26 September 2012

European fundings for culture

European funds for culture

Deadline: 7th October 2012


Multi-annual cooperation projects can be realised in all areas of cultural activity. These projects are intended to enhance the common European cultural area with a view to encouraging the emergence of a sense of European citizenship.

Projects must have a duration of not less than 36 months and not more than 60 months

The only eligible applicants are public or private organisations with legal personality whose main activity is in the cultural field (areas of cultural or creative activity)
Cultural organisations are given support for projects to work together across borders and to create and implement cultural and artistic activities. The thrust of this programme is to help organisations, such as theatres, museums, professional associations, research centers, universities, cultural institutes and public authorities from different countries participating in the Programme to cooperate so that different sectors can work together and extend their cultural and artistic reach across borders.

Detailed newsletter and official documents

21 September 2012

CALL4TRAINING: International Virtual Heritage School

V-MUST.NET organises the first International Virtual Heritage School.
 
Topic of the school: Virtual Museums, Communication and Digitisation.
The participation is free of cost. A number of Grants are available through awarded to best applicants through a
 
CALL4TRAINING.
The call deadline is 10th of October 2012.
 
The school is held in Paestum, Italy from the 12th until the 17th of November (5 days). It will be co-hosted by the famous Paestum Archaeological Museum (mon/wed) and by the BMTA, the Mediterranean Expo of Archaeological Tourism, at Ariston (thu/sat). Part of the work will be connected with Archeovirtual Exhibition and Workshop (www.archeovirtual.it)
 
Target participants: very motivated professionals or academic researchers in the field of Digital Heritage or Cultural Heritage. 20 applicants will be selected. To all selected applicants will be offered accomodation and lunches, while further grants will be provided to best selected applications to cover also travel expenses. T
he program is focused on principles and practices of 3D technologies, with special focus on: speed 3d acquisition; 3d modelling, landscape reconstruction, GIS, Virtual Reality, CG movie production and the use of related software; communication issues, visitor studies; interaction and interface design; mobile technology. The school is structured in 5, integrated and connected sessions.

Further information

19 September 2012

European funds for SMEs

7 Framework programme: Research for the benefit of SMEs

Deadline: 15/11/2012

Activites
1. Research for SMEs scheme
The objective of this scheme is to directly support SMEs in the project to outsource their research activities. The scheme aims at supporting SMEs in need of outsourcing research activities to RTD performers such as universities, research centres or research performing SMEs. 'Other enterprises and end-users', which belong to the same value chains as the participating SMEs, can participate, if it is in the interest of the project.
Projects aim at creating new knowledge or achieving results with a clear exploitation potential to improve or develop new products, processes or services which meet the needs of the participating SMEs.
This scheme can assist SMEs in acquiring technological know-how and accessing international networks for their medium to long-term business development and follow a bottom-up approach, meaning that the research can originate in the entire field of science and technology in all industrial sectors.
 
2. Research for SME Associations scheme
The objective of this scheme is to indirectly support SMEs through their associations /groupings to outsource research activities. This scheme targets SME associations which act on behalf of their members to identify and address common technological problems and to promote the effective dissemination and take-up of research results. Projects include research, technological development and demonstration activities and are encouraged to include other activities such as training, to facilitate the dissemination and exploitation of results.
 
3. Demonstration activity
The objective of this activity is to prove (demonstrate) the viability of a new solution (itself a successful outcome of a research project) that offers a potential economic advantage but which cannot be directly commercialised as further technological or other developments are required. SMEs often need to follow up research projects with work linked to ‘demonstration’ or production of prototypes before actually commercialising goods and services but funding for this kind of activity is not readily available. Activities could e.g. include testing of prototypes, scale-up studies, performance verification and implementation of new technological and non-technological solutions. This action could also include detailed market studies and business plans. There are no thematic restrictions.
 
4.Coordination and Support Action - supporting action
The Commission, in its proposal for the SME support in the forthcoming programme Horizon 2020, has put strong emphasis on the development of a direct face-to-face mentoring and coaching support to SMEs desiring to innovate.
 

13 September 2012

E2BA opens a Public Consultation on the Roadmap

In the framework of the PPPs (public-private partnerships) Info days organised by the European Commission on July 9 and 10 in Brussels, the Energy Efficient Buildings Association (E2BA) has introduced the first draft of a new Energy-efficient Buildings Research and Innovation Roadmap covering the period 2014-2020.
This draft roadmap aims to align the industry long term plans with the content of Horizon 2020 proposal, where a clear research line on “Technologies enabling Energy-efficient buildings” has been proposed by the European Commission. A revision of this document after Public Consultation of the wide stakeholders’ community is expected in the coming months. E2BA is pleased to inform you about the opening of this Public Consultation on the roadmap.
This is a unique opportunity to have your say in the creation of the next E2BA strategic research and innovation roadmap for the 'Energy-efficient Buildings' public-private partnership under Horizon 2020. E2BA’s ambition is to drive the creation of an innovative high-tech energy efficiency industry extending the scope of the running EeB PPP beyond 2013, to be able to deliver new or refurbished, user centric and affordable buildings/districts in line with European and national commitments towards 2050. The aim of this Public Consultation is to ensure that the resulting roadmap will reflect truly European opinions on the research priorities of industry, end-users and the wider stakeholders’ community.
This consultation is open to all.
The consultation process will run until 1 October 2012 to ensure that interested parties have ample time to provide their feedback on this key document. E2BA will fine-tune the roadmap according to the feedback that we will receive with the aim of having a final version ready in early 2013. The final version of the roadmap will be presented to the European Commission as the core element of the industrial proposal for a Public-Private Partnership on Energy-efficient Buildings under Horizon 2020.
More information

10 September 2012

September: the European cultural heritage month

European Heritage Days


This joint action of the European Commission and Council of Europe gives access to visitors to thousands of rarely opened sites and unique events. This year, a stunning variety of events and monuments will be open to the public during the European Heritage Days. They range from Cistercian abbeys to cathedrals and castles, from the oldest iron printing press to Victorian grain warehouses; from coal mines to government buildings and theaters and many, many more. Some countries or regions establish an overarching theme over a series of events. For instance, France is focusing on “hidden heritage” inviting visitors to witness rarely seen or unexpected faces of heritage concealed in walls, underground or in the landscape; in the Brussels-Capital Region, examples of buildings which illustrate the engineering and technical solutions that led to the evolution of architecture over the centuries will be open to the public under the unifying idea of 'The art of building".
The list of events being offered throughout Europe runs into the tens of thousands. A number of countries are also producing joint events with a view to emphasizing the European dimension of the Programme. Ukraine, Spain, Moldova and Georgia, for instance, are collaborating on an electronic platform, which will link wine museums in cooperation activities across Europe; the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia, France and Belgium are cooperating on a youth exchange and heritage education event.
 
Launched in 1985, the European Heritage Days have been organised since 1999 as a joint action of the European Union and the Council of Europe. The 50 signatory States to the European Cultural Convention take part in the European Heritage Days by putting new cultural assets on view and opening up historical buildings normally closed to the public. The cultural events highlight local skills and traditions, architecture and works of art, but the broader aim is to promote mutual understanding among citizens. For more information about the programme by country: www.ehd.coe.int

Funding opportunities for cultural projects