Here are the great projects that were submitted for Up Grants 2026: Culture for Democracy. Up Grants is our microgrants scheme that rewards your best practices in cultural project management. The 2026 edition celebrated democracy, gathering initiatives based on three thematic strands: digital ethics and democracy; dialogue in times of polarisation; participation and cultural resistance. Browse the gallery and get inspired.
Discover the winners of this edition here.
A participatory virtual tour empowering rural communities to engage in local democratic processes.
Taz-Checklist enables citizens to evaluate political candidates independently using a digital tool.
An open discussion on ethic, Ai, legal data protection
A nationwide mapping study examining how digital ethics challenges including algorithmic influence,
Empowering Serbian citizens for responsible digital engagement and democratic participation.
Project offers young people new competences for media agency & ethical journalism via digital tools
Promoting critical digital citizenship, combating disinformation and the rise of the far-right.
Aurora residents co-create a permanent AR artwork inspired by Italo Calvino's masterpiece
Fighting algorithmic manipulation through youth-led digital democracy.
Open source participatory, case-linked frameworks to reason about AI uses in home-movie archives
RMSS develops a new generation of analysts by combining education and practical training in internat
Turning BiblioTech hubs into youth labs for digital ethics and democratic participation.
Teen AI literacy 10-day summer camp in Novi Sad turned into a ready-to-use toolkit for educators
AIRS empowers independent artists to defend their digital rights in the time of AI-driven threats.
Artists and audiences explore AI, authorship, rights and digital democracy through labs and talks.
DVOR empowers residents with tools to transform overlooked courtyards into urban commons.
Citizen-driven responses to disinformation through collaborative fact-checking and digital tools.
Step Up Your Game empowers young people with civic skills and ethical participation.
A Network for Arts and Stage, connecting artists, cultural venues and their audiences
A participatory digital map for monitoring and visualizing AI ethics challenges for cultural CSOs.
A media art residency exploring how digital technologies shape society and the environment.
Empowering youth to decode hate speech against minority groups & create digital counter-narratives.
A digital campaign raising journalists’ and public awareness on AI ethics and fact-checking.
Digital media booth empowering marginalized youth to share stories and promote civic dialogue.
Lucid Absurdities explores trauma, power, empathy through physical theatre and dance.
Dialogues for Trust: Empowering youth to bridge social divides through horizontal dialogue and empat
The intercultural project for a disadvantaged neighborhood in Saint-Etienne.
Magrafica is a participatory project that explores the challenges of democracy through art.
A participatory dialogue circle fostering civic listening in polarised cities.
Art&social project about communication and feedback for the local, diverse community
Teaching critical media literacy through short films to help educators address polarization.
Transform Thonetje into a shared neighbourhood dialogue space.
Creative dialogue labs rebuilding democratic trust in polarised communities.
is a civic-impact documentary project using human-centric photography
A public stand-up event featuring stories experienced, researched and told by exiled journalists and
A theatre-based dialogue on language, identity and belonging in polarised societies.
An ephemeral radio animated by 10 young people to speak about democracy at the Avignon Festival
is a participatory socio-cultural initiative that uses forum theatre as a tool for civic dialogue
A community discussion club exploring big questions through the simple prompt: “Why do we need…?”
Creativity as a living lab to reinvent citizen dialogue
Youth from Mostar explore dialogue and coexistence through art therapy, photography and exhibition
Cooking together to spark dialogue and challenge racism, Islamophobia, and social division.
Empowering migrant organisations in Hamburg to collaborate, share knowledge & strengthen democracy.
Kartzin is a non-commercial cultural infrastructure hosting a forum on ‘Freedom of Expression'
Connecting voices in Latgale, a border region, for stronger European communities.
Building local spaceholding capacity for dialogue and transformation to overcome polarisation
Youth assemblies in libraries re-imagining governance and bridging civic divides.
Cooking, eating and talking together: a shared table bringing neighbours closer.
