Category: Grants

CFP UNESCO IYF Silk Roads Cooperation Grant 2026

“UNESCO”
IYF Silk Roads Cooperation Grant, UNESCO, Paris, France. Deadline: 30 June 2026.

Since 2017, the International Youth Forum (IYF) on Creativity and Heritage along the Silk Roads has mobilized over 800 participants from 146 countries to foster intercultural dialogue and heritage conservation. To transition from dialogue to tangible impact, the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia is launching the IYF Silk Roads Cooperation Grant. This initiative aims to bridge the last three editions of the forum (2023–2025) and provide seed funding to transform youth-led ideas into sustainable, real-world practices.

Objectives

  • Bridge the Implementation Gap: Providing resources to turn IYF ideas into operational projects.
  • Foster South-South Cooperation: Requiring cross-country collaboration that mirrors the spirit of the Silk Roads
  • Advance Culture as an SDG: Positioning heritage as a driver for sustainable economic growth.

Thematic Areas

Proposals must address at least one of the following themes:

  • Inclusive Heritage and Social Cohesion: Using cultural heritage for peacebuilding and social integration.
  • Digital Frontiers and Heritage Entrepreneurship: Intersecting technology and business for heritage protection.
  • Innovative Heritage Protection: Feasible operation models to solve local heritage challenges.
  • Expanded Network Impact: Strengthening connections through joint youth proposals.

Lisle International: Global Seed Grant Program 2026

GrantsGlobal Seed Grants, Lisle International, Leander, TX, USA. Deadlines: Last date to Request to apply: 2 June 2026; Completed application: 1 September 2026.

Do you have a project idea that will bring people of diverse backgrounds together for shared learning? Lisle International provides Global Seed Grants to support innovative projects which advance intercultural understanding through shared experiences, with the goal of creating a more just social order. Projects may seek to bridge a variety of community divides, including ethnic, cultural, religious, racial or gender perspectives, anywhere in the world.

Lisle International was an early pioneer in intercultural education programming, beginning with US projects in 1936 and expanding internationally in 1952. Since 2004, Lisle has focused on providing small “seed grants” to support programs fostering intercultural understanding.

Grants of $500 to $5,000 are available to innovative projects that match the mission of Lisle. Lisle awards between three and eight grants each year to projects in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Grant Foundation: Institutional Challenge Grant 2026

Grants

Institutional Challenge Grant, William T. Grant Foundation, New York, NY, USA. Deadline: 9 September 2026.

The Institutional Challenge Grant supports university-based research institutes, schools, and centers in building sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. The grant requires that research institutions shift their policies and practices to value collaborative research. Institutions will also need to build the capacity of researchers to produce relevant work and the capacity of agency and nonprofit partners to use research.

They welcome applications from partnerships in youth-serving areas such as education, justice, child welfare, foster care, mental health, immigration, and workforce development. They especially encourage proposals from teams with African American, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American members in leadership roles. The partnership leadership team includes the principal investigator from the research institution and the lead from the public agency or nonprofit organization.

Research-practice partnerships—long-term, mutually beneficial collaborations that promote the production and use of rigorous and relevant research evidence—are a promising strategy for better aligning researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in their efforts to reduce inequality. Researchers who partner with practitioners or policymakers are better equipped to understand local contexts, address pressing questions, and produce informative and actionable findings. They also gain access to programmatic and/or policy insights and data that can facilitate rigorous and groundbreaking research to make headway on issues relevant to youth. Policymakers and practitioners, meanwhile, can more easily access, interpret, and use research evidence when they collaborate with researchers. They can also help define and shape research agendas. Partnerships, then, equip public agencies and nonprofit organizations with new knowledge and tools to better serve youth.

NOTE: An informational webinar is scheduled for May 6, hosted by Senior Program Officer Jenny Irons and President Adam Gamoran. They will discuss the background and goals of the program, as well as provide an overview of eligibility details, required materials, and review criteria; as well as field questions from attendees and share practical advice on how to prepare a competitive application.

