LOKAL

The application-based model programme “LOKAL – Programme for Culture and Engagement” is awarding funding to establish at least 26 long-term networks nationwide in German cities and communities with under 100,000 inhabitants. Each project can apply for between €200,000 and €240,000 over a four-year period. The entire programme will run between 2024 and 2031, organised by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the European Cultural Foundation. It comprises academies, educational projects, a European exchange and support programme and a nationwide concluding festival. The German Federal Cultural Foundation has allocated €7.5 million for the programme. 

The programme’s funding guidelines and application requirements for the first round of funding are online (PDF, 131 KB (opens in a new window)). 

In June 2025, an independent jury has recommended the first 13 cultural stakeholders for funding with an amount of 240,000 euros each.

In times of polarisation, cultural venues – especially in smaller towns – can provide opportunities for dialogue and exchange. This is where people often meet who wouldn’t normally come in contact with one another. Art and cultural associations, sociocultural centres, theatres and libraries are important meeting places in a pluralistic and democratic society. And yet, these local organisations are operating under ever-increasing pressure. What partners can rural cultural associations collaborate with on a long-term basis so that they can stage art projects in public space where everyone can actively and safely participate? With whom can libraries and theatres team up with to initiate community-building projects?

In this context, LOKAL is a funding initiative that aims to strengthen cultural associations in smaller towns and more remote regions through joint artistic projects and network-building – both locally and across Europe. Beginning with the financial support of at least 26 cultural networks in Germany, LOKAL aims to grow into a pan-European network of cultural initiatives and funding bodies. This network will facilitate the sharing of  experience and expertise, foster cross-border cultural projects and build an alliance of committed cultural stakeholders from all over Europe. The programme runs from 2025 to 2031 and is organised by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the European Cultural Foundation. 

LOKAL is a joint initiative of three partner organisations from Germany and beyond: the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the European Cultural Foundation.

The German Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes) is one of the largest publicly funded cultural foundations in Europe with a yearly budget of 37.8 million euros (2024). Founded in 2002 and based in Halle (Saale) in Saxony-Anhalt, it funds innovative programmes and projects in an international context. It is financed by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. In LOKAL and other individual programmes, the German Federal Cultural Foundation focusses on a particular topic and works to establish models that can be widely adopted in the cultural scene. Within the LOKAL partnership, the foundation provides an open application-based fund that aims to support at least 26 cultural networks across Germany with ongoing joint artistic projects. 

The Federal Agency for Civic Education (external link, opens in a new window) (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb) is a German federal public authority that promotes civic education and information on political issues for all people in Germany. Founded in 1952, the agency is administered by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community with headquarters in Bonn. In LOKAL, bpb offers targeted advice services to project participants, providing assistance with, e.g. site analyses, sustainable financing, conflict management and legal options for dealing with hostility. They organise the LOKAL academies in collaboration with the John Dewey Research Center for the Didactics of Democracy (JoDDiD) at the Dresden University of Technology.  

The European Cultural Foundation (external link, opens in a new window) (ECF), founded in 1954, is an independent cultural foundation based in the Netherlands that develops and supports cultural initiatives that strengthen a European sense of belonging. For LOKAL, the ECF is making use of its vast network of cultural stakeholders across Europe to connect committed cultural associations facing similar challenges and enable them to share their experience. It supports LOKAL within the context of its larger commitment to promote European solidarity, and as part of its Culture of Solidarity Fund, a programme that supports cultural initiatives that use art, storytelling and collective action to strengthen ties between communities.

The jury for LOKAL comprises eight international cultural players from various disciplines: Mustafa Akça (Director of the “Selam Opera” project at the Komische Oper Berlin), Inez Boogaarts (freelance cultural consultant), Marina Chernivsky (Director of the Competence Centre for Education and Research Critical of Antisemitism), Maxie Götze (Participation and Engagement Officer at the Augustiner Museum in Freiburg and cultural mediator at the yaw! kollektiv), Anica Happich (Artistic Director of the Phoenix Theaterfestival/Plattenstufenfestival Erfurt), Adem Köstereli (Managing Director of the Theater an der Ruhr), Matthias Quent (Professor of Sociology at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences) and Katharina Warda (writer, sociologist and literary scholar).

LOKAL includes two rounds of funding for cultural networks in German towns and cities with fewer than 100,000 residents, one in 2025 and another one in 2026. Each round will support at least 13 local networks, with each receiving between EUR 200,000 and EUR 240,000 to build partnerships with local actors such as sports associations, schools or local enterprises. Alongside their artistic collaborations, these new networks will also benefit from the LOKAL academies, held twice a year and organised by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb).

At the European level, the European Cultural Foundation and the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) will jointly host annual European network meetings, from 2026 to 2028. These gatherings aim to :

• Build a sustainable European network of cultural associations, foundations and funding bodies to advance transnational collaboration
• Support the development of cross-border collaboration projects among cultural associations and local initiatives across Europe
• Create a shared knowledge base and toolkit for small-town cultural organisations across Europe, including best practices for financing, risk management and effective networking 

LOKAL invites interested cultural associations and funding bodies across Europe to take part in the European exchange programme, including its training workshops, lectures and networking events. Each meeting will take place in a different European country with the involvement of local partners and funders. The first will take place in Świdnica (Poland) in April 2026, in cooperation with the Narodowe Centrum Kultury / NCK.

As a final milestone of the programme, all partners in Germany and across Europe will come together for a concluding festival in Germany.

In LOKAL, the German Federal Cultural Foundation will issue two calls for applications, one in 2025 and one in 2026. The deadline for the first call was 14 February 2025, the deadline for the second will be 31 March 2026. To help potential applicants prepare, several application workshops will be held at various locations in Germany and offer a diverse range of support services. Contemporary art productions, staff, encounter-oriented formats and educational projects are eligible for funding. The programme is targeted at cultural stakeholders in German cities and towns with under 100,000 inhabitants which regularly offer cultural programmes and would like to build a locally embedded network during the four-year funding period.

In June 2025, an independent jury has recommended the first 13 cultural stakeholders for funding with an amount of 240,000 euros each.
 

A programme of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the European Cultural Foundation.