Chemnitz and 38 partner municipalities and communities in the Central Saxony, Erzgebirge and Zwickau region will be the European Capital of Culture 2025. Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH (Kulturhauptstadt GmbH) is the company entrusted with the implementation of the project ideas outlined in bid book II. This company is planning and managing all the activities included in the programme for the Capital of Culture year.
Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH is working under the motto “C the Unseen” to place a key focus on activities in the areas of socioculture, art, tinkerer and maker culture, food and eating culture, the environment, sustainability, children’s, youth and senior citizens’ activities as well as other areas of society and culture. To this end, it is bringing together regional and national as well as international partners.
Kulturhauptstadt GmbH is launching the European Workshop for Culture and Democracy listed in bid book II with public calls for proposals (Open Calls), and in 2023 and 2024 will involve a wide range of stakeholders from the area of culture and civil society in the Capital of Culture programme. These calls for proposals cover the following areas:
Soft Skills Academy I
Open Call
Nr. 01/23
Capacity building and networking programme
for project ideas
This Open Call is closed.
Soft Skills Academy II
Open Call
Nr. 02/23
Pilot projects in civil society
This Open call is closed.
CZ-PL-D
Open Call
Nr. 03/23
Cross-border cooperation with partners in the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany
This Open call is closed.
Celebrate generations!
Open Call
Nr. 04/23
Projects for young and older people
This Open Call ist closed.
Urban popular culture
Open Call
Nr. 05/23
Projects, for example in the club scene, subculture, leisure and many other areas
This Open Call ist closed.
Orientation towards the five programme areas
The Open Calls are intended to support projects focusing on content that has a strong link to the five programme areas presented in bid book II:
How can taking part in culture and civic participation strengthen social cohesion? The central element of the Capital of Culture programme is to inspire as many people as possible as to become “makers” – creative, self-effective people who contribute their skills and knowledge to shaping their social environment. This creative and entrepreneurial potential often lies hidden in Chemnitz and the region, but it is waiting to be discovered and experienced on closer inspection. The makers become European makers of democracy when they, together with others, use this potential to create something and take care of their fellow human beings, while treating each other with respect and seeing otherness as enriching for civil society.
The aim in this programme area is to uncover Eastern European influences on our everyday lives, which are often unjustly concealed, and to bring this influence to life in projects. By working together on creative endeavours, the intention is to open people’s hearts, bringing them closer together through shared stories and ideas. The aim of the projects is to create connections between a wide range of European maker identities.
Gelebte Nachbarschaft / Generous Neighbours is an invitation to take a look beyond your own horizons: What are other people actually doing? The aim is to make values such as respect, tolerance and solidarity something people can experience in their everyday lives together by discovering and experiencing unimagined commonalities in projects. Promoting democracy through art and culture, participation and long-term involvement – how does living together as real neighbours come about?
Makers shape cities, regions and Europe – that’s how they make history. They often work alone and unobserved – in the studio, at the workbench, in the cellar, in the garage or behind the counter. The programme aims to bring together creative people who have an inventive and entrepreneurial spirit, artistic skills and visionary drive. How can they be empowered to use their skills?
This programme area gets out of the city – into the 38 partner municipalities and communities of the Capital of Culture Chemnitz. And into a cultural region that is rediscovering its own tradition and history as part of a moving exchange and putting its topics front and centre. It’s Moving! opens up new encounters in projects along the Purple Path, the emerging art and sculpture trail, and initiates shared negotiations on the future of the region.
General conditions of the Open Calls
The Principles of participation describe the regulations / the (legal) prerequisites for participating at the open calls of the KHS GmbH.
Each call for proposals is scheduled individually and has its own selection procedure. The deadlines will be announced in good time on our website, in our newsletter and on social media channels. Submissions of projects or project ideas can be made for a defined period from the point in time that the respective call for proposals is published.
Submissions are made via online forms, which are available on the Kulturhauptstadt GmbH website starting on the day the call for proposals is published.
If you wish to apply for one of the calls for proposals, please carefully read the Principles of participation for the Open Calls published on our website as well as the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Before submitting an application, please check the guidelines and basic principles to see whether your project is eligible for funding by Kulturhauptstadt GmbH.
Projects that are suitable for Kulturhauptstadt GmbH are generally considered to be those initiatives that meet the European project criteria (5Cs), based on the strategic objectives and project indicators from bid book II. In keeping with this, the aim of the projects is to:
- Promote work at European level (C Europe | C Europa)
- Create experiences of self-effectiveness and gain new audiences via the maker concept (C the maker in yourself | C den/die Macher:in in dir selbst)
- Discover the potential of creative collaboration with unexpected partners in order to make better progress together (C the maker in others | C den/die Macher:in in anderen)
- Make new space accessible for creative ideas, projects and collaboration (C the space for makers | C den Raum für Macher:innen)
- Explore the unknown, the overlooked and the hidden and put them in the spotlight (C the unseen | C the unseen).
These project criteria are explained in the Manual Chemnitz 2025, which is available for download on the chemnitz2025.de/en website.
The submissions will be reviewed by a specialist advisory board set up specifically for each call for proposals. In addition to the relevance of the contribution to the 2025 programme as per the above criteria, the advisory board’s evaluation will take into account the professional quality of the application, the organisational capacity of the applicant(s), the feasibility and the expected impact of the proposed work. Proposals that are as flexible and suitable for hybrid implementation as possible are of particular interest.
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are attempts to answer all questions sourrounding the submission of project ideas within the frame of the Open Calls of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 GmbH.
The Privacy Policy as PDF download in German.
The document is currently being translated into English and will be available for download soon.
Details of the Open Calls
Information on closed Open Calls
Urban popular culture
European city life takes place on streets, in clubs, meeting places, studios, in backyards, in (skate)parks, kickabout pitches, roofs, in clubhouses, allotment gardens, schools, retirement homes, nurseries and many other places yet to be discovered.
Chemnitz’s very own special city culture has developed in various places over the decades. The Capital of Culture year 2025 aims to give a wide range of initiatives the opportunity to present their activities to a broad public. Open Call Nr. 05/23 – Urban popular culture closes a gap between the programme of arts and culture and popular culture in Chemnitz. Through the project submissions, stakeholders of European, contemporary popular culture who as yet enjoy very little visibility in the city’s public life will become perceptible.
Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH (KHS GmbH) is not a patron in the classical sense. We see ourselves as a partner and supporter, as a motivator and an impulse booster for various projects. These can be planned and developed as part of the preparation for the Capital of Culture year in
Chemnitz and the partner municipalities and communities and ultimately contribute to the grand idea of implementing the programme.
All entities mentioned under item 12 of the Principles Governing Participation (initiatives, associations, institutions, companies or private individuals, etc.) that are based in one of the 38 partner municipalities and communities of the Culture 2025 region may become direct cooperation partners of KHS GmbH in the context of the open calls.
In keeping with the Principles, financing is granted to non-commercial project ideas centring around cultural creation, particularly for visual arts, performing arts, literature, music, film, photography, architecture, peace and remembrance culture, media and new media, related forms and interdisciplinary projects as well as activities in sports, civil society and popular culture.
Particular attention is given to project ideas from the fields of fashion, music, popular dance, film and cinema, radio, podcasts, radio plays, bar and pub culture, body culture, bicycle culture, jewellery design, gaming, collecting, cooking culture, working culture, garden culture and intercultural encounters – both in person and in the virtual space.
A fundamental aspect is that Chemnitz and the 38 partner municipalities and communities of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 must network with Europe – every local project must demonstrate at least one European partner. Partnerships must be documented via letters of intent. Kulturhauptstadt GmbH supports active participation projects and project development measures, which is why an active participatory component on the part of the local target groups (e.g. in the team, in the project development and/or implementation process) is a prerequisite for cooperation financing. This component does not have to be fulfilled at the time of application and should be developed as part of a project development process with the local target group.
The focus will be on activities that address and implement diversity, sustainability, inclusion and multi-generational work.
In Open Call Nr. 05/23, project costs incurred during the term of the project in the form of professional fees and material costs for research and travel expenses, accommodation costs, seminar and conference fees, entrance fees, translation costs and material costs will be reimbursed up to a maximum of €5,000 for project development processes and up to a maximum of €30,000 for larger district projects, subject to approval by KHS GmbH.
For networking trips, a further €5,000 can be considered via open call 01/23.
