Seed Funding MeetUp 2026
On 28–29 May, 15 teams participating in the Seed Funding strand of ZMINA:Resilience gathered at the cosy venue of the Ukrainian-Danish Youth House in Kyiv. Two days filled with pitching sessions, candid conversations, and lively experience exchange.
The first day was dedicated to pitch sessions. Each team had 15 minutes to present their project, followed by 15 minutes of feedback from mentors and invited partners — the Ukrainian-Danish Youth House, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, and the Centre for Contemporary Culture in Dnipro. Across two blocks, the room heard ideas ranging from a digital wartime sound archive and VR journeys into prehistoric Ukraine to international film residencies, theatrical co-productions, media literacy in small communities, and support for veteran artists — each with its own logic, its own vision of resilience, and each oriented towards international partnership.
The second day opened with a bingo reflection — a team game that created space for one-on-one conversations. The statements on the cards were drawn from real responses by subgrantees: "there was a moment when I wanted to give it all up", "we realised that being niche is actually an advantage", "we talked to colleagues about our mistakes". By searching for shared experience, recognising themselves in each other's words, and discovering unexpected points of connection, participants got to know one another better — and felt themselves part of something larger than their own project. The game was followed by participant interviews — a short debrief that helped capture personal insights and the programme's collective experience.
The programme closed with a panel discussion, "100% Funding: How Can Applicants Improve Their Chances of Success?", featuring speakers from Creative Europe Ukraine, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, IZOLYATSIA, and partner organisations. Participants discussed what makes a strong application, how to build equal partnerships with EU-based organisations, and how to frame competitive project ideas.
Seed Funding is not only about financing the development of an idea and the preparation of an implementation application. It is an opportunity to test that idea in conversation with others who are also building something meaningful right now. We thank all participants and partners for these two days — and look forward to seeing the projects come to life! 🌱
ZMINA:Resilience is a cooperation between IZOLYATSIA Foundation (Ukraine) and Malý Berlín (Slovakia), with the participation of the Trans Europe Halles network (Sweden).
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.