Today’s creative and cultural sectors face rapid change, from globalisation and digital transformation to socio-political change. To navigate these effectively, there’s a growing need for skills in resilience building, international collaboration, and global cultural engagement.
International Peer Creators is a global training and mentoring initiative designed to support this urgent need. Building upon its annual pan-European mobility calls within the P2P Exchange and Staff Exchange programs, ECHN is introducing a brand new call that is aimed at connecting the leading European CCS professionals with their peers outside Europe, anywhere in the world.
International Peer Creators is a peer-based exchange and training program for Creative Hub managers and Cultural and Creative Sector (CCS) professionals who aim at expanding their global outlook and strengthening their organisations through direct connections with organizations from other continents.
The program supports two selected participants every year to travel and visit a best-practice creative hub or cultural organisation outside Europe. Through hands-on exchange, mentoring, and peer learning, participants gain practical insights into collaborative models, and innovative practices, while contributing to a growing international creative network grounded in shared values and mutual learning. The goal is to gain practical knowledge on resilience, collaboration and innovative organisational models coming from different or distant CCSI ecosystems.
Each exchange connects two organisations:
Visiting Organisation / Professional
Travels to a creative hub or cultural organisation outside Europe to:
Hosting Organisation
The exchange is flexible and designed around shared learning goals. It can include a variety of activities such as job shadowing, project-based collaboration, workshops or lectures, professional event participations, study visits and other hands-on learning experiences tailored to the needs and interests of the participating hubs.
This open call is intended for:
IMPORTANT: Only organizations from countries who are part of the Creative Europe program are eligible for this call. Those countries are: Albania, Austria, Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Tunisia and Ukraine.
The call is not eligible for:
Priority will be given to ECHN members, but applications from other emerging initiatives and cultural creative organisations of all sizes are welcome, particularly those motivated to engage internationally.
The host organisation can be any organisation from the creative and cultural sectors with significant experience in the topic of the proposed exchange, and the capacity to serve as a strong example of good practice. It also needs to express a high level of motivation to engage in the exchange.
ECHN will not provide any matchmaking or guidance in terms of securing or approaching hosting organizations. Developing a relationship is down to the visiting and hosting organizations, and should take place before submitting the application.
Selected participants will receive:
The funded exchange period is foreseen for 5 days. Selected participants may extend their stay at their own cost, in case their project requires additional time.
What support is NOT provided?
Visa costs and processing, if applicable (ECHN can supply a confirmation letter about the context of the professional travel);
Medical travel insurance.
The application form must be submitted by the Visiting Hub on behalf of both organisations.
Before applying, the Visiting and Hosting Hubs should agree on a preliminary Work Plan, outlining the exchange theme, main objectives, and planned activities. The Hosting Hub should also deliver a letter of intent, detailing their motivation and commitment to realize the exchange. Once selected, both organisations will sign an agreement and confirm the final Work Plan. The agreement will also specify the commitments of both parties in terms of photo and video documentation and reporting about the details and the outcomes of the Exchange.
Applications will be evaluated based on:
All exchanges must be transnational (between organisations in different countries) and intercontinental (between organizations from different continents).
ECHN reserves the right to reject applications that do not meet the program requirements.
International Peer Creators offers a unique opportunity to step outside your usual context, gain insight into global creative practices, and develop long-term international collaborations.
By taking part, you contribute to a more resilient, connected and sustainable global creative community while strengthening your own capacity as a cultural leader. A unique opportunity to build bridges across continents, connecting creative communities in new ways and through innovative formats.
Each organisation may submit only one proposal as a Visiting Organisation under this call.
The exchange is designed for one main participant (representing the Visiting Organisation). This ensures focused peer learning and mentoring. Additional involvement from the Hosting Organisation’s team is encouraged during activities, workshops, and the final public event.
In case more than one person from the visiting hub would like to take part, this needs to be noted in the application form and the costs relating to the additional person needs to be fully covered by the visiting organization.
No. This call is intended for professionals representing an organisation or collective. Individual artists or authors applying in a personal capacity are not eligible.
No. Visiting Organisations must be based in Europe. Furthermore, they need to be based in a country that is part of the Creative Europe program. However, Hosting Organisations must be based outside Europe, and can be located anywhere in the world.
No. Applications must be submitted jointly, with a confirmed Hosting Organisation and a letter of intent included as part of the application.
Yes. A preliminary Work Plan is required at the application stage. Once selected, the final Work Plan will be jointly confirmed and formalised in the agreement signed by both organisations.
For any questions regarding this call, please contact: natassa@creativehubs.net
