The second edition of the Africa-Europe Spaces of Culture call for proposals is open, inviting new and innovative cultural relations projects across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Building on the lessons learned from the first cycle of projects, currently being implemented throughout 2025 and into 2026, this year’s call aims to further strengthen collaboration between African and European cultural partners.

Members of the international jury who evaluated proposals during the first edition have consolidated their feedback and insights to support applicants preparing submissions for the 2026 call.

Drawing from their experience reviewing a range of project proposals, they identified six key considerations that can help applicants develop stronger and more impactful proposals.

1. Relevance to local context

• Project activities that highlight stronger engagement with local partners, particularly those working directly on the identified need
• The application must show a balance of local and international artists/ practitioners. There should be a stronger inclusion of local artists to reflect the local context.
• Recognition that ‘international’ or European-based artists, and/or organisations are not the only experts or leaders in the field - unless contextualised to align with the needs of the project.
• How equity is described when outlining local societal challenges should be explicit. For example, when the use of jargon pertaining to inclusion or access is included, provide concrete examples of how you will achieve this and its relevance to the activities described.
• Project activity is not clearly defined, making it difficult to assess alignment between context, target groups, and objectives

2. Partnership set-up

• The co-creation approach with EUNIC members should be made clear when describing the activities, the role of EUNIC members, and their involvement
• If the project includes cross-border collaboration, this should be made clear, but also rooted in the local need and context of the entire project
• Be explicit in describing the intention and inclusion of all local partners to ensure a balanced partnership structures

3. Innovation

• The inter-continental collaboration should be clear and show how it contributes to new perspectives
• The co-creation methodology between partners should present a strong and innovative approach
• When articulating the inclusive practices (e.g. gender focus, accessibility), make this clear and describe how it would strengthen the innovation dimension of the project activity and those who would benefit from the project
• Be able to clearly define the project activities and outputs, when doing so, ensure that innovation translates into tangible outcomes
• Avoid presenting multiple activities that have no clear sustainable output or long term outcomes.

4. Impact foreseen

• Greater clarity on impact is needed, particularly given the project’s potential to be replicable
• The project would benefit from clearer objectives linked to measurable results
• We want to see the focus on activities and how they will translate to impact
• Make sure the longer-term sustainability of the project is built into its design

5. Feasibility and cost-effectiveness

• The budget must be explicit in outlining the amount of each line item, including the contingency to strengthen efficient delivery.
• Consider the project activities, feasibility, and what you want to achieve within the funding period to design a realistic timeline.
• Design a budget that is reflective of the activities, roles, and responsibilities described in the project proposal
• If not included in your organisation, for the project consider dedicating the role of a project manager, project coordinator or artistic director to support delivery of scope, deliverables and outputs
• Equitable pay across local and European partners should be considered as part of fair and inclusive collaboration. For example, rates of artists, individuals contributing to the project or project leads should reflect the standard of fair, equitable wages.

6. Environmental sustainability

What to consider when thinking about environmental sustainability?

• Do the project activities outline good practices (local sourcing, digital meetings, low-VOC materials, up-cycling in object theatre)
• Consideration of a quantified carbon tracking or a formal green-procurement commitment to support climate justice efforts within the project.
• Describe the intended impact of supporting environmental sustainable practices within your project activity?

Spaces of culture 2025 jury members included:

Yemisi Mokuolu - Independent Producer and Creative Industries Consultant; Founder and CEO of HATCH
Avril Joffe -Independent researcher and UNESCO Chair in Cultural Entrepreneurship and Policy at the University of the Witwatersrand
Aya Kasasa - Expert in Cultural Affairs, Migration, Demography and Urbanisation at the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
Ayoko Mensah - Curator, cultural expert and journalist; currently Curator at the House of European History and former Coordinator of Afropolitan

Find out more about the Africa-Europe Spaces of Culture open call for proposals here.

You can also learn more about the wider Africa-Europe programme here.