UNESCO Transcultura launches a call to bring young Caribbean hip-hop artists to Europe

The Programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union, has joined hands with the Goethe Institute and the Centre for InterAmerican Studies at the Bielefeld University in Berlin to strengthen the international market exposure of Caribbean hip-hop artists. To this end, it has launched a call to sponsor the participation of up to three music projects of the genre in the International Festival and Symposium "Re-inventing Europe from the Caribbean. Urban Cultures, Translocal Identities and Social Movements in the Black Atlantic", which will take place in Berlin, Germany, from 28 to 31 July 2022. 

A jury will select one hip-hop band or solo artist for each linguistic area covered by the Programme (English-, French- and Spanish-speaking), who will have the opportunity to perform in Berlin and to participate in promotional and exchange activities with relevant actors of the music market and the hip-hop scene in Germany.

Through this exposure, the selected artists will strengthen their visibility in the European circuit, establish contact networks and enhance their professional development opportunities. The Transcultura Programme will cover the participants' travel and accommodation expenses (see call for applications here). 

The call is addressed to young hip-hop artists, aged between 18 and 35, from the 17 Transcultura Programme beneficiary countries: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

To apply, it is necessary to complete and send the attached form, together with the rest of the documentation required, to the e-mail address: transcultura.programme@unesco.org(link sends e-mail), until Monday 16 May 2022 at 23:59 Havana time (UTC/GMT -4 hours). 

Hip-hop as a cultural bridge between the Caribbean and Europe

More than a musical genre, hip-hop is a culture of life. Rooted in intercultural urban contexts, it has played a fundamental role for the Afro-Caribbean diaspora in Europe as a means of expression and identity building. The transversality of this culture, both in Europe and the Caribbean, offers a window of opportunity for cultural relations and dialogue between creators on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Transcultura is a UNESCO Programme that seeks to harness diversity to build bridges between peoples and cultures from different linguistic areas. To achieve this, it relies on both strengthening capacities and creating opportunities for young professionals in the Caribbean.