Room for Heritage 3.0
Capacity Building and Networking Program for Local Cultural Actors Open Call for Participation
Purpose:
The "Room for Heritage" capacity building and networking program helps communities identify and/or reinterpret local cultural or natural heritage resources, including:
Museum collections;
Local heroes;
Local traditions and other examples of intangible heritage;
Existing or potential tourist magnets;
Sites of cultural or natural heritage.
The program offers selected participants training, as well as grant and mentorship support, to create heritage interpretation projects, cultural products, and educational programs. It focuses on community engagement and diverse audiences while addressing the challenges of war. The project is implemented by a consortium of mentor organizations: Mystetskyi Arsenal, IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives, Kharkiv Literary Museum, Odesa National Fine Arts Museum, and Dnipro Center for Contemporary Culture (DCCC), in partnership with the Partnership for a Resilient Ukraine Program (PFRU).
Target Audience:
The consortium will select up to 30 teams working on themes of culture and identity from PFRU priority regions: Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts. This includes organizations displaced from these regions, regardless of their current location within Ukraine.
We invite applications from institutions working with cultural/natural heritage and local history (libraries, museums, historical estates, national parks, nature reserves, botanical gardens, etc.). Preference will be given to institutions applying in partnership with NGOs (teams must have a proven track record of collaboration). NGOs may also apply independently if they have documented experience in the cultural or natural heritage sector.
What We Offer:
Participants will join an educational program dedicated to the methods and practices of Heritage Interpretation.
Heritage Interpretation is a research-based process of explaining and presenting the significance of cultural and natural heritage sites to foster a deeper understanding of their historical, cultural, and social value. It is a communication process that uses various methods (tours, exhibitions, multimedia, etc.) to reveal the essence, history, and meaning of heritage sites to visitors.
During the program, participants will refine their project ideas with expert guidance from lecturers and trainers to create a final interpretive product. Following a project pitching session, the consortium’s expert team will select up to 16 projects to receive funding of up to UAH 500,000 (microgrant) or up to UAH 1.5 million. Implementation funds will be provided in material or monetary form, depending on the organization's capacity and legal status.
Program Timeline:
Duration: June 2026 – May 2027.
Training: Blended format (online and offline in Kyiv), June – September 2026.
Pitching: Following the training, participants will compete for mentorship and funding.
Implementation: Supported projects will run from October 2026 to May 2027.
Application Deadline: April 19, 2026 (23:59 Kyiv time).
Application Form: https://platform.izolyatsia.org/ua/contest/spadshchyna-prostir-2026
Pre-application Consultation: April 10, 2026, at 11:00 AM via Microsoft Teams. This session will allow eligible applicants to ask questions, receive recommendations on proposal preparation, and familiarize themselves with the application procedure.
Inquiries: Please send all questions regarding this announcement to pfru-grants@chemonics.com (Subject: Question regarding "HERITAGE: Space for Work" call) by April 16, 2026 (no later than 12:00 PM).
Selection Results: Applicants will be notified no later than June 1, 2026.
The "Room for Heritage" program is supported by the Partnership for a Resilient Ukraine Program (PFRU), funded by the governments of Great Britain, Estonia, Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Sweden.
