Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society 2026

Europe’s rich cultural heritage and strong creative industries not only reflect our past but also shape our future. It is by building on this foundation and developing our strengths that we can face the great challenges of our time with confidence and shape a desirable common future. Europe's cultural heritage originates from the interaction between people and places through time and is constantly evolving^[1]. Every citizen has a right to engage with the cultural heritage of their choice, while respecting the rights and freedoms of others, as an aspect of the right to participate freely in cultural life^[2].

Europe’s diverse tangible and intangible cultural heritage and dynamic cultural and creative industries (CCIs) are strategic assets. They enrich our lives, foster social cohesion and societal resilience, and contribute to a sense of belonging. They underpin a growing economy that generates more employment than the automotive industry and a similar trade balance as food, drinks and tobacco combined. Many of Europe’s multinational companies build their international success on European heritage and creativity. At the same time, the sector is nurturing large numbers of dynamic small, medium (SMEs) and micro enterprises, creating employment not the least for young people, while deploying their creativity not only to generate income but also to contribute to social and cultural sustainability, wellbeing and to projecting European values at home and abroad. The cultural and creative industries are engines of innovation not only in themselves, but across the entire economy, thus contributing strongly to Europe’s overall competitiveness and future prosperity.

This destination adopts a people-centred perspective and places cultural heritage and the cultural and creative industries at the very heart of the European economy, its competitiveness and sustainability. R&I activities under this destination will be aligned with the main principles and objectives of the Culture Compass for Europe and support objectives such as circular and just fashion and textiles value-chains, social cohesion and resilience through arts, design and cultural practices and creative entrepreneurial ecosystems for regional development. R&I activities under this destination will support and strengthen European cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries essentially along the following lines:

Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness: To secure Europe’s future prosperity and competitiveness, it is necessary to unlock the innovative power of our cultural heritage and CCIs. The CCIs contribute strongly to drive innovation not only in themselves but also in other industries and economic sectors, shape new technologies and can contribute to user-driven innovation, open innovation and cross-sectoral innovation, in addition to their wider societal contributions such as to cultural wealth, social cohesion and resilience.

R&I actions under this area will focus on boosting the innovation-driving role of the CCIs, on creative startups, on the impact of artificial intelligence technologies on creativity and CCIs, while ensuring that new technologies are fairly deployed, along with the contributions of artistic intelligence and soft skills, boosting a circular economy and global partnerships in cultural policies and CCIs, among other things.

Supporting people, strengthening our societies and our social model: Cultural heritage, the arts and the CCIs have a crucial role to play for resilient and socially sustainable societies, shaping and strengthening the values that hold us together and give meaning and a sense of belonging.

R&I actions under this area will focus on boosting the role of culture, the arts and creative industries in contributing to well-being, to the social economy and in general the societal impact of cultural heritage. R&I actions will explore and strengthen the role of culture, heritage and CCIs in shaping the technologies of the future and focus on safeguarding intangible heritage and linguistic diversity, on sustainable cultural tourism and on countering illicit trafficking of cultural goods, among others.

Some actions funded under this Destination will need access to and/or generate data. Where appropriate, actions should leverage the data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud or included in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and the ESFRI roadmap, as well as data from relevant European Data Spaces. In particular, projects that produce data or digital tools of potential interest to cultural heritage institutions or researchers should, as appropriate, establish links to and/or consider integrating their results in the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH)^[3].Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of actions under this Destination is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).

The innovation ecosystems created and nurtured by the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), in particular the KIC “EIT Culture and Creativity”, may contribute to actions under this destination, and may as appropriate be considered by applicants. Furthermore, applicants are invited to consult funding opportunities in other parts of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, including for instance the funding opportunities for companies, high potential start-ups, entrepreneurs and innovative researchers offered under the European Innovation Council.

R&I actions under this Destination will help ensure Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness, support people, strengthening our societies and our social model, contribute to protecting our democracy, upholding our values and boosting a global Europe, leveraging our power and partnerships. They will contribute to reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to building a stronger, more participatory and crisis-resilient society and economy. They will support the realisation of the full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative industries as drivers of sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging.

To maximise the impacts of R&I under this Destination in line with EU priorities, international cooperation is encouraged whenever relevant in the proposed topics.

Expected impact:

Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:

• The full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative industries and sectors as drivers of both sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging is realised through a continuous engagement with society, citizens and economic sectors.

[1] Council conclusions of 21 May 2014 on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe (2014/C 183/08) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014XG0614(08)

[2] CETS 199 - Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (coe.int)

[3] See further for instance https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/social-sciences-and-humanities/cultural-heritage-and-cultural-and-creative-industries-ccis/cultural-heritage-cloud_en

Expected Outcome:

Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Deepened understanding and comprehensive evaluation of cultural policy models, creative industry ecosystems, and strategies for promoting creative industries across world regions, identifying good practices, success stories and replicable models. Innovative practices, policy approaches, shared challenges, and opportunities for cross-regional collaboration and global development of creative industries are identified.
• International equal partnerships and collaborations are established to exchange cultural policy approaches, boost creative industries, and/or support collaborative production or co-creation, facilitating knowledge transfer and capacity building among participating actors.
• Actionable strategies are available to policymakers, businesses, and stakeholders, for cross-regional collaborations that strengthen cultural ties, leverage creative industries, culture, and the arts as central to Global Europe, and support global culture- and creativity-driven innovation and resilience.