UNAOC: Intercultural Innovation Hub 2026

Grants

Intercultural Innovation Hub, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, BMW Group, and Accenture. Deadline: 15 April 2026.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group, with the support of Accenture, are pleased to announce the 2026 cycle of the Intercultural Innovation Hub (IIH).

As a catalyst for growth and greater impact, the Intercultural Innovation Hub continues to connect people and cultures, empower non-profit organizations, as well as elevate and scale up their approaches to tackling complex intercultural challenges through the development and implementation of impactful social innovations.

To this end, they invite non-profit organizations that are dedicated to fostering intercultural dialogue, promoting mutual understanding, and championing social inclusion to apply. Selected organizations will benefit from a robust support programme designed to expand the impact of their projects.

The Intercultural Innovation Hub will select up to 10 projects focused on addressing xenophobia and hate speech; preventing violent extremism; promoting gender equality; using sport, art and culture as tools to drive social change and foster social inclusion; building inclusive and cohesive societies and using AI and new technologies at the service of humanity.

Aga Khan Foundation: International Scholarships (Switzerland)

Grants

International scholarships (post-graduate education), Aga Khan Foundation, Switzerland. Deadline: none.

The Aga Khan Foundation’s International Scholarship Programme (AKF ISP) is an opportunity for outstanding scholars from selected countries, who have no other means of financing their studies, to pursue postgraduate education. Established in 1969 by His Late Highness Aga Khan IV, the AKF ISP has supported more than 1,500 students to date.

Award recipients are selected through a global, annual, and competitive application process. The AKF ISP offers a limited number of new awards in each cycle. The 2026-2027 award cycle is now open.

The AKF ISP is available in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Uganda. In countries, such as Canada, Portugal and the USA, applications are accepted from those who are originally from one of the countries listed above. At this time, the AKF ISP is not available to students who wish to study in the United Kingdom or Russia.

To be eligible for an AKF ISP award, you must:

  • have excellent academic records;

  • hold a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent training / professional experience;

  • demonstrate genuine financial need;

  • demonstrate a thoughtful, reliable, multi-source funding plan that covers all years of study;

  • be admitted to a reputable postgraduate institution;

  • be starting the first year of the programme; and

  • have strong leadership potential, professional experience, extracurricular and/or entrepreneurial achievements, and volunteer contributions.

Note: preference is given to young professionals under 30 years of age.

 

Musser Fund Grants for Intercultural Harmony 2026 (USA)

Grants

Intercultural Harmony Initiative, Laura Jane Musser Fund. Deadline:  12 March 2026.

Through the Intercultural Harmony Initiative, the Laura Jane Musser Fund supports projects that promote mutual understanding and cooperation between groups of community members of different cultural backgrounds. Project planning grants up to $5,000 or implementation grants up to $25,000 will be considered. Applications will be accepted online through the Fund’s website from February 12 to March 12, 2026.

Priority is placed on projects that include members of various cultural communities working together on projects with common goals; build positive relationships across cultural lines; engender intercultural harmony, tolerance, understanding, and respect; and enhance intercultural communication, rather than cultural isolation, while at the same time honoring the unique qualities of each culture. Projects must demonstrate: need in the community for the intercultural exchange project; grassroots endorsement by participants across cultural lines, as well as their active participation in planning and implementation of the project;
the ability of the organization to address the challenges of working across the cultural barriers identified by the project; and tangible benefits in the larger community.

NOTE: The geographic areas for this initiative are only Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, Wyoming, and limited counties in North Carolina. 

Anna Lindh Foundation: Knowledge for Action Programme (Egypt)

Grants

Call for applications: Knowledge for Action, Anna Lindh Foundation, Alexandria, Egypt. Deadline: 23 February 2026.

The ALF Knowledge for Action (K4A) Programme promotes the production and dissemination of evidence-based and policy-oriented research that addresses relevant dimensions of Intercultural Dialogue in the Euro-Med region. The Programme seeks to enhance the capacity of academic institutions (i.e., think tanks, specialised centres, and universities) to translate knowledge into visible, rigorous and actionable policies and practices that benefit civil society and tackle pressing challenges.

