Wijhat old

Who is eligible to apply?

•  Applicants must be from an Arab country, regardless of racial or ethnic affiliation or citizenship status
• Applicant do not necessarily have to reside in an Arab country, but the country of departure or arrival must be an Arab country
• The grant is available for groups as well as individuals
• The program targets artists from all disciplines: visual arts, performance arts, literature, music, etc.
• The program targets cultural actors whether working independently or as members or staff of cultural initiatives or organizations
• Applicants must be at least 18 years old; otherwise, applications must be submitted by an adult on their behalf, with a written consent from their parents or guardians

Application instructions

• For individuals: Fill in this application form in Arabic and e-mail it to the following address: [email protected]
• For groups: Fill in this application form in Arabic and e-mail it to the following address: [email protected]
• Clearly express the purpose of the trip and how it fits the aims of the program.
• Applicants must have a clear schedule and a clear idea of what they expect to produce/accomplish and the particular activities they intend to participate in.
• Applicants may not submit more than one application within one round.
• Recipients of a Wijhat grant from Culture Resource may not apply for another mobility grant for 16 months (equivalent of 4 rounds) after receiving their grant. This period is calculated from the date on which that grant was announced. Recipients of Wijhat may still apply to any other type of grant from Culture Resource during the 16 months period.

Application rules

• Applications are accepted throughout the year. They are evaluated three times a year, as outlined in the program schedule above.
• Each application is approved based on the particular activity mentioned in the application. In the event that the intended travel does not take place – due to reasons including but not limited to personal or health reasons, the inability to obtain a visa, or the cancellation of the activity-  the grant is cancelled and annulled and may not be used to take part in any other activity. The grant may be reallocated in certain cases to other activities, if a written request is submitted, reviewed and approved by the program. The program has the full authority to accept or reject a request as the original rules specify that the grant should not be used for activities other than those mentioned in the accepted application.
• In case the grant is cancelled, the program will only cover the visa costs and any expenses already made before the grant cancellation. The grantee shall refund the remaining grant amount and installments received.
• The grantee is solely responsible for obtaining a visa for the country to which she/he intends to travel. Culture Resource shall write a recommendation letter to the concerned embassy to support the visa application, should a grantee request such a letter.
• The travel date may be at least a few weeks after the results are announced. For example, a person applying for the February round may want to take part in an activity that takes place in March or in November. However, the grant is only valid for 12 months from the results announcement date, meaning that the actual trip must take place within 12 months after the results are announced.
• The partial “subsistence allowance” (which may be up to 20% of the total grant amount) is estimated by Culture Resource. This amount is only considered as travel support and may not necessarily cover all the living expenses during travel.
• The program does not stipulate a specific duration for the applicant’s intended travel or stay abroad, but it only covers the expenses of the event/activities mentioned in the application for which the grantee received the grant to participate in.
• Applications that are incomplete or lack the required supporting documents shall not be considered.

Documents to be included with the application

Applicants must attach with the application form the supporting documents listed below. Applications that do not include the required supporting documents will be not be considered, thus not submitted to the independent jury.

Required attachments:

• An official invitation from a partner or host in the country of destination. (Note: In the event of the lack of a formal invitation, the application may still be accepted and assessed, but on the condition that the applicant provides another proof of acceptance, in principle, to take part in the intended activity).
• Photocopy of passport (the first two pages).
• A detailed budget for the trip.
• The program of the intended activity (i.e. a program of the festival or conference schedule) should the program be available at the time of application.
• A detailed CV for individual applicants, or a bio and an introduction to/description of the applying group. In both cases, the application should include a list of samples of previous works.
• Previous works that are in digital form (text or visual material) can be sent in one of the following ways: as a single PDF file, Word or Zipped file (not exceeding 4 MB), or as 4 JPEG files (of no more than 1 MB per file). If the previous works are audio or audiovisual recordings, include the website links where these works can be found.

How are grantees selected?

• For each round, all applications submitted by the submission deadline are screened based on the applicant’s eligibility and the fulfillment of the application requirements explained in the application guidelines, including the thorough completion of application form and inclusion of the required supporting documents.
• All applications that meet all the requirements are submitted to a three-member independent jury, whose members change with each round.
• The jury selected for each round consists of cultural actors or artists with recognized expertise in the Arab and international cultural scenes from diverse disciplines and backgrounds. Geographic and gender diversity are taken into consideration when selecting the jury members.
• The jury members assess the applications and select the grantees on the basis of a set of established criteria that are applied in each round, considering mainly applicants’ intended destinations and types of activities in which they plan to participate.

Contractual procedures and obligations

• After the results are announced, Culture Resource sends contracts to the grantees that explain, in detail, the scope, conditions, and duration of the support.
• How the grants are disbursed: Grantees receive a first instalment (60 to 80% of the grant) upon signing the contract and a second instalment (20 to 40% of the grant) upon submitting the two required financial and written reports to Culture Resource after completing the activity covered by the grant.
• If a selected recipient does not sign the contract within 30 days after it was sent, the grant will be annulled.
• If the financial report establishes that the actual cost of the trip was less than the estimated cost, only the actual cost is covered.
• The grant must be used within 12 months after its announcement.
• The Mobility Grant and Culture Resource must be referenced clearly in all publications and media (including social media), news items, reports and publicity pertaining to any activity or event supported by the program.
• Culture Resource reserves the right to withhold the second instalment from the grantee in the event that he/she fails to submit the required reports or to meet other contractual obligations.

For further questions, please contact Wijhat team: [email protected]