EIT Culture & Creativity launches €6 million in NEB Academy funding
Two new EIT Culture & Creativity calls worth a combined €6 million have been announced through the NEB Academy. The launch coincides with the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underscored the NEB Academy as central to building the skills and creativity Europe's transition demands.
The funding will help accelerate the transition to circular fashion and strengthen skills for more sustainable lived environments across Europe. As an implementing partner of the NEB Academy – the NEB's learning and innovation initiative – EIT Culture & Creativity is helping equip innovators, educators and practitioners with the skills, knowledge and networks needed to support this transition, recognising that how Europe designs its buildings, public spaces and products will play a key role in achieving a more sustainable future.
The launch of these calls marks the first funding opportunities offered by EIT Culture & Creativity under the NEB Academy partnership. The NEB Academy forms part of the wider NEB movement, which is on display at the NEB Festival 2026 in Brussels, where the EIT Community New European Bauhaus is showcasing initiatives that support more sustainable, inclusive and people-centred ways of living across Europe.
The funding opportunities
NEB Academy | Fashion Shift – Up to €2.5 million in total funding, with up to €500 000 per project: Fashion is one of Europe’s most resource-intensive industries, yet it is also a sector where new circular and regenerative approaches are emerging rapidly. Fashion Shift funds multi-actor consortia that include independent fashion brands, helping them further develop and scale responsible business models across the European value chain – from material sourcing and design through to retail, circular services and end-of-life management.
NEB Academy | Skills Infrastructure – Up to €3.5 million in total funding, with up to €600 000 per project: Transforming Europe’s lived environment is not only a question of materials, technologies or regulations. It also requires competences across sectors, rooted in cultural and creative practices. The professionals, public bodies and educators who shape our shared spaces need new skills and new ways of working together. The Skills Infrastructure call funds five to six trans-regional collaborations to build lifelong learning programmes grounded in local contexts.
Europe’s green and digital transitions will not succeed through technology alone. They require creativity, culture and design to translate innovation into solutions that people can see, experience and adopt. The cultural and creative sectors are uniquely positioned to connect sustainability, innovation and human-centred transformation, making them essential partners in building Europe’s future.
Anette Schaefer, CEO of EIT Culture & Creativity
Connecting people, ideas and expertise
Beyond financial support, selected projects will gain access to EIT Culture & Creativity’s pan-European network and become part of the wider New European Bauhaus community. By bringing together innovators, educators, public bodies and industry partners, the calls aim to accelerate the development of new approaches to circular fashion and more sustainable lived environments across Europe.
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