ZMINA:Resilience. Second call for co-creation funding of international cooperation projects

ZMINA:Resilience (call identifier CREA-CULT) is a Creative Europe co-funded subgrant administered by IZOLYATSIA, Malý Berlín and Trans Europe Halles to support international co-creation cultural projects on the theme of resilience involving at least one Ukrainian organisation and one partner from another Creative Europe participating country. The total call budget is €187,500 with individual grants up to €25,000 covering up to 90% of eligible costs and mandatory co-financing of at least 10%; management costs are capped at 20% and specific unit rates and actual-cost rules apply for eligible expenses. Projects must include public presentations in the locality of each participating partner (at least two presentations, one in Ukraine), run for up to 7 months within the indicative window February–August 2027, and start only after signature of the subgrant agreement. Applications must be submitted in English via the IZOLYATSIA online platform by 4 December 2026 at 23:59 Kyiv time and will be assessed through a technical check and independent evaluation with Selection Committee decisions.

What it funds

Summary

Grants for international co-creation projects between Ukrainian and Creative Europe cultural organisations focused on the theme of resilience. Audio-visual projects are excluded. Each project must include public presentations in the locality of every partner, with at least two local presentations (one in Ukraine).

Eligible costs include artist fees (75€/artist/day), travel (international 350€/return), accommodation & per diem (75€/night), selected services and equipment at actual cost, and management costs up to 20% of total budget. Payments: 70% on signing, remainder on approved report.

Footnotes

1. 1Detailed eligibility, required documents and templates are on the application platform. Check the call page for the Model Subgrant Agreement and specific attachment requirements.

Opportunity summary

Eligible applicant types and consortium rules

Eligible applicant types (detailed)

Accepted organisational types include cultural organisations, arts organisations, cultural NGOs, cultural centres, festivals, performing companies, research centres or universities with cultural activity, and similar entities active in arts and culture. SMEs or private for-profit cultural organisations registered in Creative Europe participating countries are also eligible when operating as cultural organisations. Public bodies active in culture may apply if registered and eligible under Creative Europe participation rules. Investors, individual applicants, and freelancers are not eligible as Lead Applicants but may be included as personnel or subcontractors through an eligible organisation.

Funding type and nature of support

Geographic eligibility and mentioned countries

Target sectors and project stage

Eligible activities and costs

Selection, eligibility and evaluation

Application procedure and required documents

All attachments must be uploaded as separate PDF files using the standard templates available on the platform. The application form includes specific narrative text fields with character limits for project description, co-creation methodology, cross-sectoral priorities, expected impact, sustainability, events and presentations, partnership description and team biographies, audience engagement plan and monitoring method, risk assessment, communication and visibility, and free-access arrangements for final results.

Application stages, timeline and evaluation period

Success rates and competition

Co-funding and other financial conditions

Templates, forms and application structure

Application uses a platform-based form with structured fields and file uploads. The main sections in the application form are: project title and summary; main areas of cultural activity; brief description (max 500 characters); project idea and alignment with objectives (max 1,500 characters); contribution to intercultural dialogue (max 1,500 characters); integration of digital, green and inclusion priorities (max 1,500 characters); expected impact and sustainability (each max 1,500 characters); detailed description of achievements (max 1,500 characters); specification of public presentation events (at least two events, one in Ukraine); project team (full names, roles, responsibilities, relevant experience); partnership description and equal participation mechanism; audience profile and engagement plan (max 1,200 characters); audience engagement measurement method (max 1,200 characters); risk assessment and mitigation; communication and visibility plan; free access to final results; budget and financial plan (completed on platform using the provided budget template). Required uploads include the Letter of Guarantee, registration documents, statutes and any additional supporting documents.

Selection procedure specifics and award calculation

After evaluators score proposals, the average score determines ranking. The Selection Committee finalises awards taking into account geographical, sectoral and thematic diversity and budget constraints. Grant amounts are set by combining lump sum units for fixed-rate items (artist fees, travel, accommodation, per diems) and reimbursement of actual costs for other items (equipment rental, production services, shipping). The application budget may be adjusted for cost-effectiveness before signing the grant agreement.

Support to applicants

Risks, restrictions and compliance

Entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 TEU and Article 215 TFEU are ineligible to participate in any capacity. Compliance with eligibility of Ukrainian registration in government-controlled areas is strictly required. Projects must respect EU visibility and branding. All costs must be incurred within the grant period and after grant agreement signature. Management costs are capped at 20% of total project budget.

Practical checklist for applicants

Contact and further information

Concluding summary

This opportunity is a targeted Creative Europe-funded subgrant call administered by IZOLYATSIA in partnership with Malý Berlín and Trans Europe Halles to support international co-creation projects between Ukrainian cultural organisations and peers in other Creative Europe participating countries on the theme of resilience. It provides small-scale grants (up to €25,000) to cover most project costs (up to 90%), requires minimum co-financing of 10%, and mandates equitable partnership roles and public presentations in each partner locality. The call is single-stage, competitive and evaluates projects on relevance, quality and impact with attention to cross-cutting priorities (digital, green, inclusion). Applicants must apply via the IZOLYATSIA platform, follow the provided templates, and ensure document and registration eligibility conditions are met. Timeline runs from call launch in October 2026 through implementation in February–August 2027, with awards expected in January–February 2027.

