EU National Institutes for Culture - EUNIC


Europe Readr aims to foster reading culture and critical thinking about the future of living.
Photo: Library under treetops, by Divja Misel Institute

Deadline extended: Europe Readr Call for Proposals open - apply by 15 April 2021

The project Europe Readr aims to foster reading culture and critical thinking about the future of living. It also will further strengthen worldwide cultural cooperation between EUNIC members, EU representations and partners. A special call for proposals invites these partners to team up and apply for up to 10,000 EUR for their projects until 15 April (deadline extended).

Europe Readr aims to foster reading culture and critical thinking about the future of living.
Photo: Library under treetops, by Divja Misel Institute

On the occasion of the upcoming Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia together with other EUNIC members has initiated a special call for proposals: "Europe Readr - the future of living".

Europe Readr aims to foster reading culture and critical thinking across societies on the future of living, support the creation of public spaces for exchange and debate on shared European values, and dialogue on the European Green Deal, sustainability and urbanism through a curated programme of activities.

The name of the project pays tribute to Earth Speakr, an artwork created by Olafur Eliasson, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office on the occasion of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2020, realised in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut.

In a similar vein, Europe Readr aims to promote reflection on the future of living by establishing a free selection of literature and using it as a starting point for a number of activities related to reading culture and literary practices. The project looks at the intersection of literature, sustainability, architecture, urbanism and digitalisation.

Special call for proposals

The purpose of this special call is to co-finance projects which:

  • contribute to the themes of the Europe Readr initiative and stimulate reflection on the topic of “the future of living”;
  • support the creation of spaces for debate and public spaces for exchange on shared European values, pressing global issues, dialogue on the European Green Deal, sustainability and urbanism bringing together authors, researchers, thinkers, citizens and policy makers in the EU and beyond;
  • foster reading culture and critical thinking and address disinformation;
  • explore digitalisation in cultural relations;
  • strengthen worldwide cultural cooperation between the local branches of EUNIC members, EU Delegations, European Commission Representations, and partners on the ground;
  • reflect the principles of international cultural relations and contribute to the implementation of the EUNIC Strategic Framework 2020-2024.

Project teams should be composed of a minimum of three local branches of full EUNIC members (it is not compulsory for EUNIC members to be united in a cluster), a minimum of one local partner (e.g. civil society organisation, local cultural actor, public bodies, etc.) and if possible the EU Delegation or European Commission Representation - their involvement is highly encouraged.

The call has a current envelope of 110,000 EUR. Project teams are invited to apply with a cultural relations project until 15 April 2021 (deadline extended). Project teams can apply for up to 10,000 EUR, representing up to 60% of the total budget of the project. Activities need to be implemented between July 2021 and 15 December 2021 and can take place in any location in the world.

Timeline

  • 25 February 2021: Launch of the Europe Readr Call for Proposals 2021
  • 15 April 2021 (23:59 CEST): DEADLINE EXTENDED for submission of proposals
  • End of April 2021: Final award decision by selection committee
  • End of April 2021: Publication of selection results
  • July 2021 – December 2021: Implementation period
  • 23 December 2021: Deadline for sending final project report

How to apply?

The following documents need to be submitted:

  • Application form completed in English
  • Estimated balanced budget completed in English and drawn up in euro

Find the Europe Readr Call for Proposals 2021 and all relevant documents for your application in the EUNIC Google Drive.

EUNIC support

Do not hesitate to reach out to the cluster management team if you have any questions about the call or the application process by contacting Sybilla Britani sybilla.britani@eunicglobal.eu.

The EUNIC team and the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also provide information and assistance to project teams interested in applying through webinars scheduled for Thursday 4 March at 10 am CET, Tuesday 9 March at 5 pm and Thursday 11 March 10 am. Sign up for the webinars here.



  • Cultural relations
  • EU
  • Clusters

Co-funded by the European Union Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.