Scope:

This topic explores how international partnerships can strengthen cultural policies and creative industries innovation, promote cross-cultural collaboration, and support sustainable development and global relations. Proposals should examine innovative approaches that benefit partners worldwide while enhancing Europe's global standing through cultural cooperation. The topic has two distinct but interconnected focuses; proposals should select one but may also consider complementarities and synergies with the other.

Focus 1: Cultural and creative industries’ innovation beyond borders

Creative industries are gaining global attention for their multifaceted impact on economies and societies, driving economic growth, job creation, opportunities for youth, women, and persons with disabilities, while generating value and fostering wellbeing across regions. By investing in digital and green transitions, adopting ethical and open AI, and leveraging cultural heritage, the EU offers a compelling paradigm for creative industries worldwide. This approach strengthens creativity within Europe and can inspire other regions developing their own cultural and creative economies, contributing to a flourishing global creative ecosystem. Creative industries support resilient, inclusive, balanced and mutually respectful partnerships that create new markets and drive innovation, advancing a global Europe. There is a growing need to explore diverse approaches to promoting cultural and creative industries, fostering knowledge exchange and mutual learning to amplify positive impacts worldwide, with Africa, the Far East, South-East Asia, Latin America being particularly promising regions for cooperation. Proposals should establish pilot projects to demonstrate the potential of cross-regional cooperation in creative industries, addressing specific regional challenges and opportunities. They may leverage the EU Global Gateway strategy to foster resilient, inclusive, and innovative global partnerships.

Focus 2: International cultural relations for global resilience

While often used interchangeably, cultural diplomacy, international cultural relations, and soft power each reflect different layers of collaboration and competition: cultural diplomacy often advance national interests through cultural exchange, international cultural relations emphasise mutual and reciprocal engagement, and soft power highlights the subtle influence of culture and creativity in shaping global perceptions.

As traditional diplomatic channels face pressures, these approaches have become vital for enhancing mutual understanding, building trust, and fostering dialogue and cooperation across borders—even amid political disagreements. They promote societal resilience and peaceful coexistence by highlighting common values, easing tensions, and bridging divides. International cultural relations also offer opportunities to strengthen existing partnerships or forge new ones—important also for Europe’s own strategic autonomy—by leveraging shared values, cooperation mechanisms, existing networks (including the EU Global Gateway), and diverse cultural diplomacy strategies in today’s geopolitical landscape.

Proposals under this focus should establish pilot projects to test innovative forms of international cultural relations, such as initiatives fostering intercultural dialogue among communities experiencing tension or affected by conflict; collaborative artistic projects promoting mutual understanding and countering nationalism, xenophobia or conflict; cultural partnerships that avoid asymmetric power dynamics; or joint activities demonstrating how culture can strengthen societal resilience through inclusion, diversity, openness and how arts, design and cultural practices contribute to social cohesion. Africa, the Far East, South-East Asia, Latin America are regions of particular interest for this focus area as well. Proposals should clearly indicate the focus they have selected.

Projects should establish mechanisms for ongoing collaboration that leverage each region's cultural assets and industry innovations to address global and local challenges

Proposals addressing either focus may also explore ways to address unequal access to global markets and imbalances in partnerships within the creative economy, with attention to gender and other intersectional aspects shaping opportunities and participation. Research organisations, policy think-tanks, creative industries representatives, artist organisations/artists, tech communities, and cultural organisations from Europe and partner world regions are encouraged to participate.

Proposals should involve CCSI representatives from the outset to ensure their central role. Proposals need not cover all CCSI but may focus on a specific area for in-depth analysis to develop a strong knowledge base and highlight strategic directions and routes to improvement. Proposals should explore synergies with other EU programmes supporting international cultural and creative partnerships, including the European Spaces of Culture,^[1] and may seek complementarities with projects funded under the topic HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-07. In order to achieve the topic’s expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged.

[1] Among others: Cultural Relations Platform, connecting cultural practitioners worldwide; S+T+Arts4Africa digital innovation in African sub-Saharan culture and digital innovation hubs; Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture, focusing on artistic co-creation and cooperation; European Spaces of Culture: innovative collaboration models in cultural relations between EU and extra-EU local partner organisations; Creative Africa: Audiovisual for cross-border cooperation in the audio-visual sector across the entire value chain; Strengthening African-European Museum Partnerships: an African-European museums platform to develop a new multilateral framework based on co-creation; CreatiFI: Financial instrument to support creative industries; ACP-EU Culture: assist the socio-economic development of the ACP countries by supporting their cultural and creative sectors; ProCultura: contribute to the increase of employment and income-generating activities in the cultural and creative sector of the Portuguese-speaking African countries and East Timor; EU-UNESCO Facility: technical assistance to support cultural policy strengthening and the implementation of the UNESCO 2030 Culture Indicators, the framework to measure and assess culture’s contribution to sustainable development; Transcultura: deepen integration within the Caribbean region and strengthening people-to-people cooperation with the European Union.