted in culture.

Objectives 

  • Following the scope and ambition outlined in section 1 the present call for proposals has three objectives:
    • STARTS residencies – Artistic experimentation with key technologies and their uses: Launch artistic experimentation with a focus in the selected region that bring together artists with local stakeholders (regional development, technology companies) to work on concrete challenges (economic-ecological-social). Artistic experiments chosen should promote the STARTS concept of art-driven innovation rooted in culture in an original and ambitious manner.
    • STARTS prize – Honouring local pioneers of art-driven innovation: Launch a prize in the selected region (Africa, South America) that promotes the idea of art-driven innovation by honouring artists that have successfully combined art and technology to address challenges of regional development (ecological-social-economic).
    • STARTS Sylloge – a narrative on innovation rooted in local culture: Create with input from key players in project a corpus of discourses, designs, installations, videos, and performances that unfold and tell the stories of the region’s faith, ethics, science, culture and how all this drives the future of the region. Engage pertinent players in the selected region and from Europe (with the help of this sylloge) in a dialogue how regional development can be embedded in and driven by local arts and culture.

Themes and Priorities 

  • The themes and priorities of the Call are:
    • Tackling of current global challenges (climate change, sustainable development, democratic governance, and others) through new innovative perspectives.
    • Use of new innovative technologies (such as artificial intelligence).
    • Incorporation of regional perspectives (art, philosophy, science, technology).
    • Fostering of links between Europe and the selected region (Africa or South America).

Funding Information

  • The available call budget is EUR 2.000.000 (two million Euros).
  • They expect to fund two projects with a maximum grant amount of EUR 1.000.000 (one million Euros) per project. They will fund one project focusing on the region of Africa and one project focusing on South America.

Duration 

  • Projects should normally range between 15 and 18 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment).

Activities

  • The following types of activities are eligible under this call for proposals:
    • cooperation projects;
    • conferences, seminars;
    • awareness and dissemination actions;
    • actions aiming at the creation and improvement of networks, exchanges of good practices;
    • studies, analyses, mapping projects;
    • research activities;
    • financial support to third parties.
  • Eligible activities must clearly target artistic use of technologies with a goal to promote the idea of art-driven innovation in the selected region and exchanges with Europe on this topic. In this respect, please note that:
    • The main support in the selected region will be via financial support to artists (‘STARTS residencies’), by awarding the regional STARTS prizes, and by (co)funding activities (like events and exhibitions) there.
    • Partners in the selected region cannot become beneficiaries. They can become associated partners and make as associated partners significant and valuable contributions. Some of the below activities can in part be subcontracted to institutions active in the selected regions.

Expected Impact 

  • Concrete outcome of artistic experimentation 
    • Concrete tangible outcomes from STARTS residencies with a focus on the selected region can range from products or services developed jointly by artist and engineers, over novel unexpected uses of technology that help with the uptake of technologies by local business, to furthering regional development goals with ideas developed in these residencies.
    • Concrete intangible outcomes could consist in promoting a continuity between local cultural tradition and modern technology. Outcomes could consist in processes resulting from such experiments that further local innovation and regional development respectful of environment and local culture. Promoting processes, inciting respect, democratic governance and values can also be considered as an important outcome if evidence is available that a rethinking has been enabled via artistic experimentations.
    • A core task will be to follow up on outcomes of these residencies.
  • Widely visible art works as reflection of art technology synergies 
    • Art works (physical works, performances, videos, VR/AR, social media processes) resulting from STARTS residencies that e.g. exemplify in the local context of the selected region on ideas of digital, reflect on AI and make it understandable, or installations that reflect on the green transition, urbanism or societal challenges specific to the selected region. Art works can also be non-physical and consist in activities that incite processes that make the viewer (audience) reflect on issues (challenges of ecological, social or democratic governance, challenges from social media abuse by external actors often using manipulative techniques).
  • Promotion of the mindset of art-driven innovation in the selected region 
    • The STARTS sylloge will be the communicator of art-driven innovation, the STARTS prizes and STARTS residencies its promoters. Projects will bring together local authorities, (international) foundations, businesses, startups, art organisations, technical institutions, investors, etc. from the selected region and from Europe willing to promote art and technology collaboration as a driver of regional development. Here the STARTS prize will be a tool for widely promoting these ideas.

Eligibility Criteria

  • In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
    • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
    • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
      • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs).
  • Proposals may be submitted by any of the following applicants or combinations of:
    • non-profit organisations (private or public);
    • public authorities (national, regional, local);
    • regional stakeholders in economy and culture in the selected regions;
    • international organisations;
    • non-governmental organisations;
    • development agencies and internationally operating cultural institutes;
    • foundations;
    • universities;
    • educational institutions;
    • research centres;
    • art centres and institutions;
    • think tanks;
    • technology companies acting in the selected regions;
    • European actors on the intersection of art and technology (in particular members of the STARTS community).

For more information, visit EC.