Details are recorded in a cooperation agreement and follow the KHS GmbH Principles for Cooperations. Stakeholders involved in the preparation of the project plan will receive support via the competence development programme of Kulturhauptstadt GmbH.
The following must be provided during the course of the project:
- A project plan for a project that can be implemented in 2025
- A final report on the content and
- The cost statement including all supporting documents.
Projects can be submitted from 4 September 2023 up to and including 18 December 2023. Notification of the selected projects will then be given by 28 February 2024, followed by the start of project development. Project execution and implementation can start from 1 July 2024.
The project submission period for Open Call Nr. 05/23 is over.
The following information event will be held for Open Call Nr. 05/23 :
- 27.09.2023 Information event on site at the office of KHS GmbH (Hartmannstraße 5, 09111 Chemnitz, start: 18:00, admission: 17:30).
For questions about Open Call Nr. 05/23 the employees of the KHS GmbH are at your disposal.
Contact person:
- Steffen Biernath
Consultation hours for individual advice:
- Possible dates
- 05.09.2023 from 16:00-18:00
- 06.09.2023 from 16:00-19:00
- 07.09.2023 from 16:00-19:00
- 28.09.2023 from 16:00-19:00
- 05.10.2023 from 16:00-19:00
- 11.10.2023 from 16:00-19:00
- 12.10.2023 from 16:00-19:00
- 18.10.2023 from 16:00-19:00
- 25.10.2023 from 16:00-19:00
- Appointment booking online via planning platform Calendly https://calendly.com/steffen-biernath/beratung-ausschreibung-nr-05-23
Soft Skills Academy II
Open Call Nr. 02/23
Pilot projects in civil society
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Democracy does not simply exist – democracy is made, and our understanding of it is actively negotiated on an ongoing basis. In Chemnitz, as in other regions of Europe, notions of democracy are often questioned in public in particular; on the other hand, its relevance is rarely the subject of discussion in everyday life, e.g. in our families, when playing sports, at school or when meeting friends.
The Soft Skills Academy takes a constructive approach to working on the unifying idea of democracy using artistic and cultural tools – in the Academy, people talk to each other, listen to each other, think together, exchange ideas, discuss, debate and work together on the implementation of new projects, methods and concepts.
Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH (KHS GmbH) invites all stakeholders working in the field of culture and democracy education in Chemnitz and its 38 partner municipalities and communities to actively participate in the project. From 2023 to 2025, this will include regular networking opportunities for stakeholders, a curated discourse programme as well as opportunities for cooperation and competence development.
The open calls for the Soft Skills Academy call on stakeholders to present a wide range of cultural or artistic projects that are positioned at the interface with involvement in civil society. These projects can still be in the planning stages (Open Call Nr. 01/23: Soft Skills Academy I – project idea) or be ready for immediate implementation (Open Call Nr. 02/23: Soft Skills Academy II – pilot projects).
These two application periods are considered to be a development and test phase for prototypes. To implement the prototypes and further develop them for the Capital of Culture programme in 2025, the open call for the Change Maker programme will be launched from 2024 in a new procedure based on the results of the Soft Skills Academy.
KHS GmbH is not a patron in the classical sense. We see ourselves as a partner and supporter, as a motivator and an impulse booster for various projects. These can be planned and developed as part of the preparation for the Capital of Culture year in Chemnitz and the partner municipalities and communities and ultimately contribute to the grand idea of implementing the programme.
All entities mentioned under item 12 of the Principles Governing Participation (initiatives, associations, institutions, companies or private individuals, etc.) that are based in one of the 38 partner municipalities and communities of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 may become direct cooperation partners of KHS GmbH in the context of the open calls.
Project partnerships with others are expressly welcomed. These may already exist or be entered into during the competition period. In particular, Open Call Nr. 01/23 Soft Skills Academy can be understood as motivation to actively seek international partners, in order to further develop projects with them for Open Call Nr. 02/23 Soft Skills Academy II and the Change Maker programme building on it in 2024. It is also possible to use Open Call Nr. 01/23 Soft Skills Academy I as preparation for internationalisation for Open Call Nr. 05/23 Urban Popular Culture. The project idea will be submitted by the main partner based in Chemnitz or the region.
Open Call Nr. 03/23 CZ-PL-DE and Open Call Nr. 04/23 Celebrate generations! have their own programmes for internationalisation. Therefore, we ask applicants to use these options if the content focus of the project ideas falls under these calls.
