ASEAN-EU Cultural Festival 2022: Call for Applications

ASEAN-EU CULTURAL FESTIVAL 2022

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Overall Objectives and Main Elements

The ASEAN-EU Cultural Festival is a public arts festival showcasing artistic excellence from and collaborations among the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It aims to promote people-to-people linkages and connectivity between Europe and Southeast Asia through cross regional exchanges in the field of culture, arts and music.

Thought as a flagship cultural brand in the framework of EU’s cultural relations with Southeast Asia, the Festival endeavours to explore the enormous potential and dynamic synergy of intercultural collaborations and artistic co-creations between the two continents.

The first Festival will take place in September 2022 to celebrate the 45^th anniversary of EU-ASEAN relations as an active appreciation of the two regions’ cultures and manifestation of the collaboration and development of the EU-ASEAN partnership.

The festival wishes to offer a diverse range of programming from Asia and Europe including performances, exhibitions, and discussions, including:

• Performing arts, dance, music, and theatre;
• Short films / cinema, digital and visual arts exhibitions;
• Cultural debates and panel discussions to facilitate exchanges on this topic between the two regions.

The main partner organisation is the EU Delegation to ASEAN supported by the project “Advancing the EU role in multilateral fora in Asia”, which acts as the general co-ordinator of the Festival.  Together with the EU Delegation, the project works closely with the host country to implement the activities of the Festival.

Further partnerships with local institutions in ASEAN Member States will be established (municipalities/cultural centres) to secure venues where the Festival will take place.

This event is funded by the European Union through the Partnership Instrument.

Dates:                 September 2022

Venues:              On-site events: Brussels and Jakarta

Virtual events on: www.euinasean.eu and social media channels

Title:                    Youth voices

Theme: Young people represent more than 30% of the European population and 34% of ASEAN population. 2022 will be designated as the Year of Youth both in the EU and ASEAN.

The festival wishes to take a close look at the youth and the young creation and formats, bringing together cultural activists from both regions, and acting as a meeting place for film directors and producers, dancers, performers, artists from all arts disciplines.

A new generation of artists will share ideas and hopes for the future, learn from each other thus strengthening connections between the two continents, for a more inclusive, sustainable, resilient global community.

In doing so, the festival also wishes to question inter-generational connections and perspectives.

More information on the European Year of Youth: https://europa.eu/youth/year-of-youth_en

More information on ASEAN Cooperation on Youth: https://asean.org/our-communities/asean-socio-cultural-community/education-youth/

Audience:            All events will be open to public

Invitation for Expressions of Interest

Proposals must originate in the 37 EU and ASEAN ⁽¹⁾ countries and relate to one of the following artistic disciplines:

• Performances such as music, dance, theatre, etc.
• Visual art, digital art, multi-media and photography exhibitions
• Films including documentaries
• Literary readings, talks or conversations

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN TO:

Individuals/collectives/teams, cultural institutions, universities, non-governmental arts organisations and private organisations or groups working in the fields identified above, with at least 5-year experience in the sector. Applicants are expected to be citizens of any of the countries/territories listed in footnote 1 above.

It is essential that the proposals are provided in the enclosed template (ANNEX I) to be considered. Applications should be made in English; applications will be assessed on the quality of the ideas presented and not the basis of proficiency in the English language.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Proposals integrating Asian and European cultures together, such as collaborations and co-productions, which represent the core objectives of the Festival and have the potential to engage broad and diverse audiences (both virtual and on-site) are highly recommended.

All proposals will be considered according to the same set of criteria. The criteria include:

• Relevance of the proposed event to the theme and objectives of the Festival (10 points);
• ASEAN-EU collaboration (10 points);
• Overall geographical representation (10 points);
• Professional and artistic merit of the programme (10 points); and
• Profile of the artists and/or production company (10 points)

COSTS

Venue and local transport in Jakarta and Brussels will be covered by the Festival co-organisers along with communication and marketing support (such as brochures, posters, advertising, media interaction and social media outreach). Logistical support on the ground for on-site projects and web hosting platform for virtual events will be arranged by the Festival co-organisers. For virtual events which require live streaming (such as online performances organised in the home country and requiring internet access locally), the proposing organisation will be responsible for ensuring appropriate internet connectivity at the said location.

The proposing organisation will be responsible for all costs related to the proposed event (travel & stay for artists and equipment; artist fees; insurance; production and technical costs). Acknowledgement as “Supporters” will be included in the communication products developed for the Festival (website, posters, brochures, press release, social media, etc.).

CONTACT POINTS:

Advancing the EU’s role in multilateral fora in Asia

Katia Maronati, katia.maronati@cowater.com

TIMELINE:

• Deadline for applications: 25 May
• Selection Process: 3 June
• Announcement of selected artists: 10 June
• Festival activities: September 2022

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⁽¹⁾ EU COUNTRIES: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

ASEAN COUNTRIES: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

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ABOUT THE ORGANISERS:

European Union

The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the European Union’s diplomatic service. Its role is to make sure the voice of the European Union and its people are heard in the world. A key aspect of the work of the EEAS is its ability to work closely with the foreign and defence ministries of the member states of the EU and the other EU institutions such as the European Commission, Council and Parliament. It also has a strong working relationship with the United Nations and other International Organisations. 

Website: europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies/eeas_en

The European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) was set up in January 2010, at the same time as the European External Action Service (EEAS). FPI reports directly to the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles. It works hand-in-hand with all Commission services and coordinates closely with the EEAS and EU Delegations on a daily basis. It puts EU foreign policy into action − fast and flexibly − in a policy-driven approach. It acts as first responder to foreign policy needs and opportunities, focusing on conflict prevention and peace, building alliances and leveraging the EU’s influence in the world. The Service plays a central role in implementing the European Commission’s political priorities in line with the EU’s Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy.

Website: ec.europa.eu/fpi/