Czech and German poster series challenging populism, xenophobia, and threats to democracy.
Empowering young people to challenge polarization and build dialogue through sharing experiences.
CutiCunta is a regular assembly in public space open to all: each time focussing on a specific issue
2-day festival at Tempelhofer Feld (Berlin) uniting communities via storytelling, workshops & music.
Individual and collective confrontation, in the 18th district
Exploring, testing and adapting participatory methods for intercultural dialogue and trust-building.
Youth rethinking traditional songs to challenge stereotypes and raise awareness on gender violence.
nacucky!: A Safe Haven for dialogue, critical thinking, and building resilience against populism.
LTA creates community conversations centering diaspora and activist voices on global injustice.
Critical analysis labs: information and advertising in the press, tv and social media
Youth leadership programme empowering participation, shared responsibility and democratic dialogue
Lectures and discussions on Ukrainian writers in exile and minority authors, supporting integration.
Community and art festival in nature, fostering dialogue, empathy, inclusion and social cohesion.
Youth-led dialogue spaces that bring together diverse communities to rebuild trust and reduce social
A project connecting youth and elders through digital storytelling, dialogue and ethics.
Using artistic interventions and community research to examine polarisation and cultural responses.
Cocktail: a mix of events that either turn out bad or good, what algorithms do to us
Monthly conversations connecting rural communities, local creators and international artists through
An audio lab where young people turn social friction into democratic solutions through storytelling.
PERTENCER | Fostering intercultural dialogue through the arts
is an ecofeminist programmation of arts & crafts, aiming to document and transform systemic violence
Board game co-creation events spark dialogue among polarized youth about the future of civil society
A participatory city walk activating hidden urban spaces for art, dialogue and civic exchange.
We want to highlight the cultural diversity of a small European town in an online exhibition.
A public talk series exploring how art can reopen dialogue in increasingly polarised societies.
Low-tech cinema making festival that seeks to activate a conscious vision towards storytelling.
Cozy community cinema, space for debating political issues and supporting independent local culture.
Film screenings and dialogue events connecting Greeks of Ukraine with diaspora communities in Europe
An open discussion about closed public buildings and communities at Jardins do Bombarda Centre.
Participatory artistic workshops fostering dialogue and active citizenship in Brussels
participatory theatre project turning testimony into dialogue,fostering dialogue empathy & inclusion
Participatory music lab empowering seniors as cultural agents to strengthen democratic dialogue.
Empowering the Roma minority through a community plum-jam making event in Dobolii de Sus.
Creating a small community theatre and educational space for children and youth in Šabac.
Participative Festival that aimes to counter polarisation and bringing the European Idea to our yout
A digital library as a socio-cultural participatory space for a relocated educational community and
degree-free space for sharing Ukrainian identity, knowledge and culture through lived experience
A participatory performance exploring collective perspectives through movement in public space.
Participatory media project on lived democracy in Paris, Berlin and Athens.
Active citizenship education through participatory photography and collective mapping
A participatory community radio project turning citizens into co-producers of a shared sound archive
Volunteer-driven, promoting social reintegration and life project development for inmates.
Cultural hub empowering women, youth and local development in rural Brazil.
The Congress concerts feature Roma artists using their music as instruments of empowerment.
Coloring for the Future” by Amigos de Europa: art-driven community growth tackling depopulation.
A participatory theatre project in Tourcoing promoting literacy, inclusion and democratic dialogue.
lorgennale - a festival that transforms private living rooms into intimate performance venues
Intercontinental storytelling events bridging East Africa and Germany to counter polarisation
Citizens reclaim local history through participatory reconstruction of a historic photo archive
Co-Create: A hub where our community pitches, votes, and runs 5 events via micro-grants.
Chimera Fest is a festival, a place, a possibility, an act of resistance, an utopia becoming reality
120 cultural associations uniting communities through civic cultural action for democracy in Kranj.
