Creativity pioneers fund grants to 54 non-profit organizations using creativity to catalyze social change
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How does one attempt to revive a sense of life and vibrancy
in conflict zones such as Somalia and Sudan? How does one revive wonder and
imagination in a fragmented region like the Middle East?
How does creativity help revive a sense of freedom among the
imprisoned? The Creativity Pioneers Fund coalition knows the answer lies in
funding the spaces where creativity can flourish.
Aiming to democratize creative skills so they are not just
capabilities wielded by the lucky and the wealthy, BIC Foundation and the
Moleskine Foundation, together with a coalition of partners from various
sectors awarded €5,000 grants (KES 785,000) to 54 small organizations worldwide
that are using creativity to catalyze social change.
From climate change to gender equality, from human rights to
quality education and migration, Creativity Pioneers are confronting the
world’s most pressing issues, and is a boon of opportunity, networking, and
visibility for its recipients.
Access to funding represents only a starting point for a
larger collaboration system, towards a platform model where the BIC Foundation
and its partners act as ecosystem builders. The community of Creativity
Pioneers provides the grantees with access to more funding, in-kind and
know-how support, mentoring and learning opportunities, peer-to-peer exchange,
and networking.
Since its inception in 2021, The Creativity Pioneers Fund
has awarded grants to 101 organizations crossing 40 countries. The 2023 edition
received over 800 applications from 111 different countries. Italy was the
country submitting more applications, followed by South Africa, Nigeria, the
US, and Kenya.
After a selection process that lasted four months and
involved experts, partners, and organizations from the past cohorts as
evaluators, 54 new Creativity Pioneers were announced. Out of the recipients,
70% operate in large metropolitan areas, while the other 30% are divided among
medium, small cities, and rural areas.
Of this year’s
Creativity Pioneers, 40% have an operating annual budget lower than EUR 50,000
(KES 7.8M), including 9% below EUR 10,000 (KES 1.6M) per year, highlighting how
underfunded the creativity for social change sector is.
One third of the organizations were founded less than three
years ago, confirming Creativity Pioneers Fund's attention to new realities.
They represent the diverse perspectives and experiences that the Fund wants to
elevate.
Two of the organizations who have benefited from Kenya include, Book Bunk Trust and the Macondo Book Society. Book Bunk is an entity that has been working since 2018 to restore some of Nairobi’s most iconic public libraries into inclusive and usable spaces, heritage sites, public art, collective memory, knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural leadership, and information exchange.
The Macondo Book Society is a Kenyan non-profit organization, which annually holds a literary festival on African histories and futures featured in fictional and non-fictional works.
It brings together all its
‘main’ writing language zones in conversations across perceived limitations and
barriers for the first time on the continent.
Other grantees range from Guatemala, where Fundaciòn Ixcanul
is creating positive impact and social transformations through film. In Nepal,
Freedom Studio is strengthening non-violent civic mobilization by integrating
art, media, and technology, while Circus Zambia is raising young changemakers
through the art of circus.
In Jordan, Seven Hills is using skateboarding as a tool for
social and personal development. In Taranto, Italy, a group of architects and
designers founded Post Disaster, an organization that aims at changing the
dominant narrative about the area through contemporary creative
productions.
Adama Sanneh, CEO of Moleskine Foundation, commented: “In
2021, we had a vision to build a global movement of creative minds, thinkers,
doers, and change makers partnering with creative and cultural institutions,
brands, cultural organizations, and the creative sector at large.
“Three years later over 20 visionary partners have joined
the Creativity Pioneers Fund and we can’t be happier to see a growing interest
in investing resources, skills, and imagination in the Creativity for Social
Change field.”
Alison James, Executive Director of the BIC Foundation,
said: “At the BIC Foundation, we strongly believe in the power of creativity as
the driver of change and we want to create the most inspiring and innovative
pool of creativity makers throughout our society, and to support them to have
impact on our world.
As founding partners of the Creativity Pioneers Fund, we are
taking our mission one step further, positively impacting in underserved
communities at a global scale, while building a community of pioneers that can
connect and work better through collaboration.”
The Creativity Pioneers Fund is supported by the Moleskine
Foundation, BIC Corporate Foundation, PromozioniServizi, Cherry Bank,
Fondazione Marcegaglia, Fondazione Oelle, Community Arts Lab by Porticus,
Hawthornden Foundation, BASE, Fondazione con il Sud, Fondazione CRT, Open
Society Foundation, The AD Store, MANE, Healthy Food Healthy Planet, DLV BBDO,
EMLEX.
Learning partners: Kaospilot, Aurora, Watson Institute,
Social Enterprise Open Camp. Network Partners: British Council, European
Cultural Foundation.
The BIC Foundation’s mission is to drive access to quality
education, with a focus on building creative skills. We believe that in the
current context of transformation of our society, economy and workforce,
creativity is a key skill to cultivate a spirit of lifelong learning in
children and youth. We, therefore, fund not-for-profit organizations delivering
innovative education programs to children and youth from underserved and
isolated communities. Since its creation in 2016, the BIC Foundation has positively
impacted on 175,000 children, youth and adults in over 20 countries.
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