Small Grants – Durres Cycle

OPEN CALL FOR MINI – GRANTS
DURRES CYCLE – ARTIVIST STAFETË PROJECT 

Open call announcement      

MasterPeace, Stichting art.1, ACT for SOCIETY and OMSA conjointly announce the open call for mini grants for young people, individual and activists in Durrës, as part of the Artvist Stafetë project, funded by the European Delegation in Albania (IPA/2020/421-822). Through inclusion of ‘mini grants’ scheme we will enable young activists and artists to work on their art advocacy projects and to voice their ideas and stories in a creative way.

The foreseen impacts are to offer more opportunities for youth to express themselves through arts and equip them with artistic tools. The mini grant program increases stand-alone opportunities and networking opportunities of participants and will hence lead to more outputs to be presented at Tirana is burning film festivals, and exciting hackathons where civil society and youth meet in energizing events, for inclusion and improvement of the lives of LGBTI community in Albania, for awareness raising among different youth and professionals, for LGBTI short films, podcast, exhibition, storytelling performances, and to support young individuals and activists who are eager to improve the Albanian social context.      

What is the open call?

This open call for Mini-Grants is announced under the Artivist Stafete project that focuses on art and the self expression of youth through film, podcast and storytelling events related to young females and LGBTi youth. Young people, individuals and/or organisations working in the civil society sector are invited  to apply. We are looking for young filmmakers, artists, activists and those who want to express themselves through artivism. You can apply for the following grants.

1. Short Film (mini-grant up until € 1500,-)
2. Storytelling / Femme Salon Performance (mini-grant up until € 750,-)
3. Podcast (up until € 500,-)

The amount of funding made available to implement a project under this Open Call for awareness raising on gender equality and/or LGBTI rights mini-grants vary between € 500 – € 1500 depending on the art form. 

Criteria  
Your film, presentation, podcast should be about: human rights of LGBTI People, gender equality and Human Rights in general.

• Short Film (mini-grant up until € 1500,-)
• The film should be between 10-20 min.
• The film should have English subtitled;
• The winner of the grant needs to hand in a letter of consent of people featured in the film;
• The winner of the grant grants project leaders the right to screen the film in Albania and abroad both online and offline;
• The winner of the grant agrees that their short film will be distributed on the online hub of the project for wider dissemination;
• The winner of the grant is responsible for taking care of music rights;
• The winner of the grant will comply with the Code of Conduct of the project;
• The winner of the grant and Project leaders are shared rightholder of the final product;
• The winner of the grant will include logos of project and project partners on the credit list;
• The film will be completed within 3 months after the signing of the contract;
  
   
• Storytelling / Femme Salon Performance (mini-grant up until € 750,-)
• The storytelling performance should be between 15-30 min.
• The storytelling performance can be made in Albanian or English language;
• The winner of the grant grants agrees to perform the performance during Femme Salons and hackathons events;
• The winner of the grant agrees that their storytelling performance will be recorded and distributed on the online hub of the project for wider dissemination;
• The winner of the grant is responsible for taking care of music rights;
• The winner of the grant will comply with the Code of Conduct of the project;
• The winner of the grant and Project leaders are shared rightsholder of the final product;
• The storytelling performance will be completed within 3 months after the signing of the contract;
  
   
• Podcast (up until € 500,-)
• The podcast should be between minimum 15 min. or a series of minimum 3 x 5 podcast stories;
• The film can be made in Albanian or English language;
• The winner of the grant grants project leaders the right to include the final product on the online hub and other podcast channels;
• The winner of the grant is responsible for taking care of music rights;
• The winner of the grant will comply with the Code of Conduct of the project;
• The winner of the grant and Project leaders are shared rightholder of the final product;
• The film will be completed within 3 months after the signing of the contract;

Overall aims of the open call for mini grants are to:

• Raise awareness among different groups of young people, of individuals, of professionals and service providers on active citizenship for LGBTI+ ,young people and women in difficult situation and gender-sensitive approaches;
• Strengthen and empower young LGBT activists from different regions of Albania;
• Raise awareness on LGBTI issues among the general population through art (eg: through cultural activities/events/campaigns/publications etc.);
• Strengthen the cooperation between young potential activists and civil society organizations outside of Durres;

Who can apply: 

• Young People. 
• Individuals. 
• Registered organizations and with a focus on human rights of LGBTI+and/or media
• Individuals in cooperation with a registered civil society organization (funds will have to be channeled through the organization). 
• Priority will be given to young people and individuals, but also to individuals and/or organizations which work outside of Durres, and for projects that focus on the human rights of the LGBTI+People, marginalized young people (18-30 years old) and women in difficult economic situation.

How and when to apply?

You apply by sending in a video and application form.

• In the introductory video (max. 3 min) you explain what is your motivation for you to apply for a mini-grant, what is the topic of your project and what is the art form of your project (film, podcast or storytelling) and what artivism means to them. 
• To apply, you can fill in the application form which can be found here and send it by email to artiviststafetegrants@masterpeace.org 
• If you apply with an organization, additional list of supportive documents to share along with the application:

For Organizations:

The abovementioned rules apply for organizations too, but they also need to include the following documents with their application:

• Court decision.
• Statute of the organization.     

Who are we?

​Artivists Stafete is run by 2 NGO’s from Albania and 2 from The Netherlands. Open Mind Spectrum Albania (OMSA) is an Albanian non-governmental organization established in 2013 focusing on community work and advocacy for the LGBTIQ+ communities of Albania. It aspires to co-create an inclusive society for all Albanians, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, age, social status and health status. 

The mission of ACT for SOCIETY Center is to enhance healthy lifestyles and stimulate the sustainable development of the Albanian society. Its work consists of promoting culture, advocating for democracy and human rights issues, connecting youth, stimulating active participation in social life as well as spearheading decision-making processes. 

With an established presence in over 40 countries around the world, Dutch organization MasterPeace works with three core activities, all of which aim towards a sustainable future with less conflict: 1) Mobilize, inspire and connect young local talents via music, art and play; 2) Organize dialogue and bring all local stakeholders together; 3) Create perspective through leadership trainings, capacity-building programs and starting up social enterprises.. 

Based in Amsterdam, Stichting art. 1 is dedicated to the visibilization and inclusion of minorities through the arts. By providing trainings in non-formal methodologies, the organisation seeks to provide tools and channels for sidelined voices to join mainstream narratives and democratic participation. 

Applicants do not have to have prior experience in working with the LGBTI+,,+,young people (18-30) women in difficult economic situations  community, however, they must demonstrate a very strong willingness to start working on LGBTI+,young people (18-30) and women in difficult economic situations related issues. 

The deadline for submission of project proposals is 15th of  Nov 2021

Applications must be submitted in English. 

For more information on this call, procedure of application and criteria of selection, please do not hesitate to email at artiviststafetegrants@masterpeace.org