Footnotes

1. 1List of Creative Europe participating countries and specific participation conditions is provided by the European Commission: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity summary

ZMINA:Resilience is a Creative Europe co-funded support scheme designed to strengthen cooperation between Ukrainian artistic and cultural organisations and organisations from other Creative Europe participating countries. The second co-creation call supports the joint development and public presentation of new international cultural projects addressing resilience. The wider ZMINA:Resilience programme is intended to integrate Ukraine’s cultural and creative sectors more closely into the European cultural landscape.12 1

The opportunity is suitable for cross-border cultural partnerships that can demonstrate genuine co-creation, balanced partner responsibilities, intercultural dialogue, public engagement, accessibility, environmental responsibility and potential continuation after the grant period.

Key facts

The call is a single-stage competitive call. Applications are submitted by a lead organisation on behalf of a partnership and are evaluated after the deadline. The call is not a standard European Commission grant application submitted through the Funding and Tenders Portal. Applications must be submitted through the IZOLYATSIA online platform.

The call is administered by the IZOLYATSIA Foundation in Ukraine, Malý Berlín in Slovakia and Trans Europe Halles in Sweden. The partnership is implementing ZMINA:Resilience as part of the wider Creative Europe support for Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors.34 2

Purpose and supported activities

The purpose is to develop and present an international co-creation on the theme of resilience. Projects may use any artistic or cultural form except the audio-visual sector. The project must involve meaningful collaboration between Ukrainian and international partners rather than a simple purchase of services or presentation of a finished work.

Eligible activities include the development and implementation of the co-creation, rehearsals, artistic and organisational work, public presentations in the locality of each participating partner, travel connected with organisational, rehearsal, artistic or presentation activities, audience engagement, communication, documentation and activities supporting future use or presentation of the results.

At least two local public presentations are required, with one presentation in the locality of each participating partner. At least one presentation must take place in Ukraine. Projects with more partners should plan presentations in the locality of every participating partner, as this requirement is linked to the partnership structure.

Who can apply

Eligible applicants are organisations active in the arts and culture sector that are legally established in a Creative Europe participating country. A project must include at least two organisations from at least two countries, including at least one Ukrainian organisation and at least one organisation from another Creative Europe participating country.

Ukrainian organisations must be registered in a territory effectively controlled by the Ukrainian government. The Ukrainian organisation must be able to provide the required official registration evidence and participate lawfully in the project.

Individual artists and freelancers cannot apply directly. They may participate as artists, experts or project contributors through an eligible organisation that acts as a project partner.

Creative Europe participation should be checked for each proposed partner before submission. Ukraine participates in Creative Europe, and the official participating-country list identifies the countries and strand limitations applicable to non-EU countries.5 3

Partnership requirements

Each partner should have a role of comparable weight. Comparable weight may be demonstrated through creative input, project management, production, audience development, local presentation responsibilities, communication or other substantial responsibilities. The application should not present one organisation as the sole creative or managerial beneficiary while the other organisation acts only as a nominal partner.

The lead applicant submits the application on behalf of the consortium. The application should clearly identify the responsibilities, resources, decision-making arrangements, financial contribution and expected outputs of every partner.

Funding and co-financing

The total budget of the call is €187,500. The maximum grant is €25,000 per selected project and the grant may cover up to 90% of the total eligible project costs. Applicants must provide the remaining project contribution and demonstrate that the proposed budget is realistic and cost-effective.

Co-financing is mandatory and must amount to at least 10% of the total project budget. The contribution should be clearly identified in the budget and supported by the partners’ financial planning. For example, a project receiving the maximum €25,000 grant at a 90% rate would have an indicative total budget of approximately €27,777.78 and a minimum contribution of approximately €2,777.78.

The call information requires the contribution to be provided by the project partners. Applicants should confirm from the subgrant agreement and current FAQ whether in-kind contributions are accepted for this specific co-creation call. The safest approach is to budget a clearly documented monetary contribution unless the organiser confirms otherwise in writing.

The grant cannot be combined with double funding from the EU budget for the same costs. All expenditure must be incurred after the subgrant agreement is signed and during the approved implementation period.

Payment and grant management

Seventy percent of the awarded grant is expected to be paid after signature of the grant agreement. The remaining 30% is paid after submission and approval of the required report.

The final grant amount may be adjusted before signature following assessment of cost-effectiveness and budget plausibility. The grant combines fixed unit rates for specified categories with reimbursement of actual costs for other categories. Applicants should therefore avoid treating the maximum grant as automatic and should ensure that every budget line is necessary, proportionate and connected to a defined activity or output.

