📢📢📢Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans formally announces the extension of its Open Call for Applications, funded by European Union. This call targets individual artists, artisans, media content creators, journalists in the culture sector, and other members of the creative community across the Western Balkans.
📅Eligible candidates are invited to apply for an individual grant any time by 3️⃣0️⃣/0️⃣6️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣.
✅The CC4WBs commission reviews and evaluates applications on a monthly basis.
✅Each new applicant may submit only one application during this period.
🚫 No entry for those individuals already supported by this Open call.
🚫 No entry for those individuals who applied within the past 12 months.
❓For any questions follow the link on the document of the Open Call, section Q&A.
This initiative aims to further support the growth, visibility, and mobility of creative practitioners in the Western Balkans.
Links in comments.
👉👉View on CC4WBs Action page: https://unes.co/0cx7ap
👉👉Go directly to the document: https://shorturl.at/d4TEr
#CC4WBs #culture #creativity #Eu
Here it is again — the camel. Recurring across seemingly unrelated ritual systems: in the masked processions of Bulgarian Kukeri, in European Epiphany parades, among the Slovenian ritual zoomorphic masks as Gambela, and in Javanese Unto-Untoan processions. And again, in Algerian Barkasho celebratory masquerades. Different geographies. Different cultural logics. No obvious anthropological continuity. And yet, the camel returns. Not as a local animal, but as a displaced image that keeps appearing where it does not “belong.” In North Africa, it is real — part of landscape, economy, survival. But once it leaves that ecological ground, it becomes something else entirely: a travelling symbol of distance. In Europe, it enters liminal ritual spaces — Kukeri rituals, Gambela figures — where animal forms already shift and blur: horse, deer, bear, bull, something in-between. In Java’s Unto-Untoan tradition, it reappears again — alongside elephants and bulls — in effigy processions used in ritual purification of villages, carrying images of passage, distance, and imagined worlds. So the question is not origin. The question is repetition. Why this form? Why this animal, across systems that do not share a visible connection, keeps returning as if it is being remembered rather than borrowed? It behaves less like biology and more like a ritual constant — an image that insists on resurfacing. Not proof of connection. But a pattern that still asks to be read…
Folk group from Mladovo (Chitalishte “Hristo Botev”, 1929), Kukerlandia Festival, Yambol, Bulgaria
This project is supported by UNESCO, through the “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans”(CC4WBs), a project funded by the European Union that aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact.
@cc4wbs@unesco_venice@secret.world.of
#camel #kukerlandia #culture #cc4wbs #masquerade
Watch the full film on YouTube — link in bio.
Mediacentar Sarajevo i Udruženje Hagada okupili su šest mladih umjetnika i umjetnica iz Bosne i Hercegovine i Srbije s ciljem razvoja inovativnih digitalnih rješenja za promociju arhivskog materijala iz štampe i prezentaciju bogate kulturne baštine jevrejske zajednice, uključujući sadržaje časopisa Jevrejski glas iz digitalnog arhiva Infobiro. Rezultati pokazuju veliki potencijal moderne interpretacije – ne samo za očuvanje identiteta zajednice, nego i kao dodatnu vrijednost u turističkoj ponudi.
Mlada umjetnica Tamara Radović u okviru programa je kreirala video animaciju poznate ladino pjesme "Ocho Kandelikas" kompozitorice Flory Jagoda.
Digitalizacija časopisa Jevrejski glas u središtu je projekta koji Mediacentar Sarajevo provodi u saradnji sa @ifdt_beograd i Udruženjem za podršku promociji jevrejske kulture, tradicije i turističkih potencijala Haggada iz Sarajeva. Projekat “Oživljavanje jevrejske kulture na Zapadnom Balkanu”, koji podržava UNESCO, dio je šire inicijative “Kultura i kreativnost za Zapadni Balkan” (@cc4wbs ) koji finansira @eubih . Cilj projekta je podsticanje dijaloga na Zapadnom Balkanu kroz jačanje kulturnog i kreativnog sektora, s namjerom da se ostvari veći društveno-ekonomski uticaj.
#CC4WBs #CCI #culture #EU #digitalizacija #kulturnabastina
Na ovogodišnjem Cannes Film Festivalu održan je prijem, gdje su Jovan Marjanović, Renata Radeka i Alexandru Avram predstavili Adriatic Film Awards.
AFA kroz svoj rad aktivno promovira regionalni film i televizijske serije, stvarajući prostor za saradnju, razmjenu znanja i razvoj novih audiovizuelnih projekata. Cilj je jačanje kvaliteta regionalnog sadržaja i otvaranje novih mogućnosti za njegovu međunarodnu vidljivost.
