COS Fund Just Transition Interregional Edition announces grantees

Regions all over Europe have been facing the painful consequences of a globally unfettered extraction and use of natural resources. European landscapes like the Alps and the Mediterranean have been severely affected by climate change-related disasters. These extreme weather phenomena endanger cultural livelihoods, traditional practices and the living heritage of local communities, whose human capacities and cultural infrastructure are at the same time powerful resources for a more sustainable future.

More than ever, communities need to come to a shared understanding on how to prepare for the urgent shift from the prevailing resource – intensive lifestyles to low-carbon green economies and societies. This will require us to reset and recalibrate our lives to meet whatever challenges arise in the transition to living within a socially just and environmentally regenerative society. For according to the concept of Just Transition, such a far-reaching transition must be fair and equitable to all. Systemic change is daunting, disruptive, difficult, but necessary and is intrinsically linked to a shift in mindsets and societal attitudes towards nature, industry, work, consumerism and social justice. It is therefore essential to consider the cultural contexts of different communities and to acknowledge the specific ecology of their living environments that define their specific values, needs, struggles and aspirations.

Arts and culture have the power to shape values, beliefs and behaviours. Cultural organisations, art institutions, cultural media, community activists, artists and the work of the creative sectors as a whole are compelling public actors for raising questions and building consensus around the need for a just transition.

The arts and creative sectors in Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley hold vast resources that allow them to engage with the complexities of ecological transformation agendas in their local contexts. Together with peer organisations from other regions across Europe, this call invited – and enabled – them to expand their knowledge capacities and institutional networks that are essential for becoming pioneers in just transition and sustainable development processes within their local communities.

As part of the call two online sessions for potential applicants were developed and co-hosted by our partner, Itinerari Paralleli. During these sessions interested parties could meet and match up – helped by the online partner-board – in order to apply together. Out of all the applications fourteen collaborative projects were selected for funding. These fourteen projects are supported with a total sum of 320,100 euros.

This round of the Culture of Solidarity Fund is developed in partnership with Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRC and Fondazione CRT.

In 2020 we launched the Culture of Solidarity Fund to support cultural initiatives that, in the midst of turmoil and crisis, reinforce European solidarity and the idea of Europe as a shared public space. Since then, in eleven rounds, we have supported more than 200 projects with more than 5 million euros with 20 co-funding partners on board.