Culture of Solidarity
What
Culture of Solidarity works through three interlinked, flexible instruments:
Donor Collaboratives, Open Calls, Agility Fund
Where
Across Europe, with occasional regional focus. A priority focus is supporting Ukrainian cultural professionals.
When
Currently, we have calls open for Culture Helps Solidarity.
Who is it for
Culture of Solidarity supports civil society actors, especially those working under pressure, by fostering timely, meaningful, and cross-border cultural collaboration.
Civil society and cultural actors across Europe are working in tougher conditions. Political division, unstable funding and pressure on independent voices make it harder to keep the spaces open where dialogue, cooperation and cultural life continue.
Culture of Solidarity is the European Cultural Foundation’s programme designed to respond to this challenge. It provides flexible, cross-border support so organisations and cultural actors can continue working together and maintain shared public spaces when challenges arise.
Instead of a single fixed funding model, Culture of Solidarity uses a range of tools that enable both quick responses and longer-term cooperation. This enables us to support real work as situations change.
How Culture of Solidarity Works
Culture of Solidarity addresses three common challenges: limited cross-border cooperation, a lack of flexible funding in urgent moments, and weak links between local practice and European-level support.
Donor Collaboratives bring philanthropic partners together to strengthen support for civil society and culture at a European scale. Culture of Solidarity works closely with partner networks, including Civitates, the Alliance for Socially Engaged Arts, LOKAL, and Foundations for Ukraine. These collaborations help place culture and civic cooperation at the centre of broader European conversations about democracy, funding and solidarity.
Open Calls with a thematic or geographic focus provide civil society and cultural organisations with accessible ways to collaborate across borders and address shared challenges.
Agility Funds support innovative or urgent European initiatives that do not fit standard funding cycles, keeping the programme responsive and open to new ideas.
Together, these tools help make solidarity practical and possible.
Priority Focus: Ukraine
Ukraine shows what a culture of European solidarity means in practice. Cultural and civic actors continue to sustain public life, connection and meaning in conditions shaped by war and displacement.
Culture of Solidarity maintains a strong, ongoing focus on Ukraine, supporting Ukrainian cultural professionals and fostering cross-border collaboration with European peers. Dedicated funding rounds, partnerships, and long-term initiatives such as Culture Helps Solidarity help ensure cooperation, integration and cultural life can continue even under extreme pressure.
Starting in 2026, ECF leads the Creative Europe-funded Culture Helps Solidarity programme, in partnership with Insha Osvita, zusa, and Veteranka – Female Veterans Movement. Over 30 months, nearly €2 million will be distributed through more than 20 open calls, supporting Ukrainian cultural professionals working with displaced communities, veterans, and on issues related to wider cultural integration.
Culture of Solidarity and European Policy
The experience and partnerships built through the Culture of Solidarity do not stay at the project level. They contribute to wider efforts to strengthen European support for civil society and culture. Since 2020, Culture of Solidarity has responded to different moments of strain across Europe. Each round focused on a specific challenge, showing how cultural cooperation helps communities stay connected, informed and resilient.
Supported collaborative cultural initiatives that reinforced Europe’s core democratic values and encouraged people to reengage with democratic life in hopeful and forward-looking ways.
Focused on European transnational initiatives that mobilised voters and strengthened civic participation around the 2024 European Parliament elections. Developed in collaboration with Evens Foundation, Allianz Foundation, and partners.
Supported collaborative cultural projects addressing environmental sustainability and ecological resilience in Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, connecting local transition challenges to wider European cooperation.
Backed European transnational cultural initiatives exploring environmental sustainability and social fairness from a cultural perspective.
Promoted the visibility and embeddedness of Ukrainian culture across Europe in partnership with EUNIC, with core financing led by the Government of Flanders and additional contributions from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Czech Centres, alongside grantmaking support from ECF.
Supported initiatives promoting Ukrainian culture and cross-border cultural cooperation, in partnership with EUNIC, with funding from several EUNIC members and core financing led by the Goethe-Institut, Institut français, and Instituto Cervantes, alongside ECF.
A rapid-response pooled fund powered by a coalition of 11 European funders, awarding over 80 projects. It supported coordinated emergency actions, independent media countering the war infodemic, safe cultural spaces, and artistic and cultural initiatives countering fragmentation.
Launched with Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, this round supported cultural and cross-sector organisations working in Eastern Germany and European regions facing deindustrialisation, population decline and social fragmentation.
Addressed misinformation and fragmentation by supporting cultural initiatives that strengthened shared public space and pan-European dialogue during the ongoing infodemic. Connected to ECF’s work on European public space.
Developed with Fondazione CRT and Fondazione CRC, this round supported cultural initiatives in Piedmont and Aosta Valley that connected local work with pan-European solidarity during the early pandemic.
The first Culture of Solidarity rounds responded to the pandemic, supporting organisations adapting to lockdowns and travel restrictions. They helped sustain cross-border cultural connection and grew immediate crisis responses into longer-term European collaborations.
We published an information leaflet with short descriptions of each round, including some data on the applicants and the leverage.
Together with
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the Culture of Solidarity Fund, please contact Philipp Dietachmair, Head of Programmes.