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The Adriatic Film Awards are supported by UNESCO, through the “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans” (CC4WBs), a project funded by the European Union that aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact.
Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans Evropska unija u Bosni i Hercegovini
#AFA
🎬✨ Watch the first-hand impressions of the brand new ✨🏆 Adria Film Awards 🏆✨ presented at the prestigious 79th Cannes Film Festival! 🇫🇷🎥
Hear from Mr. Admir Kenović 🎬, renowned Bosnian director, alongside his student and Helem Nejse 🎶 band member Stihomir Klepić (Amer Čanković) 🎤 as they share their insights and excitement about this inspiring new cinematic initiative. 🌍✨
This event is proudly supported by #CC4WBs, funded by the European Union 🤝💙
Mentorship isn't just a conversation, it's a regional movement. 🌍
Watch the energy as professionals from across the Western Balkans gather to solve challenges, share visions, and strengthen our creative ecosystem. This is where theory becomes practice and individuals become a powerful community.
The #CreativeMentorshipforYoungProfessionals & #CreativeLeadersMentorshipProgramme Impact:
✅ 110 regional participants
✅ 500+ career-changing meetings
✅ Endless support for the creative sector
We are building a future where knowledge has no borders.
Join us! 🤝
🔗 Link in Bio.
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The Creative Mentorship for Young Professionals Programme is supported by the British Council through the Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans (CC4WBs) project, funded by the European Union.
#CreativeMentorship #Leadership #MentorshipStories #EU #CultureAndCreativityForTheWesternBalkans #WesternBalkans #CreativeMentorshipForYoungProfessionalsProgramme #CreativeMentorship #Mentorship #CCI #Arts #Culture #Creativity #Community
Believe it or not, I’ve never been a big supporter of the idea of organized carnivals and festivals dedicated to displaying masks from different regions and international groups. It’s not that I dislike them — I’m actually wary of them, because I believe that in the long run they can harm tradition itself. These large-scale showcases reduce masks to their visual impact alone. And yes, that impact is often breathtaking. But by focusing only on aesthetics, masks are stripped of their original function and moved further away from ritual. In my eyes, organized festivals often become a kind of sanitization and folklorization of ritual practices, turning one of the most important aspects of our collective pagan heritage into mere folklore and entertainment. What’s even more troubling is that spirituality has long been removed from the modern European understanding of culture. And once these living ritual elements are pushed aside into the category of “folklore,” culture itself becomes hollowed out — reduced either to entertainment or to abstract avant-garde content. People, as well as cultural experts, are slowly forgetting that the very root of the word “culture” comes from “cult”. And yet, despite all this, I still never miss these festivals whenever I get the chance. Because seeing thousands of different masks gathered in one place — especially at festivals like Surva or Kukerlandia — is so overwhelmingly powerful that almost nothing else can, for a single day, pull a person out of ordinary reality and into a true wonderland. Maybe the answer isn’t rejecting these traditions or turning them into spectacles, but finding a way to reconnect them with the ritual, spirituality, and deeper meaning they once carried.
This project is supported by UNESCO, through the “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans”(CC4WBs), a project funded by the European Union that aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact.
@cc4wbs@unesco_venice@secret.world.of
#kukeri #kukerlandia #culture #cc4wbs #masquerade
Watch the full film on YouTube — link in bio.
Sot në Europe House Albania u zhvillua “Talk Art”, një takim i dedikuar thirrjes CC4WB, në kuadër të Javëve Kulturore Ndërkombëtare dhe Javës Kulturore Europiane. 🇪🇺✨
Me pjesëmarrjen e përfaqësuesve të Delegacionit të Bashkimit Europian, UNESCO, British Council dhe AICS Tirana, diskutimi solli në vëmendje rëndësinë e mbështetjes së sektorit kulturor dhe industrive kreative si ura bashkëpunimi, zhvillimi dhe dialogu ndërkombëtar. 🎭🌍
Në websitet respektive të institucioneve partnere mund të gjeni informacione mbi aplikimet dhe thirrjet e hapura aktualisht, të cilat vijojnë deri në muajin qershor.
#CC4WB #TalkArt #JKN #EuropeWeek #CultureConnects
Public consultations were held today on the Cultural Policy Strategy of the Republic of North Macedonia, bringing together representatives of the public, private, and independent cultural sectors through the policy support stream of the #CC4WBs project, funded by #EU.
The event, hosted in a fully attended hall at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, Skopje highlighted the strong interest and engagement of stakeholders in shaping the future of culture in the country.
