MediaFutures successfully launched three open calls during the whole project length
Now that the project is coming to an end, is time to do a little summary back up of everything accomplished: The first call for proposals opened during the pandemic spread, in November 2020, and managed by ZABALA Innovation, Media Futures received 133 proposals from 34 different countries, during the second open call opened in until December 2021, we received 121 proposals from 32 countries and for this last one MediaFutures received a total of 113 proposals from 40 countries.
Some of the countries amongst those proposals have been, in alphabetical order, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.
Throughout the project Media Futures supported 51 startups and SMEs and 43 artists through a total of three Open Calls, distributing a total amount of €2.5M. It supported the selected applicants through a 6-month Accelerator (startups & SMEs)/ Residency (artists) programme including funding, mentoring, and training. Depending on the track the winners will receive a grant up to €40,000 for artists and up to €80,000 for startups, alongside expert consultancy, and support to reshape the media value chain through responsible, innovative uses of data through the Residency programme, the Accelerator or the Startup meets Artist mixed Residency and Accelerator programme.
Considerations of MediaFutures
The open calls have taken into consideration the applications that offer new approaches to support underrepresented groups and their public representation, such as refugees, ethnic minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, those with disabilities; or lower-middle income countries.
The whole team is very happy with the response and the magnitude and impact across the world that this call has achieved.