EU-CONEXUS Festival in Limassol (Cyprus)
May 13th-15th, 2025
Call for cultural and artistic projects proposals
Introduction
EU-CONEXUS, the European University for Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability foresees, within the framework of its second phase EU-CONEXUS Plus (2022-2026), the organization of two editions of an EU-CONEXUS festival at La Rochelle (France) 2023 and Limassol (Cyprus) 2025.
Dedicated to arts, culture, sports and scientific culture, EU-CONEXUS festival aims to reinforce the identity of the Alliance, to bring together the cultures that constitute it, to sensitize the populations to the themes of Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (SmUCS), and to create synergies between cultural actors of the Universities, students and different communities.
To this end, we are launching this Call for cultural and artistic projects proposals. Open to all students of all Universities of the Alliance, the Call seeks to identify and accompany one to two artistic projects per University to be presented during the 2025 edition of the festival that will take place in Limassol (Cyprus) from the 13th to the 15th of May 2025.
EU-CONEXUS festival has a strong Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability identity. For the next edition in 2025, the topic which has been chosen in relation with this identity and which will be enhanced during the festival is “Welcome to the Hotel Mediterranean”.
Almost completely enclosed by land, the Mediterranean Sea’s history dates to prehistoric periods and involves the shifting of populations from south to north and from east to west.
Throughout the years, it has provided routes for trade, colonization, war, as well as food, cultural connections and games of power. Many historians contend that the history of the Mediterranean began when ships set sail from one end of the sea to the other, while the movement of people in the Mediterranean has been called an exploration, commerce, leisure, migration. In recent times, the sea itself has been called a graveyard*.
The shifting of people and populations is a never-ending story and a paradox ranging from the movement of human cargo and the journey to a precarious future, to a touristic ‘invasion’ that searches for paradisiac vistas. The shores have witnessed hundreds of human beings lying in the sun and soaking vitamin D as well as human bodies left lying down still and soulless.
“Welcome to the Hotel Mediterranean” is the theme of the EU-CONEXUS Festival 2025. The festival aims at pointing out the dynamics of the Mediterranean Sea that surrounds us, as well as the multiple challenges it is faced with today. We ask participants to question the notion of the Mediterranean Sea as a homeland, a refuge, a holiday destination, a welcoming or unwelcoming shore; to wonder on its shift from bridge to border; to sustain its legacy; to be critical to its present and to imagine its sustainable future at all levels: from the environmental to the utmost humane.
*Martin Schulz, European Parliament President’s statement (October 2013), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20150423STO45411/schulz-lack-of-european-migration-policy-turning-mediterranean-into-graveyard
Who is eligible to EU-CONEXUS call for cultural and artistic projects?
The Call is open to all EU-CONEXUS students. The projects can be made individually or in groups.
Please note that, for group projects, only a limited number of students can receive funding for travelling to EU-CONEXUS Festival and presenting the project – the number will depend on each partner University (2 students or more depending on the University budget).
Which types of cultural and artistic projects?
There is no limitation in the disciplines to be presented and performed by the student(s).
Visual arts of any genre
(painting, drawing, design, photography, video, sculpture, installation) submitted in a digital image of high resolution 300dpi, 125cm height by 185cm width. The works will be part of an outdoor exhibition that will take place at the open public space of the seafront of Limassol during the Festival. The printing and installation on outdoor stands will be carried out by the curatorial team of Frederick University.
Performing arts
(music, dance, drama, fashion show, literature/poetry reading) submitted with all specifications needed (see the application form). Alternatively, the visual impression / image of a music/theatre/dance performance or of a fashion show or a written text of literature / poetry can be included in the outdoor exhibition. The image must be submitted in high resolution 300dpi, 125cm height by 185cm width.
Students will be responsible for transporting their project to the venue of EU-CONEXUS Festival and therefore all project proposals in performing arts must respect “a small or easily self-transported format” and not require too many logistics or technique.
The setting in the place of production should not be too heavy as the performances will take place at the amphitheatre of the seafront of Limassol during the Festival.
Opening of EU-CONEXUS call for cultural and artistic projects
The call is open to the 17th of January 2025 at midnight (CET).
The student(s) who are interested in the call for projects proposal must fill in the application form below.
| Institutions | Contact |
|---|---|
| La Rochelle Université (LRUniv) | Christelle Tallon |
| Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) | Foteini Paradeisi |
| Universidad Católica de Valencia (UCV) | Margarita Navickaite |
| Klaipeda University (KU) | Kristina Blockytė-Naujokė |
| University of ZADAR (UNIZD) | Katica Buric Cenan |
| Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest (UTCB) | Ramona Diac |
| South East Technical University (SETU) | Susan Flynn |
| University of Rostock (UROS) | Sabine Brüser |
| Frederick University (FredU) | Meropi Moiseos |
Selection procedure
Selection procedure will be conducted at EU-CONEXUS level. One (1) EU-CONEXUS jury will be set up, composed of at least nine (9) members who are EU-CONEXUS representatives in the WP17 «Community engagement through arts and culture».
One (1) to two (2) artistic projects per University will be selected to be presented during EU-CONEXUS Festival from the 13th to the 15th of May 2025.
Selection procedure will be held from 10th to 14th of February 2025.
Students whose projects have been selected will be notified by email.
Selection criteria
Cultural and artistic projects will be selected based on the following criteria and out of 10 points:
- Project originality (3 points)
- Project quality (3 points)
- Respect and enhancement of EU-CONEXUS Festival 2025 topic: “Welcome to the Hotel Mediterranean” with emphasis on the broadest sense of sustainability according to the UN sustainable goals and EU values promoting issues of identity, tradition, inclusion, diversity, empathy and ecology (3 points)
- Inter-institutional project with other EU-CONEXUS partners (1 point)
Data Protection (GDPR)
The information provided by the candidates may be used for data processing, excluding commercial or political use.
Candidates benefit from the right to access, rectify and remove data about themselves by making a formal request to the Organizer of this call for cultural and artistic project proposals. Candidates may request to be omitted or removed from this call for cultural and artistic project proposals before the closing date of the submission.
Intellectual property rights
Each candidate to this call for cultural and artistic project proposals certifies that he or she is the sole copyright-holder of the submitted projects and they are original to him/her. The candidate has full power to authorize the use of the projects.
Each candidate to this call for cultural and artistic project proposals certifies that all submitted projects do not violate or infringe on any existing copyright or any other third-party rights and contain nothing otherwise unlawful.
The candidates grants for free to EU-CONEXUS the worldwide non-exclusive right for the whole term of copyright, to use, edit, alter, copy, exhibit, reproduce, adapt, publish or distribute and redistribute the projects in full or part for purposes of publicizing EU-CONEXUS programmes or for any other lawful purpose and communicate to the public, worldwide, in any language in printed and electronic format, the whole or any part of the submitted projects.
The candidates waive the right to inspect or approve any finished products, whether in written or electronic form. The candidates waive any right to royalties, payment or other consideration arising from or related to the use of their project.
