Project (NON)ALIGNED MOVEMENTS Strengthening contemporary dance in Western Balkans led by citizen association Stanica – servis za savremeni ples, and project Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkans led by citizen association Fenomena received financial support from the European Union within its Creative Europe CULTURE subprogramme in an open call aimed at Strengthening cultural cooperation with and competitiveness of cultural and creative industries in the Western Balkans. Of more than 300 proposals, 13 projects were selected to receive support to the tune of EUR4,935,563. The objective of the open call is to stimulate reconciliation and good neighbourly relations in the Western Balkans through cultural cooperation and creativity, while its specific goals are: strengthening cross-border cultural cooperation among the countries in the Western Balkans and with EU Member States, and strengthening of competitiveness of cultural and creative industries in the region.

The project led by Fenomena from Kraljevo, committed to strengthening of women in culture in Western Balkans (Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkans), received EUR307,171. Apart from Fenomena as the project holder, the project will be co-implemented by: Association for development of culture and ecology from Northern Macedonia, association Beoart Contemporary from Serbia, NGO Spes from Montenegro, Association Prizma from Croatia, and Lokar Gallery from Slovenia.

Project (NON)ALIGNED MOVEMENTS Strengthening contemporary dance in Western Balkans led by Stanica – Servis za savremeni ples from Serbia is dedicated to promotion of contemporary dance in the region and it has received a total of EUR499,657. The project will be implemented together with: Nomad Dance Academy from Bulgaria, Tanzfabrik Keuzberg Gug from Germany, and Nomad Dance Academy from Slovenia.

Apart from these two, it’s worth mentioning that Serbia has secured participation in each of the  13 supported projects. As many as 15 institutions and organisations from Serbia will act as partners in these 13 projects:

  • Citizen association KROKODIL, project Translation in Motion;
  • Organisation Beoart Contemporary, project Rise of woman in culture in Western Balkan;
  • Citizen association Novo kulturno naselje, project Some Call Us Balkans;
  • Citizen association ARGH, project Balkan Translation Collider;
  • Belgrade Festivals Centre – CEBEF, project #synergy: Sharpening the capacities of the classical music industry in the Western Balkans;
  • Company Meydan d.o.o., project Manifesta 14 Prishtina_Co-Producing Common Space and Shaping Formations of Solidarity in the Western Balkans and Beyond;
  • Association Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia, project Regional Lab: New Culture Spaces and Networks as drivers of an Innovative and Sustainable Bottom-up Development of Regional Collaboration;
  • Citizen association Eho Animato, project The Ways of the Heroes;
  • Archaeological Institute, project Immersive Storytelling Driven Cooperation for Cultural Heritage Dissemination in Western Balkans;
  • Citizen association Skogled, project Redesigning playscapes with children in Western Balkans;
  • Association of comic book and fiction aficionados Nikola Mitrović Kokan, project CAN for BALKANS – Comics Alliance Networking for Balkans;
  • Faculty of Dramatic Arts, project ReCulture: Re-branding of Cultural Institutions in Western Balkans;
  • Citizen association Ink Fest, project ReCulture: Re-branding of Cultural Institutions in Western Balkans.

The selection criteria took into account the following priorities: strengthening the capacity of cultural and creative industries to act on transnational and international level; increasing transnational circulation of cultural and creative works and transnational mobility of actors in cultural and creative industries; as well as improving intercultural dialogue between artists, culture workers, and the wider public. The open call has been extended twice due to the crisis caused by COVID-19. The implementation of supported projects should commence between 1 January and 31 March 2021. More information about the supported projects can be found on the European Commission’s website.

Creative Europe programme 2014-2020 was launched as part of European Commission’s efforts to support culture and media. Serbia joined the programme on 19 June 2014 by signing a participation agreement. With a budget of EUR1.46 billion, the programme supports: initiatives in the area of culture (cross-border, platforms, networking and translation of literature works); audio-visual projects promoting development and distribution of, or access to audio-visual works; intersectoral cooperation, including a Guarantee Facility and transnational policy cooperation. Key topics of Creative Europe programme include audience development, mobility, and creative industries.