Africalia, an initiative of the Belgian Development Co-operation, is calling for proposals. Launched in 2000, Africalia aims to promote sustainable human development through supporting the arts and contemporary African artistic expressions. The maximum request for project submission application must not be more than EU€25,000.

The organisation focuses on cultural operators in 15 countries spread over the four sub Saharan regions:

• Western Africa: Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana
• Eastern Africa: Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia
• Central Africa: Democratic Republic Congo, Burundi, Rwanda
• Southern Africa: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia

Africalia sponsors cultural projects initiated in Africa in different disciplines including:

• Visual arts (plastic arts, photography and design).
• Performing arts (theatre, storytelling, dance, music, street animation and puppet theatre).
• Literature (literature in general, including youth literature and comic books).
• Audiovisual arts and media (radio, documentaries, animation, short film) dealing with culture in this contemporary dimension in an original and creative way.
• Architecture

Priorities and operational objectives of the Africalia programme:

• Extend training opportunities and professionalisation
• Ensure support to contemporary African artistic creation, primarily projects that benefit African audiences
• Foster decentralisation and South/South exchange and contribute to the mobility of artists and the professional distribution of their work
• Stimulate awareness of the impact of cultural acts on society and support the development of cultural journalism
• Create ties between South and North, and in particular between Africa and Belgium, in the spirit of true exchange, bringing African cultural operators (artists, journalists, educators, organisations) in relationship with their counterparts residing in Belgium.

Who can submit a project?

Legal persons (organisations, festivals or other associations involved in the arts) based in one of the above mentioned African countries, with legally adopted articles of association and proven experience in the arts. Exceptionally, with regard to support and/or develop bridges between cultural operators active in Belgium and African operators, experimental projects initiated in a spirit of partnership can be submitted by Belgian structures, as long as they clearly work in partnership with a local African cultural organisation that assumes the realisation of the project and favours the empowerment of the population.

Selection criteria

Only structuring projects, organised by professional cultural operators located in one of the 15 above mentioned African countries, presenting local associative or institutional implication, consistent with Africalia’s vision and areas of intervention, and effectively attributing to sustainable human development will be selected.

Specific Conditions:


Conditions include:

• The financial forecast must foresee several partners.
• Africalia’s intervention in the project must not exceed 25% of the forecast.
• The project initiators must be able to demonstrate a previous experience in the domain they wish to develop
• One submitted project per year per structure.
• As for festivals, a code of professional ethics, even if minimal, must be respected, taking the following in consideration:
  1. The artist’s work (to respect the technical conditions of presentation of a performance)
  2. The payment of the artists’ fees foreseen in the forecast
  3. Good management of transport, accommodation of the guests, quality of reception and meals (according to the habits and customs of the inviting country)
  4. The security of persons, works and equipment (taking the necessary insurance policies)
  5. A genuine respect of the public
  6. An actual promotion of the artists and their work by the organisation.

The following projects have no priority:

Action theatre (theatre of social intervention) that puts message before artistic integrity and aims to bring its audience to take position on a certain concept.

Socio-cultural activities geared towards children and young people, that don’t primarily aim to realise an professional artistic event.

Projects concerning only the purchase of material or equipment.

The following projects are ineligible:

Occasional projects.

Projects relating to construction or restoration costs.


Projects seeking the self-promotion of their authors.


Actions with a political purpose, actions that are discriminatory in nature or preaching activities.

The application must include:

1. The completed application form
2. Organisation:
   
   • A copy of the published articles of association
   • The composition of the Board of Directors
   • The organisation chart
   • The P&L account and balance sheet of the previous year
   • A detailed curriculum vitae of the contact persons
   • Bank certificate including the following information: account number (under IBAN structure if available), account holder, name and address of the bank, bank SWIFT or BIC code
3. Project:
   
   • Previous projects: References concerning these activities (experiences)
   • Activity report and financial statement
   • Documentation enabling their evaluation

   Current Project:

   • A detailed presentation of the project, including its development objectives, immediate objectives of the project (what must be achieved, what is the reason, how, by whom and for whom), Foreseen activities (mention for each activity: Description, target audience, means, programme, partners and participants, conditions, expected results, follow up)
   • The schedule of the project implementation
   • Activity chart
   • Infrastructure and material resources
   • A detailed budget in euros: forecast of all expenses and proceeds. Mention all other financial partners (preferably with their confirmation) and including a breakdown per heading. The amount requested from Africalia, as well as its purpose, must be clearly stated. An example is available on the Africalia website

Click here for more information.

Click here to download the application form.