European Social Fund+

Cultural projects and creative initiatives could be a possible way to further strengthen the idea of a social Europe and provide European citizens with better access to their social rights. In this manner, the ESF+ essentially supports measures aimed at marginalised groups and disadvantaged people, for example women, queer people, people with a refugee background, those who have been unemployed in the long term or persons without school-leaving qualifications or with low vocational qualifications. In general, projects that receive funding from the European Social Fund+ should be mainly concerned with the following:

• 'Employment': Improving access to the labour market for all employment seekers, supporting gainful employment for women and reconciliation of work and private life.
• 'Education': Enabling equal access to general professional education and lifelong learning, increasing quality and labour market relevance of the various courses of education.
• 'Inclusion': Improving social and social economic integration of disadvantaged and marginalised persons, combatting unemployment and establishing active inclusion and equal access to social protection systems.

In this context, social projects in cooperation with the cultural and creative sector can develop new ways and strategies, for example, facilitating the inclusion of older people or employment seekers or raising awareness regarding gender equality. Moreover, cultural projects can contribute to the establishment or improvement of policies in respect of further education and qualification and to the expansion or acquisition of skills that are relevant for the labour market.

In the context of the regional implementation of the ESF+, the funding policies are adjusted to the respective regional challenges. Thereby, different points of contact can be established for the cultural and creativity sector. Although cultural projects are covered less by the ESF+ in some federal states, culture projects in other regions can in general receive more focus. Therefore, it makes sense that you concentrate on those federal state programmes that are relevant to your project. You will find the responsible contact person under Contacts.

Social projects with strong cultural elements were already funded by previous programmes, and the following activities were implemented, among others:

• Refugees received music education in cooperation with a childcare centre and a tertiary institution to obtain better chances of access opportunities to the labour market
• Development of a UV light exhibition to enable unemployed people to participate socially and to further their education
• Establishment of a dance ensemble with professional dancers from Syria as a means to process and present their experiences from the war and their flight
• Creation of low-threshold counselling and support services for young people at risk of exclusion by providing them with work experience in creative and media studios

In view of its socio-political orientation, the ESF+ is particularly focused on:

• Public institutions
• Educational institutions
• Welfare organisations, associations and other civil societies
• Companies

No European partner organisation is required for the purposes of applying for this programme, but it is nonetheless possible. The funding criteria are different in each federal state based on the diverse operational programmes of the ESF+. This can also have an impact on the organisations eligible to apply. Therefore, you should carefully examine the regional funding conditions relevant to your project.