Support is granted to non-commercial project ideas that deal with questions, methods and strategies for promoting and teaching democracy or that come from the following fields: visual and performing arts, literature, music, film, radio, photography, architecture, peace and remembrance culture, media, new media, related forms and interdisciplinary projects as well as activities in sports, civil society and popular culture.
The focus will be on activities that address and implement diversity, sustainability, inclusion and multi-generational work.
In Open Call 02/23: Soft Skills Academy II, any research and travel costs, accommodation costs, seminar and conference fees, entrance fees, translation costs and material costs incurred following selection and during the term of the project will be reimbursed by KHS GmbH of up to a maximum of €10,000. Details are recorded in a cooperation agreement and follow the KHS GmbH guidelines for cooperations.
The stakeholders will be supported in preparing a project plan by the capacity development programme of KHS GmbH within the framework of the open call.
The following must be provided during the course of the project:
- A project plan for a project that can be implemented in 2025
- A final report on the content
- A cost statement including all supporting documents.
The schedule for open call 02/23: Soft Skills Academy II is the following:
- 2 June to 11 September 2023: submission of project plans
- September 2023: assessment and decision making
- October 2023 to April 2024: implementation of pilot project
You can participate in Open Call no. 02/23 directly via our submission platform.
To the submission platform: http://soft-skills-akademie-i.mein-wettbewerb.de/
In case of technical questions with regards to the submission platform please write via e-mail to: support@zauberberg-medien.de
Please download the template for the cost and financing plan – necessary for submission – here.
Your project ideas will be handled confidentially and your submitted documents will be stored and processed by us for the sole purpose of selecting the projects. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Open call Nr. 02/23 is accompanied by information events before and during the call process:
- 13 June 2023 / information event at the office of KHS GmbH as part of Information Café (Hartmannstraße 5, 09111 Chemnitz (Germany), starting at 6 p.m.)
For further information and queries regarding Open Call Nr. 02/23 please contact the following staff member of KHS GmbH:
Office hours for individual counselling:
- From 19 June 2023 onward, every Monday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Please book an appointment via the scheduling automation platform Calendly or https://calendly.com/softskillsakademie2/beratung-ausschreibung-nr-02-23?month=2023-08
CZ-PL-DE
Open Call Nr. 03/23
Cross-border cooperation with partners in the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany
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The fact that Europe isn’t somewhere else, but on our own doorstep, is particularly true for border regions – and yet this isn’t always readily apparent. But it is precisely these regions that offer scope to exploit the potential this geographical and cultural proximity has to offer.
The aim is to expand and update the Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH programme through new cross-border cooperation. The Open Call Nr. 03/23 is intended to network the creative artists and the cultural and artistic institutions in the three-country region in order to define the new social challenges from different perspectives. The idea is for interested parties to have an opportunity to get to know each other, thereby laying the foundations for potential, sustainable, regional and international cooperation.
An aspect of particular interest is discovering ways in which the cultural differences in living conditions where the three countries meet represent a source of wealth for Europe as well as underscoring common ground as a connecting element. The intention is to exchange ideas on all levels, from everyday culture to high culture. Peace and remembrance work are to play a prominent role in this. Activities around the Capital of Culture year 2025 aim to sustainably strengthen relations between the people of this region and foster visible cross-border cooperation.
Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH provides support to bilateral or trilateral cooperation projects as part of a two-stage process.
Stage 1 is an ideas competition with a submission period from 27 February to 31 August 2023. If selected by the advisory board, the project idea is worked out in stage 2 and developed into a project plan.
Stage 2 consists of a project development process starting on 1 May 2024, based on the project plans developed in the first stage and updated in the second stage, with the aim of implementation in the Capital of Culture year 2025. The second advisory board will review the submitted project plans and recommend them for implementation in the Capital of Culture year.
Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH is not a patron in the classical sense. We see ourselves as a partner and supporter, as a motivator and an impulse booster for various projects that are planned and developed as part of the preparation for the Capital of Culture year in Chemnitz and the partner municipalities and communities and ultimately contribute to the grand idea of implementing the programme.
All entities mentioned under item 12 of the Principles Governing Participation (initiatives, associations, institutions, companies or private individuals, etc.) that are based in one of the 38 partner municipalities and communities of the cultural region, in Poland or in the Czech Republic may become direct cooperation partners of Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH in the context of the open calls.
