Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV)

The Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme of the European Union aims to promote civil society initiatives committed to a rights-based, democratic, and inclusive society. In particular, cultural practitioners receive support to creatively highlight discrimination, racism, gender inequalities, and other societal challenges. Funded projects must be based on transnational cooperation and include at least one partner from another EU Member State. Public institutions, non-profit organizations, as well as educational and research institutions may submit applications, provided they address topics such as equality, anti-discrimination, citizen participation, or the protection and promotion of European values. The funding instrument places special emphasis on innovative approaches, high standards of inclusion, and strengthening the European community through intercultural exchange and historical awareness.

Application requires proof of a European project partnership as well as a clearly defined topic from the action areas “Equality, Rights and Gender Justice” or “Citizen Participation and Inclusion.” Ideas are evaluated based on their contribution to EU values, originality, and the quality of international cooperation. Within the programme, workshops, training sessions, or artistic encounter formats can be supported, for example, where young people develop music videos to prevent gender-based violence or where twinning media projects showcase civil society engagement. Since there are currently no open calls, it is advisable to regularly consult the official programme documents for future calls and detailed information on funding requirements and evaluation criteria.