The consultations were officially opened by the Minister of Culture, Zoran Ljutkov, while Alma Mrgan-Slipičević addressed participants on behalf of UNESCO. Additional expert insight was provided by Milena Dragićević Šešić, contributing UNESCO’s technical expertise in the field of cultural policy development.
UNESCO’s support has been instrumental in ensuring that the Strategy is aligned with key international standards, including UNESCO cultural conventions, as well as relevant chapters of the EU acquis, notably Chapter 18 (Statistics), Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security), Chapter 26 (Education and Culture), and Chapter 31 (Foreign, Security and Defence Policy).
The process has been highly inclusive and participatory, generating a wide range of valuable inputs from stakeholders. As consultations continue, the Strategy will proceed into governmental procedures, with adoption expected in the near future.
#CC4WBs #Eu #culturalpolicy
Today’s #CC4WBs event within #Europeweek brought together key institutional partners, project stakeholders, and grantees to reflect on progress & results achieved as well as future directions of the CC4WBs initiative in Albania.
The session opened with welcome remarks from representatives of the European Union Delegation to Albania, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport of Albania, British Council, AICS Tirana, and UNESCO, reaffirming their joint commitment to supporting culture and creativity in the Western Balkans.
A presentation of results and achievements of the open calls highlighted the growing impact of the programme, showcasing how supported projects are contributing to cultural development and regional cooperation.
The agenda followed by an engaging panel discussion with selected CC4WBs grantees, including representatives from United Nations Association Albania, Kujto Foundation, and Agency of Creative Industries Albania, alongside independent project leaders.
The discussion focused on lessons learned, successful approaches, and the next steps in scaling and sustaining their initiatives.
The event concluded with an interactive Q&A session, fostering dialogue, exchange of experiences, and strengthening connections among participants.
The valuable exchanges with beneficiaries of the CC4WBs project were met with strong appreciation and interest from government representatives and EU stakeholders. The overall CC4WBs project is funded by the European Union and implemented by UNESCO, British Council, and AICS.
#CC4WBs #WesternBalkans #eu
Pričotvorci na Drama Boreale 2026
Sa radošću delim vest da ovog leta učestvujem na međunarodnoj konferenciji Drama Boreale 2026 u Helsinkiju.
Za mene je ovo izuzetna prilika da unapredim svoju praksu, proširim znanja iz dramske pedagogije, upoznam nove metode rada sa decom kroz priču i dramu, razmenim ideje sa praktičarima iz drugih zemalja i otvorim prostor za nova profesionalna povezivanja.
Posebno se radujem prilici da finsku kulturu i umetničku scenu upoznam iz perspektive umetnika, edukatora i dramskih pedagoga koji tamo stvaraju i rade.
Po povratku, nova znanja biće pretočena u pilot radionice u Kotoru i Tivtu, otvorenu hibridnu sesiju za edukatore i kulturne radnike, kao i praktični PDF vodič za rad sa decom kroz priče, dramu i lokalno nasleđe.
My participation in Drama Boreale 2026 is supported by UNESCO, through the “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans” (CC4WBs), a project funded by the European Union that aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact.
#CC4WBs #CCI #culture #EU #WesternBalkans
🎛️ Imaš materijal koji je spreman za sledeći nivo?
📢 Ložionica otvara mesta za jednodnevni production workshop sa MIXOM - zbog prirode formata, mesta su ograničena na maksimum 8 učesnika po sesiji, a selekcija se vrši na osnovu prijavljenih projekata.
Mihajlo Vujić (MIXA) je producent i izvođač sa više od 50 miliona strimova na Spotifyju, osnivač Force Recordsa i autor debitantskog albuma Elene Kitić – najslušanijeg domaćeg albuma ženskog izvođača u 2025. godini, koji je ušao u Grammy consideration. Sarađivao je sa Buba Corellijem, Jala Bratom, Rastom, Surrealom i mnogima drugima. 👏
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👉 Ko se može prijaviti?
Producenti, songwriteri i izvođači koji imaju spreman projekat (traku) na kom žele da rade.
👉 Kako se prijaviti?
Odaberi datum, apliciraj na link u bio i ostavi link do svog projekta u prijavi. MIXA lično presluša sve prijave i bira maksimalno 8 učesnika.
❗Rok za prijave: 19. maj
📆 Workshop: 23. maj
Najjače trake imaće priliku da se predstave na završnom događaju u Ložionici. 🔥
Prijavi se → bit.ly/songwriting-hub-workshops
I ne zaboravi – otvori svoj profil na /, kako bi se lakše uvezao sa kolegama iz regije!
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Ovaj workshop je deo projekta "Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans" (CC4WBs), koji finansira Evropska unija s ciljem jačanja kulturnih i kreativnih sektora Zapadnog Balkana.