Bilateral or trilateral partnerships between those mentioned above may already exist or be entered into during the competition period. The programme sees itself as motivation to actively seek a partner. The project idea is submitted by a main partner. Submissions must each have one partner in one of the 38 designated partner municipalities and communities of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025.
In keeping with the principles governing participation, financing is granted to non-commercial project ideas from the German-Polish-Czech border region, particularly those to be implemented in the fields of visual arts, performing arts, literature, music, film, photography, architecture, peace and remembrance culture, media and new media, related forms and interdisciplinary projects as well as activities in sports, civil society and popular culture.
The focus will be on activities that address and implement diversity, sustainability, inclusion and multi-generational work.
In Open Call Nr. 03/23: Cross-border cooperation with partners in the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, following approval by Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH, any research and travel costs, accommodation costs, seminar and conference fees, entrance fees, translation costs and material costs incurred during the term of the project in Stage 1 – Ideas competition will be financed up to a maximum of €5,000.
The competence development programme of Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH will offer support measures for the preparation of the project plan.
The following must be provided during the course of the project:
- A project plan for a project that can be implemented in 2024–2025
- A final report on the content
- The cost statement including all supporting documents.
Stage 1
- 27 February to 31 August 2023: submission of idea outlines
- 1 to 30 September 2023: decision by advisory board
- 1 October 2023 to 30 April 2024: project concepts developed
Stage 2
- 1 May to 1 June 2024: update and submission of project plans
- 1 June to 30 July 2024: concepts evaluated by advisory board
- 1 September 2024 to 31 December 2025: project implementation
You can participate in Open Call Nr. 03/23 directly via our submission platform.
To the submission platform: https://grenzueberschreitende-zusammenarbeit-i.mein-wettbewerb.de/
In case of technical questions with regards to the submission platform please write via e-mail to: support@zauberberg-medien.de
Please download the template for the cost and financing plan – necessary for submission, here.
Your project ideas will be handled confidentially and your submitted documents will be stored and processed by us for the sole purpose of selecting the projects. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Open Call Nr. 03/23 is accompanied by information and networking events before and during the call process:
- 11 May 2023 at 5 – 8 p.m. – networking event in Chemnitz (Germany) for interested parties from Poland, Czech Republic and from the 38 designated partner municipalities and communities from the cultural region of Chemnitz European Capital of Culture 2025
- click here for the registration
For further information and queries regarding Open Call Nr. 03/23 please contact the following staff members of KHS GmbH:
Office hours for individual counselling:
- From 20 March 2023 onward, every Monday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Please book an appointment via the scheduling automation platform Calendly or https://calendly.com/cz-pl-de/beratung.
Celebrate generations!
Open Call Nr. 04/23
Projects for young and older people
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Under “C the Unseen”, the motto of Chemnitz2025, the Generation team is looking for projects that discover opportunities for everyone in the peculiarities of generations and with which children and young people in particular acquire the space, knowledge and skills to create their own future perspectives.
Here, we see Chemnitz as a laboratory for issues facing all of Europe because, in the context of Chemnitz as the European Capital of Culture 2025, the demographically oldest city in Europe has the opportunity to find regional approaches to these issues, such as demographic change, loneliness and shortage of skilled workers.
Whether it’s innovative tech solutions or ways of meeting – we are also looking for projects that involve older people and thus create a platform that shows appreciation for their activities, opinions and the issues they face.
We encourage European, national and local partners to include projects for and, most importantly, with the target groups of the Generation team in the Capital of Culture programme.
Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH (KHS GmbH) is not a patron in the classical sense. We see ourselves as a partner and supporter, as a motivator and an impulse booster in various projects. These can be planned and developed as part of the preparation for the Capital of Culture year in Chemnitz and the partner municipalities and communities and ultimately contribute to the grand idea of implementing the programme.