Vtsi"Tree of Legends": an art object with a QR audio archive of stories and legends from the Lani
An annual program: activating spaces to bridge urban gaps through new cultural prototypes.
A space for collective networking and political education in Innsbruck for everyone.
Un spectacle qui restitue la voix des femmes opprimées à travers les chants de tradition italienne.
GREEN STEPS empowers communities through creativity, art, and environmental action.
Exploring mosaic as a collective language for community-led identity building in Capri Leone.
A queer-feminist free shop, gallery, meeting space in a peripheral valley in Carinthia, Austria
Empowering youth to explore democracy through culture, dialogue, and participation.
Artitude Creative Library is a mobile platform for artistic learning and community dialogue.
KUFA opens its doors during the day as a place for participation, exchange and self-organisation.
Inclusive participatory events around open air public sculptures in Thessaloniki’s waterfront.
Music lab empowering Gyumri youth to turn social concerns into civic action.
EVN Urban Lab: Youth reclaiming city spaces through art, film, and creative civic action.
BeoTura offers a critical and engaging exploration of Belgrade’s history and cultural heritage
A free public programme of participatory art workshops that connects local communities.
A festival where art meets the local community on the streets.
Germany’s largest festival of Roma culture, promoting empowerment, political education and dialogue.
Empowering young women and youth through art, storytelling, and civic participation.
Storytelling project sharing migration experiences to foster dialogue, understanding and democratic.
Weaving women’s civic voices into collective democratic action through participatory crochet.
we are an independent online community radio based in Stuttgart.
Empowering students to transform their school through democratic participation and collective action
A volunteer model transforming access into cultural agency for marginalised youth.
An actor among hundreds of newspapers reveals his clash with media:our democracy’s future is urgent!
Heritage tours for educators to strengthen democratic awareness, critical dialogue about identity.
Democratic Laboratory for Civic Participation and Collective Artistic Creation in rural area
Collective imagination workshops turning community visions of the future into shared artworks.
CivicBoost engages youth in creative civic action, co-creating campaigns that amplify youth voice.
Creative transformation of neglected urban spaces through art, recycling and citizen participation.
Platformat 13th edition: Strengthening community-led resilience through participatory programming
Participatory cultural platform using satire and dialogue to bridge societal divides.
Revival of the Mariupol Theatre: based on the script by Sławomir Mrozek, "House on the Border".
LLEVAR FORMACIÓN ARTÍSTICA A NIÑAS Y NIÑOS DE SECTORES VULNERABLES DEL MUNICIPIO DE IBAGUÉ
Residents of Stadera co-create the cultural programme of a neighbourhood cultural centre.
Rural youth voices shaping democracy through public art and dialogue
“Different Eyes” is a group exhibition on discrimination, with works selected by a citizens’ jury.
Artists at Risk residency(Aug–Oct2026)for displaced artists with public presentation at Open Studios
A community-led lab promoting cultural rights, participation and democracy at Nau Bostik.
Unveiling the social fabric that makes access to the arts actually possible.
A participatory investigative theatre project on politics as spectacle and collective memory.
Resistansound is a participatory contemporary platform exploring cultural resistance through sound.
Transforming a neglected shared space through participatory art and community-led spatial activation
Laboratory in La Surera that revitalizes rural rites for territorial resilience and ecosocial care
Architecture Summer School exploring spatial relationships between communities and river landscapes.
International youth jury exploring democracy and belonging through participation at dokumentART.
Residents and artists transform a housing block into a shared stage for a new site-specific Traviata
Roma women in Vratsa transform their experiences of pregnancy and motherhood into collective art.
Participatory dialogues at on artists’ rights, remuneration and cultural democracy.
Interactive heritage tours for educators for democratic awareness, dialogue on history and identiy.
An inclusive listening project to bring the voice to the neighbourhood and build a share community
Agora Hub fosters youth empowerment, inclusion, and community development in Gjakova and nearby area
A rural community builds a solar balloon carrying messages for peace and shared futures into the sky
A two-part jubilee series: a grassroots outdoor festival and a formal gala for our 140th year.
