Open Call for Festivals – Halaqat II

Purpose

• The purpose of the Call for Festivals is to support the development and execution of independent festivals that seek to:
  • Experiment with practices of care, including but not limited; to management practices, gender-inclusive spaces, cultural programming, and audience engagement.
  • Catalyse conversations around gender and care, encouraging the exploration of creative strategies to ensure that festivals are safer, and equally accessible and welcoming to all individuals
  • Showcase artistic work that addresses gender topics

Funding Information

• Grant of 9,800 EUR per festival (paid in Euro or the equivalent depending on the rules in the respective countries)
• Eight festivals will be selected in total.

Eligible Activities

• Eligible activities can include, but are not limited to:
  • Organisation of festivals with an interest in practices of care
  • Workshops, panels, and discussions at festivals that explore topics of care and gender-inclusivity
  • Workshops, panel discussions, roundtables or job-shadowing by local festivals to transfer knowledge
  • Gender-inclusive programming.
  • Initiatives within festivals to provide spaces of care (e.g., safe zones, contact persons for emergencies)
  • Collaborative cultural events that bridge the Arab and European regions, with a focus on care and gender
  • Structured consultations with experts on care and gender and institutional restructuring to include practices of care

Eligibility Criteria

• Your application is eligible if:
  • You are over 18 years old, and you are submitting this application in your capacity as a representative of a festival.
  • You are organizing a festival between November 2025 and November 2026 in one of the following countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon or Morocco.
  • You have already secured funding for the upcoming edition of your festival (min. 30% of the whole festival budget, which can be proved at a later stage as a condition to sign the contract and can be in-kind contribution).
  • You are active in at least one artistic sector and/or cultural and creative industry.
  • You are keen on developing and experimenting with practices of care for festival environments, including management practices, gender-inclusive cultural programming, and audience engagement, and for the cultural scene in the country in which you operate
  • You are applying with a ‘Festival Care Plan’ outlining the key points of your vision and strategy to foster practices of care in the organisation of your festival’s upcoming edition.
  • You have proven capacity to manage a festival and have a demonstrated organisational capacity and relevant previous experience with a minimum of two previous editions organised.
  • You are applying with a budget proposal for the Halaqat grant indicating foreseen expenses per budget category: organisational costs and programming fees.
  • You are open to expert mentoring, knowledge exchange and networking opportunities, and willing to engage in public discussions on the topic of gender and care.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Temporary and program-based art programs, events and showcases, such as film screening programs, performance series, and concert programs are not considered as festivals and therefore are not eligible to apply.
• Applications will be considered ineligible if incomplete or not submitted in accordance with the timeline, format, guidelines and criteria outlined in this call.
• Applications will be considered ineligible if required information fields are left blank, the supporting documents are not uploaded, or if they are shared by any other means than directly uploaded to the Goethe Application Portal (GAP). Documents shared via WeTransfer, Dropbox, attached to emails, etc., will not be accepted.

For more information, visit Halaqat.