In Open Call Nr. 04/23 Celebrate generations!, project concepts or drafts can be submitted that appeal to at least one of the following target groups and/or have a generation-connecting effect:
- 0–6 years old: Infants and children of nursery age and their families
- 7–10 years old: Children of primary school age and their families
- 11–18 years old: Children and young people of school age
- 19–27 years old: Young adults
- 60+ years old: Older people
A fundamental aspect is that Chemnitz and the 38 partner municipalities and communities of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 must network with Europe. By the time the contract is signed, each selected local project must demonstrate at least one European partner and each project from abroad must involve a local partner from Chemnitz or one of the 38 partner municipalities or communities. If required, the Generation team at KHS GmbH will provide advice in searching for partners. Partnerships must be documented via letters of intent.
KHS GmbH supports active participation on the part of the target groups in keeping with the idea of participatory cultural work. An active participatory component on the part of the local target group (e.g. in the team, in project development and/or implementation process) is a prerequisite for support. If cooperation financing is awarded, this component can be further developed in the project development process. Special attention is given to projects that are developed from within the target groups themselves.
In keeping with the principles governing participation, financing is granted to non-commercial project ideas centring around cultural creation, particularly from the fields of visual arts, performing arts, literature, music, film, photography, architecture, peace and remembrance culture, media and new media, related forms and interdisciplinary projects as well as activities in sports, civil society and popular culture.
The focus of KHS GmbH’s support is on activities that address and implement diversity, sustainability, inclusion and multi-generational work.
Open Call Nr. 04/23 Celebrate generations! consists of a two-stage process. Until the end of submission in stage I, both project concepts and project drafts that still require development, e.g. in the form of international partnerships, can be submitted. A specially composed advisory board will shortlist the project drafts which are to be included in a targeted project development process.
In stage II, the project concepts resulting from this will be submitted again. The advisory board will then make a final decision on the projects that are to be included in the programme for the Capital of Culture year 2025.
All projects must provide their own contribution amounting to at least 10 per cent of the total amount. In individual cases, non-cash contributions (such as volunteer work) may also be recognised as an own contribution. Decisions relating to such recognition shall be made on an individual basis. Due to the individual nature of the expected submissions, a maximum financing amount is not specified as a matter of principle.
All organisations and individuals from Chemnitz and the 38 partner municipalities and communities of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 mentioned under item 12 of the principles governing participation are eligible to apply, as are those from all EU member states and other European countries.
Stage 1
- Submission of finished project concepts or project drafts: 27 February 2023 to 30 June 2023
- Decision of the advisory board: 7 July – 31 August 2023
Stage 2
- Project development (including internationalisation procedures, if applicable): 1 September – 30 November 2023
- Submission of finished project concepts: by 30 November 2023
- Decision of the advisory board: by 15 January 2024
Project start is possible from January 2024. The projects must make their impact and carry out their main activities in 2025 and must be implemented in Chemnitz and/or the partner municipalities and communities.
You can participate in Open Call Nr. 04/23 directly via our submission platform.
To the submission platform: http://generationen-feiern.mein-wettbewerb.de/
In case of technical questions with regards to the submission platform please write via e-mail to: support@zauberberg-medien.de
Please download the template for the cost and financing plan – necessary for submission here.
Your project ideas will be handled confidentially and your submitted documents will be stored and processed by us for the sole purpose of selecting the projects. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Open Call Nr. 04/23 is accompanied by information events before and during the call process:
- 16 May 2023 / online information event (in English language)
For further information and queries regarding Open Call Nr. 04/23 please contact the following staff member of KHS GmbH:
Office hours for individual counselling:
- From 20 March 2023 onward, every Monday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Please book an appointment via the scheduling automation platform
Calendly or https://calendly.com/generationen-feiern/beratung.
Soft Skills Academy I
Open Call Nr. 01/23
Capacity building and networking programme for project ideas
Democracy does not simply exist – democracy is made, and our understanding of it is actively negotiated on an ongoing basis. In Chemnitz, as in other regions of Europe, notions of democracy are often questioned in public in particular; on the other hand, its relevance is rarely the subject of discussion in everyday life, e.g. in our families, when playing sports, at school or when meeting friends.
The Soft Skills Academy takes a constructive approach to working on the unifying idea of democracy using artistic and cultural tools – in the Academy, people talk to each other, listen to each other, think together, exchange ideas, discuss, debate and work together on the implementation of new projects, methods and concepts.
Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 GmbH (KHS GmbH) invites all stakeholders working in the field of culture and democracy education in Chemnitz and its 38 partner municipalities and communities to actively participate in the project. From 2023 to 2025, this will include regular networking opportunities for stakeholders, a curated discourse programme as well as opportunities for cooperation and competence development.
