STEP Beyond Travel Grants

STEP Beyond Travel grants fund up-and-coming artists and cultural workers - with a priority to individuals up to 35 years and/or in the first 10 years of their career - to travel between EU and countries bordering the EU. Since 2003, STEP  - which stands for ‘Supporting Travel for European Partnerships’ - Beyond Travel Grants have supported the movement of hundreds of people across European borders by providing between €250 and €700. In 2010, we awarded 159 individual travel grants of between €250 and €700.

Funding mobility and exchange links closely to ECF’s overall objectives and specifically to our European Neighbourhood programme, which currently works with organisations in Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey. Also high on our agenda is support for people and projects in the Arab-Mediterranean regions. We especially welcome applications for STEP Beyond Travel Grants from these regions.


STEP Beyond Travel grants support artists and cultural workers based in one of the following countries: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, The Netherlands, Norway, Palestinian Territories, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
All the activities of the ECF mobility fund are revolved around three strategic guiding principles:
  1. Empowerment of people through art and culture – support is given to different communities in Europe to encourage the exchange and empowerment of under-represented groups.
  2. Connecting sources of knowledge – sharing and connecting knowledge is vital in creating an open Europe.
  3. Linking policy and practice projects that help build an open Europe by contributing to cultural policy development locally, nationally, regionally and at a European level.

Eligibility

  • Artists or cultural workers of any contemporary artistic or cultural discipline (individual or representing a cultural or artistic independent organisation);
  • Based in Europe or in its neighborhood;
  • Maximum 35 years old.
What countries can you travel to and from?
In order to facilitate the functioning of the fund as well as to reach its aims, the larger pan-European area has been divided in two groups.
  • Group A: The 27 Member States of the European Union; The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
  • Group B: In Europe: Western Balkans(Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, (FYROM),Montenegro and Serbia), Belarus, Moldavia, Russia, South Caucasus (Armenia,Azerbaijan and Georgia) Turkey and Ukraine. In the South and East Mediterranean: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya,Morocco, Palestine Territory, Syria and Tunisia.

Types of grants

The STEP beyond offers three types of grants (350, 500 and 700 Euro) based on travel distances and average travel costs. The eligible applications are evaluated by the STEP beyond team during the pre-selection phase, after this assessment ECF decides which proposal it will support. Both awarded  and rejected applicants are notified by e-mail around one month after the application submission date.

In case of group travel:
  • a maximum of three individuals applying for the same event;
  • group applications need to be submitted by the host organisation.

Application procedure

Please follow the steps outlined below to apply for the STEP beyond travel grants:
  • Download and fill out the STEP beyond application form.
  • Fill in completely the Registration Form.
If you still have questions about the procedure, you can always contact us via e-mail: stepbeyond[@]eurocult.org.