If you are a startup or an artist from the media field, or you work with data, or you are willing to make data exploration both entertaining and informative, or you question the impact of data and technology on individuals and society, then you can apply for the MediaFutures challenge.
The MediaFutures support programme is looking for artists and startups eager to reshape the media value chain through innovative, inclusive and participatory applications of data and user-generated content.
The second Open Call addresses the challenge of misinformation and disinformation.
MediaFutures seeks to support novel, unconventional ways for people to engage with journalism, science, and democracy, using approaches and tools from the arts, technology, and innovation.
This year’s challenge invites innovative, creative, and impactful ideas that address online misinformation and disinformation in different domains.
These ideas should help counteract the adverse effects of misinformation and disinformation across society and help build trust in scientific and democratic institutions. That could mean developing software or hardware to address specific issues, artworks to highlight various aspects or combinations of both.
The MediaFuture is especially interested in applications that offer new approaches to include minorities or significantly affected countries.
Applications must include details on how these outcomes will be achieved during the six-month MediaFutures support programme and their impact on the issue they address.
To demonstrate the viability of your project, you should have a clear outline for the data you will require, including feasible strategies to access this data both technically and legally.
The Benefits
- Up to €80,000 equity-free funding for startups
- Up to €40,000 for artists
- Technical, legal and advisory support
- Data and computational resources
- Mentorship and training
- Networking and peer learning
- Marketing and promotion through EU events and communities
Eligibility
For startups and artistic companies:
An SME (small and medium enterprise) will be considered if it matches with the Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC and the SME user guide. In summary, the criteria that define an SME are: I) Headcount in Annual Work Unit (AWU) less than 250 and II) Annual turnover less or equal to €50 million or annual balance sheet total, less or equal to €43 million.
For group of individuals:
When there is not a constituted SME, the applicants could be a group between 2 to 4 individuals legally established in an eligible country (according to section 5.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants) and with a written commitment to have set up a legally registered SME if reaching the “BUILD” phase.
For Artists:
This can be a physical person, a collective of individuals or a company whose main activity, as professionals or students, is artistic. The artist must have produced enough artworks for the jury to evaluate their creative experience. For the SME track, a combination of an artist and a startup is mandatory. The MediaFutures team will organize a matchmaking process between artists and startups to help form partnerships if applicants do not have an established one.
Selection criteria
- Innovation: overall idea and objectives, the solution to the Open Call challenge, project outcomes
- Impact: economic or artistic impact, social impact
- Business (for startups): value proposition, business model and commercialization plan
- Implementation and artistic quality (for artists): artistic proposal, implementation plan, use of data
- Team: knowledge and skills, previous work and experience in the media and data field, diversity
Detailed evaluation criteria for each track can be found in the Guidelines for Applicants.
How to apply
Download the application KIT HERE:
Application deadline: January 27, 2022