To be eligible, applicants must:

  • Be affiliated with a university, a think tank, or a specialised centre.
  • Be nationals of one of the 43 Member States of the Anna Lindh Foundation

Goethe-Institut: Co-creation of New Heritage Narratives in Southern Africa (Germany)

Grants

Call for proposals: Co-creation of New Heritage Narratives, Goethe-Institut, Germany. Deadline: 13 February 2026.

This Call for Proposals seeks to select at least 8 non-profit, non-governmental organisations in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa to lead “Narrative Clusters,” collaborating with interdisciplinary groups of artists/creatives to develop innovative stories that increase the visibility and contemporary relevance of their heritage. Selected organisations will receive grants of up to €55,000 to manage these clusters, fund co-productions, and present new narratives to local audiences over a 15-month period.

This initiative, funded by the European Union, aims to strengthen cultural cooperation within Southern Africa as well as between Southern Africa and Europe, to enhance regional cultural production capacities, and promote intercultural dialogue through the co-creation of new narratives around tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

The Goethe Institut offers many other grant and residency opportunities. For example, Translators in Residence, Litrix.de’s Translation Grant, Culture Moves Europe Individual Mobility Action, or Relocation Stays for Artists and Cultural Practitioners. Each program has its own deadline.

Embassy of the Netherlands in Egypt: CFP Cultures in Dialogue 2026 (Netherlands)

Grants

Call for proposals: Cultures in Dialogue, Embassy of the Netherlands in Egypt. Deadline: 7 February 2026.

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Egypt invites Egyptian and Dutch cultural organizations to submit project proposals that strengthen cooperation between Egypt and the Netherlands. This open call supports arts and culture projects that contribute to social and cultural development, (in)tangible heritage preservation, creative industries, sustainability, intercultural dialogue and knowledge-exchange. A Dutch component or Dutch-Egyptian collaboration is necessary for selection of the project. Interdisciplinary projects are highly encouraged.

Submitted projects should be in the fields of cultural heritage, design, visual arts, performing arts, music & film and contribute to the following objectives:

    • Supporting and empowering the Egyptian and Dutch cultural scenes;

    • Strengthening cultural exchange and intercultural dialogue;

    • Promoting sustainable preservation of (in)tangible cultural heritage;

    • Strengthening bilateral relations between Egypt and the Netherlands and the positive visibility of the Netherlands and the Dutch cultural sector in Egypt.

    To be eligible for a contribution to funding, the proposed activities must contribute to at least one of these objectives.

Anna Lindh Foundation: ALF in Motion (2025-6)

Grants

ALF in Motion: Anna Lindh Foundation Mobility Programme, Alexandria, Egypt. Deadline: 8 November 2025.

ALF in Motion gives intercultural dialogue civil society entities the chance to connect face-to face with partners from a complementary shore of the Mediterranean. ALF in Motion provides financial support to cover mobility costs. Through this programme, entities can choose to develop projects with new partners, bring an expert to their existing event, co-create art or produce new knowledge. In this programme, ALF introduces four distinct modalities.

Choose the modality that best fits your intercultural dialogue initiative:

Mobility for Partnership
Duration: Minimum 7 days, excluding traveling days
Funding: 1.300 euro
Purpose: Develop joint project proposals for international donors

Mobility for Action
Duration: Minimum 2 days, excluding traveling days
Funding: 1.000 euro
Purpose: Bring external expertise to workshops, debates, trainings, and cultural events, among others

Mobility for Creativity
Duration: Minimum 20 days, excluding traveling days
Funding: 2.200 euro
Purpose: Host artists and creative individuals for collaborative cultural initiatives

Mobility for Knowledge
Duration: Minimum 7 days, excluding traveling days
Funding: 1.300 euro
Purpose: Partner with specialized entities to produce intercultural dialogue know-how