Eligible cost categories and rates

Fixed unit rates should be applied consistently in the budget even where the actual amount paid is higher or lower. Actual-cost categories should be supported by appropriate documentation and should not be used to include unrelated purchases, permanent equipment acquisition or costs outside the approved project.

Duration and timing

Projects may run for up to 7 months. The indicative implementation window is February 2027 to August 2027, with the precise start and end dates determined by the grant agreement. Implementation cannot begin before the grant agreement is signed.

Applicants should rely on the time displayed by the IZOLYATSIA platform when submitting. The metadata contains a different converted time reference, so applicants should not wait until the final minutes and should submit well before the platform deadline.

Eligibility and admissibility requirements

The application must meet all formal requirements. Failure to satisfy a technical condition can result in rejection before qualitative evaluation, regardless of the artistic merit of the proposal.

Required conditions include:

Application documents

The application form and budget are completed directly on the IZOLYATSIA platform. Supporting documents must be uploaded in separate PDF files for each partner.

The application must be submitted in English. Applicants should prepare the Ukrainian registration extract close to the application period because the required extract must be dated on or after 5 October 2026.

Selection and evaluation

Applications first undergo a technical eligibility and admissibility check by the ZMINA:Resilience team. Applications that pass this stage are assessed by two independent evaluators. Applications are ranked according to the average evaluator score, after which the Selection Committee makes the final decision within the available budget.

The Selection Committee may consider geographical, sectoral and thematic diversity in addition to the evaluation results. Applicants should therefore avoid overly generic proposals and should show a distinctive contribution to the resilience theme, intercultural cooperation and the diversity of the overall portfolio.

The application form specifically asks applicants to describe the project, local relevance, partner roles, team experience, audience size, engagement measurement, implementation risks, communication and visibility, free access to final results and continuation after the funding period. These sections should be treated as core evaluation content rather than administrative narrative.

Applicant preparation priorities

Risks and practical conditions

The seven-month duration is short for an international cultural production. Proposals should show that partners are already sufficiently prepared to begin after grant signature, including a workable artistic concept, decision-making process, travel assumptions, venues or presentation locations and responsible staff.

Projects involving Ukrainian partners should include realistic contingency arrangements for travel disruption, security constraints, changes in venue availability, power or connectivity interruptions and the possibility of adapting activities while preserving the co-creation objective.

The fixed rates may not cover the full market cost of travel, accommodation, artistic work or other activities. Applicants should identify how any amount above the fixed rates will be financed and should not assume that additional expenditure will be reimbursed by the grant.

The organiser states that individual feedback will not be available for selection decisions and that decisions are final. Applicants should therefore make the first submission complete and retain evidence of eligibility and submission.

Support and submission

Applications must be submitted through the IZOLYATSIA platform by 4 December 2026 at 23:59 Kyiv time: IZOLYATSIA application platform. The official EU opportunity record is available here: EU Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity.

Applicants can use the organiser’s FAQ, online consultations and Q&A support during the application period. The dedicated helpline is hi@zmina.eu, with an indicated response time of two working days. Weekly online consultations are held on Tuesdays at 10:00 Central European Time and 11:00 Kyiv time, subject to the organiser’s current schedule.2 4

Overall assessment

This is a focused, relatively small-scale international cooperation opportunity for legally established cultural organisations that can work jointly with a Ukrainian partner on a resilience-related artistic or cultural outcome. It is most suitable for partnerships with a defined creative concept, balanced governance, existing implementation capacity and a clear plan for public presentation in Ukraine and the partner locations.

The principal compliance risks are partner ineligibility, an insufficient or unclear Ukrainian role, failure to demonstrate comparable partner importance, omission of a required local presentation, incomplete registration evidence, an outdated Ukrainian registration extract, failure to include the mandatory contribution, use of unsupported costs, starting activities before grant signature and inadequate treatment of accessibility or cross-cutting priorities.

A competitive proposal should connect the artistic idea, the resilience theme, the cross-border creation process, the public presentation plan, the audience strategy, the budget and the continuation plan into one coherent delivery model. The grant ceiling is modest, so a realistic project with controlled travel, clear responsibilities and strong local relevance is likely to be more credible than an overextended international production.

Source notes

The official organiser pages describe ZMINA:Resilience as a programme supporting cooperation between Ukrainian organisations and organisations from Creative Europe countries, including the co-creation and presentation of cultural works.12

The European Commission describes ZMINA:Resilience as one of the projects selected under additional Creative Europe support for Ukraine and identifies IZOLYATSIA, Malý Berlín and Trans Europe Halles as the implementing partnership.4

The official Creative Europe participating-country list should be checked for the status and strand eligibility of any non-EU partner before submission.5

Footnotes

1. 1Official programme overview: ZMINA:Resilience and official organiser information on the programme purpose and cooperation model.
2. 2European Commission information on ZMINA:Resilience and the implementing partnership: Creative Europe support to Ukrainian culture.
3. 3Official Creative Europe participating-country guidance: Creative Europe participating countries list.
4. 4Official organiser events and applicant consultation information: ZMINA:Resilience applicant events.