Last Monday, July 20th, FundAction launched its first Podcast series, the FA Talks. Recently joined as an EDGE member, FundAction is a participatory grantmaking fund for social transformation, organized within a community of over 250 activists based in Europe. This community acts together in a democratic and participatory way to support social movebments and initiatives working towards a just and equitable world and their goals are to shift the power to make decisions about funding from foundations to those closer to the issue, strengthen collaboration and mutual support among European activists and build the capacity of activists and the social movements they work with.

The podcast series aims to highlight members’ activities, funded through grants such as the Resist one, which awards small, rapid response grants that allow the community to meet urgent needs as they are expressed on the ground and experienced by affected communities. In 2020, the trial was opened sooner than planned because of the needs that arose due to the COVID-19 crisis. Members were also invited to think about wider needs, such as these in their communities outside of FundAction, and were therefore allowed to eventually apply on their behalf.

The first episode of the podcast presents a discussion led by Diana Filimon about Culture during the Pandemic with the two members & Resist Grantees: Aleksandar Popović (Belgrade) & Vladimir Us (Chișinău).

With Aleksandar and Vladimir, they spoke respectively about the joint action of Station – Service for Contemporary Dance with Association of Independent Culture of Serbia, the Visual Arts Association (ULUS), the Vojvodina Visual Arts Association (SULUV), the Association of Art Critics (AICA) and the Association of Applied Arts Artists and Designers of Serbia (ULUPUDS) to establish the Cultural Workers’ Solidarity Fund, available to all artists and cultural workers who had not any alternative sources of income, yet whose contribution to Serbia’s cultural life is significant.

Likewise, Vladimir for Oberlith Organization in Moldova spoke about the Coalition of the Independent Culture Sector from the Republic of Moldova (CICS): an informal platform of around 20 culture organizations started in 2019 around the preexisting Zemstvei Culture Center in Chisinau, with the aim to improve the working conditions of independent artists, cultural organizations and initiatives in our region. Their aim is to act collectively and engage in a more direct dialogue with local and national public authorities.

Listen to their first podcast here on Spotify and stay up to date with new information by visiting their website. Curious to know more about how to support FundAction as a funder? Reach out to EDGE Europe Director Tobias Troll!