Networks of Cooperation

The international conference Networks of Cooperation: Sustainable Structures for Ukrainian Cultural Actors in Europe and Beyond will take place on 15–16 October 2026 in Graz, Austria.

Organized as a joint initiative of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport, the Creative Europe Desk Austria, and Office Ukraine, the conference is held in cooperation with Kunsthaus Graz and the Creative Europe Desk Ukraine and the Institute for Human Sciences.

From Emergency Response to Sustainable Cooperation

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the cultural sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience, adaptability, and solidarity. Across Europe and beyond, institutions, initiatives, and individuals have mobilised rapidly to provide support, develop new collaborative formats, and sustain cultural production under conditions of crisis.

As this initial phase of emergency response evolves, a shared challenge emerges: How can we transform short-term support into durable, structural cooperation?

This conference seeks to address precisely this question by bringing together key actors from across Europe and Ukraine to:

— Consolidate transnational networks and partnerships
— Strengthen access to European funding frameworks and cooperation programmes
— Foster capacity building across institutional and independent cultural sectors
— Develop sustainable models for long-term collaboration within a European context

We particularly aim to connect:

— Ukrainian cultural institutions and independent initiatives
— European cultural organisations and networks
— Funding bodies and policymakers
— Researchers and experts working at the intersection of culture, society, and policy

A central focus of the conference will be the role of European cooperation frameworks—especially the Creative Europe programme—as well as existing collaborative projects which will serve as reference points for discussion and future development.

Conference Programme >