Demos is expanding – funding now also available for educational co-operation, music, and language comprehension

Picture of six musicians dressed in black with string instruments. Finnish Baroque Orchestra.

Orchestral cooperation is part of the broader purpose of the Demos support programme.

After two successful years of the Demos funding programme and in consultation with the Nordic Council, the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation have decided to further expand the funding programme and its purpose.

The Nordic Council of Ministers’ budget for 2024 was adopted at the Session of the Nordic Council in Oslo. The decision to expand Demos is rooted in the priority of a strong and vibrant civil society as a cornerstone of Nordic democracy, one that plays an important role in achieving the vision for the Nordic Region to become the most sustainable and integrated region in the world.

In addition to the previous programme objective, according to which funds from the programme can be granted to facilitate meetings and the exchange of ideas and knowledge between various civil society organisations in the Nordics, from 2024 Demos will also fund cultural co-operation in the Nordics as well as education, knowledge-sharing, and language comprehension. From 2024, the funding programme will therefore be consist of three different categories, two of which are new:

Demos networking – for meetings and networks that strengthen the voice of civil society and provide organisations with opportunities to influence society.

Demos culture (new) – for orchestral collaboration and musical interaction across borders in the Nordics, as well as for projects that help to improve knowledge of Nordic literature.

Demos education (new) – for projects at educational institutions that help to improve knowledge about the Nordics and other activities related to the Nordics, to support young people’s understanding of the Nordic languages, and for projects that seek to enhance the Nordic perspective in journalism.

The Demos programme website will be updated once the application round for 2023 closes. Until then, you can find out more about Demos and the programme’s application timeframes for 2024 at the link below.