The main purpose of the Demos funding programme is to strengthen the voice of civil society in the Nordic Region by promoting co-operation between civil society organisations in the region. In this round, funds were distributed within the Demos Knowledge and Demos Culture modules.
The competition for funds was particularly tough within the Demos Culture module, which supports musical collaborations and initiatives aimed at spreading knowledge about Nordic literature. Among the 13 projects which were allocated funding were the Greenlandic book fair project Arctic Book Fair and the wind orchestra collaboration Blås så in i Norden.
“Many good projects did not receive funding, so in that sense, it was a difficult round to make decisions on. Nevertheless, it’s fantastic to read about just how many great ideas for collaboration there are in the Nordic Region,” says Iris Dager, who chairs the expert group.
Language co-operation for inclusion
The aim of the Demos Knowledge module is to increase knowledge about the Nordic Region, strengthen young people’s understanding of the Nordic languages, and integrate a Nordic perspective into journalism. Seven projects were granted funding from this module. Among them were Nordic Café Lingua for Youth, a language café that welcomes Nordic young people with an immigrant background, and Nordspråk, a network for mother-tongue teacher associations and associations that teach Nordic languages as foreign languages.
In its assessment of the projects, the expert group highlighted inclusion, the strengthening of minority groups, youth participation, and the importance of physical meetings between the project’s participants. Prominent themes included the oceans, as well as instruments and crafts as cultural heritage.
Iris points out that many opportunities can be created by building a cross-border project where one can come into contact with other Nordic citizens.
“My own career took off through the collaborations I had within the Norden Association. A good project paves the way for many opportunities, and co-operation opens new doors,” says Iris.
Demos Network next up
Demos Knowledge received a total of twelve applications. Just over EUR 350,000 of the nearly EUR 820,000 applied for were allocated in this module, corresponding to a grant rate of 43 percent.
Within Demos Culture, a total of 47 applications were received with just over EUR 2.8 million requested in total. The allocation of just over EUR 360,000 corresponded to just under 13 percent of the requested amount.
The next Demos round is for the Demos Network module, which is open for applications from 13 August to 13 September 2024.