Interactive public art engaging citizens to protect southern Tunisian oases from pollution.
A participatory cultural project promoting public tap water and reducing plastic in Venice.
A participatory festival reviving Armenian traditional wedding rituals, songs, dances and crafts.
A free school in Palermo where young people reclaim staying in the South as collective resistance.
Three-day art space for teens about freedom, equality, and the right to a voice.
Watchdog walks connecting dog owners and civic activists to explore and shape public spaces.
A living exhibition with artists with disabilities leading inclusive art workshops.
An art–science project exploring urban peatlands and their ecological and military landscape defense
An eco-digital performing arts hub in a rural area where performing arts foster cultural resistance
Assemble for Cultural Rights! is a translocal Assembly & Summit reopening Teatro Garibaldi (Palermo)
One fearless woman vs. the machinery of greed — a play, a trial, a conversation with our city.
Aniene Valley socio-cultural centre using art and participation to make water a democratic commons
A Czech network of 14 sites commemorating diverse forms of resistance against the communist regime.
A feminist festival exploring art as a tool for activism and transformative pedagogy
International know-how sharing and toolbox for better advocacy in times of political pressure
A participatory counter-monument and digital platform against the erasure of the dictatorship Memory
Central Asian Contemporary Theatre Festival "Place-Action"
From regenerated rural house to cultural hub: upcycling and local crafts for community participation
Supporting migrant youth artists to build sustainable collective practice through peer mentorship.
A digital storytelling project presenting Ukrainian wartime letters as living archives of resilience
Renovating a community cultural space where migrant voices create, meet and transform the city
A lecture series on key dates in Belarusian history banned or silenced by the dictatorial regime
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of local civil society organizations and active resident
LtP is a participatory performance-installation amplifying women’s voices against militarisation.
Contemporary circus as a space for young people to express their experiences.
Halle 16 Art Days uses artistic workshops for new experiences in the (social) body.
Projet participatif mêlant ecothéâtre, médiation scientifique, l'innovation numérique et la famille
Creative workshops empowering Belarusian refugee women and engaging them in community life in Italy.
Change starts with us. We form a strong community as the foundation of modern society.
A two-day festival where art, science and civic formats fuel democratic debate on river rights.
A participatory arts festival challenging menstrual stigma and empowering civic dialogue.
A rural artistic laboratory of co-creation, walking and civic participation.
Participatory art project revitalizing a neglected meadow in Split with the local community.
Community lunches imagining new social futures for Barcelona’s abandoned Palau dels Esports.
A project designed to push boundaries of mental health awareness and envision more equitable futures
Inclusive community reading corner transforming a shared courtyard into a free book-sharing space.
Reclaiming care: moving from systemic neglect and coercion to collective participation.
Participatory cultural labs to confront touristification in the Canaries and mainland communities.
Cultural creative meeting on heritage, sustainability and sociocultural challenges through fashion.
Romanian youth on the EU border use culture to reflect on the relationship with their birthplace.
Gantiadi is an independent multidisciplinary cultural festival series based in Berlin.
Participatory performance where communities rehearse democratic action to protect water-bodies
Participatory monthly cultural gatherings strengthening identity and democracy through culture.
Reclaiming public spaces through youth-led creative activism to counter far-right polarization.
Little Ugly Lies Treating with literature against corruption
Collaborative atelier building a sound system, blending music, culture, education and generations.
TIGD participants explore identity through autofiction and photographic self-portrait.
Brno Cultural Policy Under Spotlight: promises and a public clash on the city's future in 2026 vote!
BIRLIKTE Short i n Stories Rich in History Short-Story Competition
Turba: Reclaiming space for cultural resistance through independent media and mutual aid.
Artistic residency dedicated to the development of a collective map
Saving Moldova’s 15-year free cultural commons through community-led resistance.
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