Culture, the arts and cultural spaces for democratic participation and political expression, online and offline
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Cultural, artistic and online spaces (such as public libraries, art exhibition spaces, heritage sites, cultural centres, parks and other public places used temporarily to convey a message, social media platforms, metaverses, etc.) are increasingly positioning themselves as catalysers for social and economic changes.
Projects should contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Recommendations on how to foster civic participation through a deep analysis of the use of spaces beyond classic democratic institutions, especially cultural and artistic spaces, as well as cyberspace and metaverses, for political expression.
- Forward-looking policy recommendations to ensure that digital spaces (including metaverses and social networks) can, by design, have a positive impact on democratic life and limit potential threats to democracy.
- Experimentation of solutions, methods and tools to support democratic behaviour and social well-being for the next generation of social media.
Detailed Call Description
Proposals should evaluate how effective they are at channelling bottom-up political energy. They should also propose options as to how those alternative initiatives could feed into the wider political debate (for instance through social innovation). In addition, proposals could look at art and cultural productions (in the broader sense, online and offline) as vectors of political expression, be it in democratic or non-democratic contexts.
Virtual spaces for exchange and communication have been very active in the dissemination of political views and have influenced the political debate, notably through the use of popular culture references (memes, etc.) and through cyber-culture. While the link between social media and disinformation as well as political engagement has already been investigated, the revival of virtual alternative universes, such as metaverses, begs for more scientific evidence regarding what impact this will have on democracy. Digital universes have a strong potential to both threaten and nurture democracies. Proposals should propose forward-looking policy recommendations to ensure that such digital spaces can, by design, have a positive impact on democratic life, and to limit the potential threats to democracy.
International cooperation is encouraged.
Proposals should produce concrete policy recommendations and design proposals to allow the potential for political engagement through physical and virtual non-traditional spaces to be fully expressed, in an inclusive manner.
Research methodologies should include field research and participative methods. They may also involve culture and art practitioners and art-based research.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Expected EU contribution per project: between €2.00 and €3.00 million
Thematic Categories
- Culture
- Information Technology
- Public Administration
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Social Affairs & Human Rights
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
Proposals are encouraged to collaborate with the JRC Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy, particularly in respect to the development of evidence-informed policy recommendations on how digital universes, such as metaverses, can have positive impacts on democratic systems and democratic life in general.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Persons:
Ms Katerina Karakasidou
Scientific Officer
Telephone: +357 22 205 036
Email: kkarakasidou@research.org.cy
Ms Constantina Makri
Scientific Officer
Telephone: +357 22 205 054
Email: cmakri@research.org.cy
EU Contact Point
Research Enquiry Service
https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/contact-us/research-enquiry-service_en