The open calls for the Soft Skills Academy call on stakeholders to present a wide range of cultural or artistic projects that are positioned at the interface with involvement in civil society. These projects can still be in the planning stages (Open Call Nr. 01/23: Soft Skills Academy I – project idea) or be ready for immediate implementation (Open Call Nr. 02/23: Soft Skills Academy II – pilot projects).
These two application periods are considered to be a development and test phase for prototypes. To implement the prototypes and further develop them for the Capital of Culture programme in 2025, the open call for the Change Maker programme will be launched from 2024 in a new procedure based on the results of the Soft Skills Academy.
KHS GmbH is not a patron in the classical sense. We see ourselves as a partner and supporter, as a motivator and an impulse booster for various projects. These can be planned and developed as part of the preparation for the Capital of Culture year in Chemnitz and the partner municipalities and communities and ultimately contribute to the grand idea of implementing the programme.
All entities mentioned under item 12 of the Principles Governing Participation (initiatives, associations, institutions, companies or private individuals, etc.) that are based in one of the 38 partner municipalities and communities of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 may become direct cooperation partners of KHS GmbH in the context of the open calls.
Project partnerships with others are expressly welcomed. These may already exist or be entered into during the competition period. In particular, Open Call Nr. 01/23 Soft Skills Academy can be understood as motivation to actively seek international partners, in order to further develop projects with them for Open Call Nr. 02/23 Soft Skills Academy II and the Change Maker programme building on it in 2024. It is also possible to use Open Call Nr. 01/23 Soft Skills Academy I as preparation for internationalisation for Open Call Nr. 05/23 Urban Popular Culture. The project idea will be submitted by the main partner based in Chemnitz or the region.
Open Call Nr. 03/23 CZ-PL-DE and Open Call Nr. 04/23 Celebrate generations! have their own programmes for internationalisation. Therefore, we ask applicants to use these options if the content focus of the project ideas falls under these calls.
Support is granted to non-commercial project ideas that deal with questions, methods and strategies for promoting and teaching democracy or that come from the following fields: visual and performing arts, literature, music, film, radio, photography, architecture, peace and remembrance culture, media, new media, related forms and interdisciplinary projects as well as activities in sports, civil society and popular culture.
The focus will be on activities that address and implement diversity, sustainability, inclusion and multi-generational work.
In Open Call 01/23: Soft Skills Academy I – Capacity building and networking programme for project ideas, any research and travel costs, accommodation costs, seminar and conference fees, entrance fees, translation costs and material costs incurred following selection and during the term of the project will be reimbursed by KHS GmbH of up to a maximum of €5,000. Details are recorded in a cooperation agreement and follow the KHS GmbH guidelines for cooperations.
The stakeholders will be supported in preparing a project plan by the capacity development programme of KHS GmbH within the framework of the open call.
The following must be provided during the course of the project:
- A project plan for a project that can be implemented in 2025
- A final report on the content
- A cost statement including all supporting documents.
To enable the project partners to implement the project quickly, selection will be staggered.
Projects can be submitted in the periods 27 Feb to 31 Mar, 1 Apr to 30 Apr and 1 May to 31 May 2023.
Notification of the project selection will then be made in mid-April, mid-May and mid-June respectively, with implementation of the project starting immediately.
The projects must be completed and settled by the end of December 2023 in each case.
To the submission platform: http://soft-skills-akademie-i.mein-wettbewerb.de/
In case of technical questions with regards to the submission platform please write via e-mail to: support@zauberberg-medien.de
Please download the template for the cost and financing plan – necessary for submission – here.
Your project ideas will be handled confidentially and your submitted documents will be stored and processed by us for the sole purpose of selecting the projects. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
For further information and queries regarding Open Call Nr. 01/23 please contact the following staff member of KHS GmbH:
Office hours for individual counselling:
- From 20 March 2023 onward, every Monday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Please book an appointment via the scheduling automation platform Calendly or https://calendly.com/softskillsakademie/beratung
Do you have specific questions about the calls for entries?
Then feel free to send us an email to ausschreibungen@chemnitz2025.de.
Registration – Newsletter on the Open Calls
If you would like to receive regular updates on the calls, you can subscribe to specific mailing lists for each call here:
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