Events

Drawing inspiration from the World EXPO 2025 theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, the residency will bring together 5 animation artists from the EU and 5 from Japan. Under guidance from European and Japanese curators and mentors, the 10 artists will explore the rich cultural history and Japanese performance arts significant to the Kansai region to develop short animated teasers. The residency is initiated by the EU External Action Service (EEAS) in partnership with the Cultural Relations Platform and Image Forum Tokyo, with support from the Kyoto Municipal Office.

As part of the 2025 /Ae //Gams Arts and Cultural Festival in Windhoek, a group of 12 crafters from the Khomas and Zambezi regions will take part in a two-day programme on 25–26 April. The programme includes the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work, as well as participating in a series of ad-hoc training sessions on craft techniques and business skills. The activity aims to support exchange between crafters from different regions and offer practical tools to strengthen their professional development.

The 3-day forum entitled ‘Cultural Routes in the Americas: the Panamanian Experience’ is part of the Caminos Culturales, Cruces Naturales project. The main goal of the forum is to create a platform for exchange of practices and methodologies between Panama, European Union Member States and other Latin American countries. Through the three days of sessions, discussions and exchanges, the event will provide practical tools and methods to create a strategy for the next steps in the development of the Colonial Routes, Natural Crossroads project and will facilitate the creation of an informal network between Panamanian, LAC and European experts and professionals. Beside the sessions and workshops, the program also proposes three study visits in the afternoon of each working day: the study visit will be useful to understand the existing practices in Panama, the methods and strategies elaborated, connected to the route.

The EU Delegation to Sri Lanka, in partnership with the Cultural Relations Platform, has launched a matchmaking pilot programme focused on Sri Lanka’s textile and craft industry. The programme aims to foster collaboration between Sri Lankan textile and craft businesses and European partners in the crafts, design and distribution fields, enhancing trade and innovation in one of Sri Lanka’s most significant industries.

During the one-week visit, European partners will explore Sri Lanka’s textile sector and engage with Sri Lankan designers and collaborators. The activity is implemented in partnership with the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka and with the University of Arts London (UAL) as the educational partner.

The fourth and final workshop under the “EU-Vietnam Sustainable Design Awards” (EVSDA) will take place in Hanoi focusing on innovative design practices, particularly focusing on textiles and material usage. The 2-day event will invite 2 European speakers working in the fields of innovative material usage in the EU to participate in presentations and panels with Vietnamese counterparts on how to utilize existing and/or waste and byproduct materials in a sustainable way and to engage with local Vietnamese designers with an interest in this field. The programme will also include visits to local Vietnamese design studios and manufacturers in and around Hanoi as well as a local university, to allow for deeper exchanges and identification of potential future collaboration opportunities.

The third workshop under the “EU-Vietnam Sustainable Design Awards” (EVSDA) project focused on multimedia approaches towards sustainable development and brought together the Vietnamese community of designers and the multimedia community in Hanoi with two European speakers working in the field of communication and visual design in the digital space. The event comprised a series of exhibition activities, expertise exchanges and workshops for the community.

The second workshop under the “EU-Vietnam Sustainable Design Awards” (EVSDA) project will be led by experts from Europe and Vietnam. Hosted at the Amanaki Thao Dien, the workshop will be with 10-15 young Vietnamese product design professionals who will be guided through the 3-day workshop on the conceptualisation of product design with sustainable principles in mind (usage of sustainable/recycled materials, importance of developing products that gain value over time, etc.).

This year’s GCRP will be another thematic, cross-sectoral edition with the theme of: Creating Safer Societies. 40 global participants will participate in a 4-day peer-to-peer learning programme to discuss intercultural and cross-sectoral collaboration. The programme will offer a unique opportunity to widen your skills and your network of peers worldwide for interdisciplinary cross-cultural collaboration.

Are you a Jordan-based fashion designer looking to enhance your skills, expand your global reach, and connect with professionals in the industry? Jordan Stitch: Empowering Women in Fashion, implemented by the Cultural Relations Platform in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to Jordan, is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for!

This unique program is designed to empower women fashion designers in Jordan by offering an exclusive immersion experience that provides the right tools and resources to help you thrive in the competitive global market. The program is open to Jordan-based women fashion designers at all stages of their career. 

Initiated by the EU Delegation, the “EU-Vietnam Sustainable Design Awards” (EVSDA) project is committed to the proliferation of sustainable design practices in Vietnam, and the development of communities around these practices; in doing so, the aim is to ultimately contribute to Vietnam’s sustainable inclusive development – indeed one of the priorities in the EU’s engagement with the country. Led by European and Vietnamese design experts, the workshops aim to create ample opportunities for professional and in-depth exchanges and collaboration in sustainable creative design. 

The aim of this workshop is to facilitate the exchange of insights and different perspectives, in order to explore the current state of EU-Armenia cultural relations, identify key gaps and needs of the sector, and discuss priority areas and opportunities for collaboration. This dialogue will help shape future strategies and ensure alignment with the broader goals of supporting Armenia’s cultural sector and strengthening cultural cooperation.

Jointly organised by the Cultural Relations Platform and the European External Action Service (EEAS), this workshop is to improve knowledge and collaboration among various stakeholders, including EU institutions, international organizations, think tanks, academia, philanthropic entities, and civil society organizations. The goal is to explore the potential of International Cultural Relations amid complex geopolitical dynamics, identify approaches to foster multilateral cooperation, and evaluate recent developments in Cultural Diversity and Artistic Freedom.

This workshop will see the participation of 50+ participants, representing EU institutions and CCS organisation, together with Ukrainian authorities and cultural practitioners. The event will be the occasion to discuss how to strengthen EU-Ukraine collaboration and support the resilience of the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors.