The UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists

The UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists (hereinafter called the Programme) promote the mobility of young artists in order to enrich their personal perspectives, to develop their creative project, enabling them to engage in a cultural diversity dialogue.

The Programme offers residencies to young artists (between 25 and 35 years old) worldwide. UNESCO-Aschberg advocates and promotes creativity, highlights cultural exchanges and the need for artists to enrich their experience through contact with other cultures.

These residencies are catalysts for the development of artistic expression in all cultures of the world.

The UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries Programme was integrated in UNESCO's strategy in 1994 to promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. It aims to provide experience to young artists and to help them complete their training in countries other than their own.

• The artistic disciplines for which the bursaries are awarded are Creative Writing, Music and Visual Arts. These three fields cover artistic specialisations that drive the creative industries, in particular the recording industries, the organisation of concerts, the audiovisual sector, graphic design and publishing. The countries of the South, which have a rich artistic tradition, can further expand their skills in these fields, and therefore boosting the different sectors of the cultural industry.
• The Programme strategy is based in UNESCO’s policies to promote creativity and cultural diversity, and so, converges with the goals of the Convention on the Promotion and Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005 Convention)
• The Programme also gives priority to artists and institutions in developing countries, in order to enhance North-South and South-South cooperation.

The Inception of the Programme

• The sale of a château donated to UNESCO by Swedish philanthropists, Mr and Mrs Aschberg, allowed for the creation of the UNESCO-Aschberg Bursary Programme in 1994. At the time, the Programme covered five disciplines.
• Between 1994 and 2007, the Programme awarded 650 bursaries in 149 institutions to laureates from 72 countries.
• In 2007, the Programme was temporarily suspended and was subject to an evaluation aimed at not only to draw synergies with the 2005 Convention but also to optimise its management.

More information: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/creativity/aschberg-bursaries-for-artists