Application
The application period opened on July 1, 2024, giving applicants six weeks to prepare and submit their applications. The selection process commenced immediately after the deadline on August 15, 2024. The results are expected to be announced by the end of November 2024.
Applications from female cultural workers and those at the beginning of their artistic careers are expressly encouraged. Additionally, we welcome proposals from collectives, including collaborations between artists in the country, exile, and in the diaspora.
Funding is awarded through public calls for proposals and selection processes overseen by independent juries.
Alongside the general framework for projects, we provide detailed requirements and guidelines, as well as FAQ and specific application instructions, on the application pages.
Grantee Selection Process 2024
The Afghanistan Cultural Fund (ACF) is dedicated to supporting cultural projects from Afghanistan and its diasporas in the fields of Music and Storytelling. The selection process is designed to be thorough and transparent, ensuring the highest quality of submissions are chosen.
The call for proposals will open on July 1, 2024. On that date, the application form will be accessible on the Goethe Institute’s application portal. Extensive outreach will be conducted to maximize awareness and participation. Applicants will have until August 15 to submit their proposals.
Following submission, the ACF management team will register and perform administrative checks on all applications to ensure they meet the guidelines. Those that pass this initial review will proceed to a detailed evaluation by a panel of expert jurors. Each application will be assessed based on relevance, quality, innovation, and feasibility.
The evaluations will then be compiled and analysed to create a pre-selection table, which will guide discussions during the ‘jurors’ meeting. Final selections will be reviewed by the Advisory Board, and the results will be announced on the ACF website.
Successful applicants will be contacted to finalize grant agreements and process initial payments. The total budget for the two calls is 250,000 Euros, with a maximum grant amount of 10,000 Euros.
However, ACF welcomes smaller projects with smaller budgets, ensuring a diverse range of initiatives can be supported. This structured and transparent process ensures that all applications are fairly considered and the most promising projects are supported.
Evaluation Criteria
- Relevance (1-5)
This criterion evaluates how well the project aligns with the call’s scope and genre, its significance in the current Afghan cultural scene, its inclusivity, and its connection to other elements such as social and gender issues, heritage preservation, and other artistic disciplines. Particular attention is given to projects from locations lacking infrastructure or those that add significant value to the topic.
- Quality (1-5)
Evaluates the overall clarity, coherence, and quality of the proposal and project idea, including the artistic level and contribution to the genre, as well as the quality of past experiences and projects.
- Innovation (1-5)
Focuses on the originality of the project, including innovative tools, artistic approaches or treatments, and topics such as transgenerational and transdisciplinary methods.
- Feasibility (1-5)
Examines the feasibility of the budget, the clarity and realism of the implementation plan, and the anticipated outputs and outcomes.