After months of collaborative design across our European and African programme teams, the launch of the Connect & Create Creative Tandems call marks a transformative moment in cultural cooperation. More than a funding opportunity, this initiative is a declaration: that co-ownership, mutual respect, and creative equity are not just ideals,they are now the foundation.

A Partnership Model Reimagined

With €600,000 in funding supporting projects between €20,000 and €60,000 over 18–24 months, the Tandems call invites performing arts organisations from sub-Saharan Africa and the EU to build joint programmes, not parallel activities.

This is a deliberate shift away from traditional models that often reinforce imbalance. Instead, we’re investing in sustainable relationships that challenge extractive frameworks and celebrate shared authorship.

Co-Ownership at the Core

What excites us most is the principle of co-creation. These tandems will:

• Jointly design and implement creative programmes
• Share expertise across vastly different working contexts
• Engage in individual monitoring and collective networking
• Build mutual understanding through embodied artistic exchange

From dance and theatre to music, circus, and puppetry, the performing arts offer fertile ground for these intercultural collaborations to thrive.

A Living Map of Cultural Kinship

The coordination across teams in Johannesburg, Munich, Paris, and throughout the continent is a testament to what culture can do: create genuine connections. After 25 years of EU-Africa cultural cooperation, this feels like the moment we move beyond legacy models into something more transformative, inclusive, and future-facing.

What Comes Next

We can’t wait to see which tandems emerge, what stories they’ll tell, what stages they’ll build, and how they’ll remix tradition with innovation. This is more than a call; it’s a movement.

Let’s create the narrative. Together.

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🎭 What stands out most:

• €600,000 in funding is not just a number ,it’s a signal of trust in transnational creativity.
• The 18–24 month runway allows for deep, iterative development, not just surface-level exchange.
• The emphasis on joint programme design and shared expertise is a direct challenge to the “parallel tracks” model that so often dilutes impact.
• And the performing arts focus, dance, theatre, music, circus, puppetry—offers fertile ground for embodied storytelling and cultural remixing.

🌍 The geographic choreography—Johannesburg, Munich, Paris, and beyond—feels like a living map of cultural kinship. After 25 years of EU-Africa cooperation, this call doesn’t just mark a new chapter; it rewrites the genre.