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The Romanian Cultural Institute supports the initiatives of cultural operators: Call for projects for promoting the Romanian culture abroad through CANTEMIR Programme

The budget granted for the selection session under CANTEMIR Programme 2023 is RON 2,400,000, and the maximum amount grantable for a cultural project is RON 100,000

The Romanian Cultural Institute (RCI) announces the launch of CANTEMIR Programme*, the funding programme for cultural projects abroad. Under this programme, RCI will grant non-refundable sponsorships for cultural initiatives in the field of visual arts (plastic arts, decorative arts, science/research and architecture, design, new media, photography, performance) and performing arts (theatre, music, dance). The events related to the funded projects shall be organized exclusively abroad (outside Romania).

The relaunch of the CANTEMIR Programme is an important step in the implementation of the RCI Strategy that we adopted last year, representing the implementation of the „Cultural Support“ Axis for Development. The main objective we have in mind is the connection of cultural operators in Romania with partners from abroad. Thus, the existence of at least one partner in the host country is the essential condition for applications. I believe in partnership with the cultural sector for the promotion of Romanian culture abroad, and transparency and accessibility are part of normality, said Liviu Jicman, president of the Romanian Cultural Institute.

In 2023, the budget granted for the selection session under CANTEMIR Programme is RON 2,400,000, equally divided between the two fields – visual arts and performing arts. The maximum amount grantable for a cultural project is RON 100,000.

The cultural operators are invited to submit the grant applications in the interval February 20th– March 21st 2023. Any Romanian or EU-based natural person, individual entity, family enterprise or private or public legal entity can participate to project selection process, provided that such entities are cultural operators, have no debts to the state central or local budget and have complied with their obligations under the previous non-refundable sponsorship contracts. The documents required for registration, included in the Programme Regulation, must be filled in and sent to programulcantemir@icr.ro, in one PDF (max 10MB), by the latest March 21st 2023, 12:00 P.M. (GMT+2).

In order for a cultural program to be eligible it must comply with the following conditions: to be implemented in the interval 01.06.2023– 15.10.2023, after concluding the funding contracts; to be implemented in partnership with at least one cultural organization from the country where the project will be implemented; not to benefit from other funding sources granted by the Romanian Cultural Institute (including its representative offices abroad); not to benefit from co-fundings from other Romanian public funds applying minimis aids /state-aids; its target must be the audience living abroad.

On CANTEMIR Programme

CANTEMIR Programme aims for artistic excellence, originality, encouraging the fusion of innovative and experimental artistic forms; the European dimension, the international cooperation / coproductions; the contribution to an improved visibility of Romanian culture and of the interest for the same on the international cultural markets, by facilitating the access to representative Romanian artistic works; attracting the audience by the project artistic/cultural value and relevance; supporting the partnerships of Romanian and foreign cultural operators, on one side, and on the other side the International cultural organizations; highlighting relevant cultural topics, specific for the cultural year 2023. The projects implemented in partnership with RCI are not eligible, as they are covered by other programmes and priorities of RCI.

The granting of non-refundable sponsorships by CANTEMIR Programme is carried out based on selection of cultural offers, in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance no. 51 on August 11th 1998 regarding the improvement of the non-refundable sponsorship program for cultural projects, as further amened and completed, and according to the provisions of the regulation set for this programme. The non-refundable sponsorships are granted in RON, by bank transfer, provided that the sponsorship beneficiary has or is able to collect from other sources a minimum of 10% of the project value.

For a cultural operator to be considered partner of the sponsorship beneficiary, it must have its registered office in the country where the project is to be implemented, to participate to the described activities and to sign the partnership declaration. The fee-based products supply or service rendering required by the project cannot be deemed a partnership.

All details on the selection stages, funding method and deadlines for projects submission can be found in the Regulation of Cantemir 2023 Programme and all required documents for applying for funds can be downloaded from here.