The Europe Challenge 2022 to include 32 libraries & communities from 14 countries

School, cultural, prison, academic, city and rural libraries are among the thirty-two successful entries to The Europe Challenge 2022. This programme, initiated by the European Cultural Foundation, supports libraries and their communities to design, test and deliver solutions to local challenges that can benefit all of Europe. The issues submitted in this year’s edition include the climate crisis, social cohesion, loneliness, equal rights and inclusion, and active citizenship.

Libraries and communities were invited to submit applications to the Europe Challenge in May – and to be focused on creating a stronger, fairer, and more democratic Europe. Entries were received from twenty-two countries.  Entries from all over Europe including Italy, the UK, Poland and Ukraine were among the successful applications – with teams from libraries and communities tackling a wide range of challenges including: Climate change and circular economy; Reintegration of prisoners; Addressing social isolation and loneliness; Mental health in rural communities, and Community regeneration. You can find all of the 2022 participants here.

André Wilkens, Director of the European Cultural Foundation comments: “We are delighted to welcome an extraordinarily strong group of challenge teams to this year’s Europe Challenge. The entries to the Europe Challenge this year were of a truly exceptional standard. The teams will be working on some of Europe’s most pressing and important challenges – and will contribute to how we will all face some of our greatest crises. The Europe Challenge was conceived to ensure that there is a way for communities to address some of our most important challenges in a practical way  – and will give libraries and communities vital support, including funding, tools and collective learning. Libraries are in a unique place to help facilitate this vital work, given their connection to communities and their role as homes to trusted knowledge and information. We look forward to seeing and celebrating the outcomes  of this work at the Europe Challenge showcase event in May 2023.”

Developed as a response to multiple crises, including climate change, the invasion of Ukraine, democratic, political and economic disruption, we run the Europe Challenge together with Democratic Society – which provides a programme of learning and support to help the challenge teams to work together.

Below you can watch the presentation of the 2021 Europe Challenge teams. You can read more about their projects via this link.

The Europe Challenge 2022 is the first full-scale round of the programme, following a pilot year that ran from 2021 until May 2022, culminating with an event on Europe Day 2022. The challenge teams will work offline and online throughout 2022 and into 2023 to design, test and showcase their prototypes.