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CALL FOR PROJECTS “UNESCO-ASCHBERG PROGRAMME FOR ARTISTS AND CULTURAL PROFESSIONALS”

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Application Deadline: 23 February 2026 (23:59 UTC+1)

LOCATION: Multiple Regions

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launches a call open to governments and public institutions, as well as civil society organizations, to support initiatives aimed at protecting and promoting the status of the artist and artistic freedom.

ELIGIBILITY:

This call for projects aims to support government- and civil society-led initiatives that protect and promote the status of the artist and artistic freedom in its broad sense, as recognised by UNESCO—that is, encompassing a bundle of rights protected under international law, including:

The right to create without censorship or intimidation

The right to have artistic work supported, distributed, and remunerated

Artists’ right to freedom of movement

Artists’ right to freedom of association

The protection of the social and economic rights of artists

Everyone’s right to participate in cultural life 

To advance these rights, the call for projects offers two tracks:

TRACK 1 – FOR GOVERNMENTS AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS: Technical assistance to revise or design laws, regulations, policies, and measures that promote and protect the status of the artist and artistic freedom.

TRACK 2 – FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS: Financial assistance for innovative projects that advance the status of the artist and artistic freedom at the local, national, regional, or international level. These may encompass, for example, capacity building, advocacy, monitoring and research, etc.

To find out more about each of the two tracks, including the eligibility criteria, please read the call for projects document carefully.

Track 1—For Governments and Public Institutions: Project proposals under track 1 may be submitted by governments and public institutions of UNESCO member states.

Priority will be given to developing countries, those whose governmental and public institutions have not yet been supported under the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme, and projects that respond to UNESCO’s strategic priorities—Africa, gender equality, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), youth, and fostering an intersectoral approach.

Applicants should be government/public institutions whose mandate is relevant for the advancement of the status of the artist and cultural professionals and artistic freedom, for example, national ministries (Culture, Finance, Labour, Tourism, Communication, Social Affairs, etc.)

Track 2 – Financial Assistance to Civil Society Initiatives: Applicants should be local, national, regional, or international civil society organizations that operate on a not-for-profit basis.

Applicants may include: Non-governmental organizations that promote the status of the artist and artistic freedom, and associations and foundations active in the cultural and creative industries, including cultural and professional associations, Networks or unions of artists and cultural professionals, Academic institutions and research centers.

To be eligible, applicants must: Have at least two (02) years of legal existence (proof of legal registration required); Have directly implemented, over the past two years, at least one project in the cultural and creative sector (provide activity reports and financial statements for the past two years, 2023- 2024).

Priority will be given to CSOs that have not previously received support under the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme and projects that benefit artists and cultural professionals from developing countries and that respond to UNESCO’s strategic priorities—Africa, gender equality, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), youth, and fostering an inter-sectoral approach.

BENEFIT:

Track 1—For Governments and Public Institutions: Financial Support for Logistics: While technical assistance offered under track 1 is primarily expert-driven, applicants may request up to 30,000 USD in order to support the logistics of the project’s implementation (e.g., logistical organization of meetings/consultations/capacity-building activities, funding of communication activities, etc.). Applicants are therefore invited to present a preliminary budget for the planned activities, as indicated in the application form.

Track 2 – Financial Assistance to Civil Society Initiatives: Applicants may request financial support for up to USD 50,000 to implement their proposed project. This funding can cover costs directly related to project delivery

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SIXTH CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR STEG LARGER RESEARCH GRANTS

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Application Deadline: 02 February 2026, 23:59 BST

LOCATION: United Kingdom

STEG invites applications to the sixth call for proposals for Larger Research Grants (LRGs). The program can fund research assistance, data collection and/or purchase, and teaching buyouts, or relevant remuneration practices, for the principal investigator and co-investigators from partner institutions.

ELIGIBILITY:

Country and Policy Relevance: Please note that an important criterion for funding of proposals is the relevance to policy in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Proposals focused on middle- and/or high-income countries need to make a clear case for the relevance of the research to policy in specific low-income countries. Proposals are also evaluated on the extent to which the research findings (including those from comparative work or from studies in other geographies) might be relevant to policy in specific sub-Saharan countries.

All funded projects, regardless of location, will have to discuss within their final report and research note (see LRG Applicant Guide, available at the bottom of this page) the potential lessons for policymakers in low-income and sub-Saharan countries.

They welcome applications to our LRG calls from researchers all over the world and encourage applications that propose collaboration between researchers from lower- and higher-income countries.

Principal investigators applying to LRG calls should currently have a PhD or be enrolled in a PhD programme. Although there are no formal qualification requirements for co-investigators, co-investigators on STEG-funded projects usually have a PhD or are enrolled in a PhD programme. The knowledge, expertise, and qualifications of the entire research team will be taken into account when evaluating the proposal.

PhD Students/Candidates: They welcome submissions from PhD students to our regular LRG calls. However, given the scale of funding of our LRGs, all applicants will be assessed on their capability and experience in conducting data collection and research more broadly at this scale.

COVID-19 Impacts: Researchers whose proposals rely on face-to-face surveys or interactions should clearly discuss the implications for the project of potential delays and the alternatives to face-to-face fieldwork in the event that the fieldwork is delayed by COVID-19. 

BENEFIT:

Large Research Grants (LRGs) are awarded up to the value of £100,000. Grants also support travel to field sites, even when secondary data is utilized. 

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