North Africa Cultural Program (NACP) | Cycle II : open Call

Deadlines | March 5, 2024

The North Africa Cultural Program (NACP) | Cycle II is a four-year program (2024-2027) dedicated to five countries in North Africa – namely Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia – and comprises two support schemes, a National Cultural Opportunities Fund, and a Regional Competitive Creativity Fund.

The National Cultural Opportunities Fund scheme is dedicated to arts and culture institutions and spaces in each of the five North African countries. It offers institutional and programmatic support for entities with a track record of strong public programming, and who contribute to the diversification of cultural activities in city centers and peripheries equally.

The Regional Competitive Creativity Fund scheme supports collaborative projects established through partnerships involving at least one entity based in North Africa and one or more entities located across Africa and the Arab region. It aims to strengthen existing and well-established collaborations that were initiated prior to the NACP Cycle II opportunity, while also encouraging the development of new, robust collaborations in a deliberate and thoughtful manner.

Through a combination of open application processes and invitation-based calls, both funds aim to strengthen independent arts and culture entities, including institutions, collectives, networks, and spaces- with an emphasis on regional partnerships, and a particular focus on engaging young audiences and extending outreach to underserved or remote areas beyond urban centers. Furthermore, NACP provides tailored capacity-building, training, and mentorship opportunities to the organizations and projects it supports within the program.

In its first cycle (2019-2023), NACP offered 40 different grants, supporting 28 organizations with institutional and programmatic support and 12 North African collaborative projects. Additionally, the program provided technical and professional support, meeting points, and a digital platform that offered information, resources, and follow-up on the progress of the supported entities and their projects.

National Cultural Opportunities Fund

Regional Competitive Creativity Fund

Please refer to the FAQ section for the eligibility requirements for each of the support schemes.

NACP is the fruit of an international bid by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation which AFAC applied to and won in mid-2018. The program meets the aspirations of both AFAC and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. It responds to recommendations made through various sectoral studies, encounters, and focus group discussions, namely to reinforce AFAC’s presence in North Africa; to support distribution and circulation; and to provide more institutional support to arts and culture entities beyond the existing project support to institutions in other AFAC programs. The program also aligns with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s strategy to invest in culture and in its geographic area of ​​focus, namely North Africa. The NACP program is open to the diversity of cultural expression with no conditions attached in terms of themes or artistic practices.