The capacity building and networking program for local cultural figures will help communities identify and rethink existing local cultural resources (museum collections, memorial and cultural sites, existing or potential tourist attractions, heritage sites, etc.).
The program will also offer selected participants grant and mentoring support to create cultural products and educational programs, heritage interpretation projects, and work with communities and diverse audiences, taking into account the challenges of war.
Up to 30 organizations working on issues of culture and identity — museums, libraries, cultural centers, community centers, and non-governmental organizations — can participate in the program.
Program participants will take part in a series of lectures and discussions analyzing the challenges of wartime and practical solutions for cultural figures, develop their project ideas, and receive professional recommendations from lecturers and trainers. As a result of the project pitching, a team of experts from partner institutions will select up to 12 projects that will receive funding ranging from 1 million to 1.5 million uah. Focus topics:
- local identity (local narratives and how they interact with narratives of general Ukrainian identity, decolonization processes, identification and development of local cultural resources);
- culture as a factor of social cohesion (community development, new approaches to interacting with dynamic audiences in wartime — participatory practices, working with vulnerable groups, working with traumatic and controversial topics, conflict sensitivity, and working with a trauma-informed approach);
- reflection on the experiences of wars and conflicts involving Ukraine (memorialization practices, approaches to museumification and exhibition creation, innovative curatorial practices).
Application deadline: July 7, 2025.
To participate in the program, please fill out the application form at: https://platform.izolyatsia.org/ua/contest/heritage-space-application
The same link provides information on the application requirements and evaluation criteria.
The capacity building and networking program for local cultural actors, “Heritage: Space for Work,” is supported by the Partnership for a Strong Ukraine Fund, which is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Estonia, Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Sweden.