Swarovski Foundation Creatives For Our Future Programme 2026 for Creatives worldwide (Up to €20,000 Grant, Mentorship & Educational Masterclass)

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Applications are open for Swarovski Foundation Creatives For Our Future Programme 2026. Swarovski Foundation Creatives for Our Future is a global education and grant programme designed in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships to identify and accelerate the next generation of creatives in sustainable development.

The programme is open to creatives worldwide aged 21 to 30 at the time of application from areas such as fashion, design, art, architecture, and engineering. Applicants should be working on a project or product that uses creativity to accelerate awareness, technology, or solutions to drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Successful participants will receive financial support paired with an education programme, one-on-one mentorship, masterclasses, network connections, and industry event access. The programme equips creatives with the education, tools, and relationships to make their groundbreaking ideas a reality.

The Swarovski Foundation’s mission is to promote sustainable livelihoods through education to reduce inequality by supporting initiatives that focus on Equity, Creativity, and Water and through two programmes: Creatives for Our Future and Waterschool.

The Swarovski Foundation’s mission is to promote sustainable livelihoods through education to reduce inequality by supporting initiatives focusing on Equity, Creativity, and Water and through programmes: Creatives for Our Future and Waterschool. They are committed to advancing creative talent by leveraging all educational avenues to enhance opportunities for beneficiaries.

Swarovski Foundation Creatives For Our Future Benefits

Successful participants will receive:

€20,000 grant to support their creative project or practice
One-on-one mentorship
Educational masterclasses
Industry networking opportunities
Access to industry events and connections
Support throughout the programme period

Eligibility Criteria

The programme is only for creative individuals, aged 21 to 30, at the time of application and by the application deadline.
The programme is open to residents and nationalities of all countries. As participation in the programme includes travel to the United Kingdom (TBC), applicants must be eligible to meet all applicable UK (TBC) entry requirements, including any visa or travel authorisation requirements
Successful applicants will be required to have a valid passport and be able to travel for the programme-related activities.
Applicants must be the sole legal and beneficial owners of all intellectual property in any projects or products the subject of their entries. Projects proposed by co-founders or by staff applying on behalf of a company are not eligible.
Employees of the Swarovski Foundation and the Swarovski Group, any of its subsidiaries, agents or any other business involved with the administration of this programme, or members of the households of such employees, are not eligible to apply to this programme.
Creative categories that are NOT supported as part of the Creatives for Our Future programme include performing arts (music, dance, theatre, and other artistic activities performed for an audience) and literature Version updated August 2026 (creative writing and journalism such as novels, stories, poems, screenplays, essays, and song lyrics).
The Creatives for Our Future programme shall not be used to finance university costs such as tuition fees, housing costs, etc.
They welcome projects at different stages of development, from new ideas to market-ready enterprises: o For early-stage ideas, They will look for a compelling long-term vision and a convincing proof of concept. For more developed projects, we will look at how the programme will be scaled up and advance sustainable development.
Applicants must have a bank account in their name to receive the grant of €20,000. They will not be able to make grant payments to a bank account in someone else’s name due to our governance processes.
Applicants are not allowed to submit more than one application. All multiple entries will be invalid.

Selection Criteria

All submissions will be pre-screened based on 2 criteria:

Validity: Did the applicant submit a fully complete application and supportive documents? Is the applicant age between 21- 30? Does the applicant have a valid passport? Did the applicant submit creative portfolio? Make sure you clear all eligibility.
Application Quality: Did the applicant put the best efforts to answer all the questions? If the answers are short answers such as yes and no without any context or explanation, our system may disqualify your application.

All valid submissions will be evaluated based on 6 key criteria: Design and Creativity, Innovation, Potential, Feasibility and Scalability, Impact, Sustainable Development, and Funding Transparency.