We are calling for expressions of interest ahead of this year’s Being Human festival, running from 17th until 25th November. Its core aims are:
- to demonstrate the value of humanities research to society and culture in the UK and globally
- to encourage, support and create opportunities for humanities researchers to engage with non-academic audiences
- to demonstrate the relevance of the humanities to everyday life
- to enhance public visibility and understanding of the humanities
Funding is available to support activities during the festival. The majority of awards will probably be for under £2,000, however applications for funding of up to £5,000 may also be considered if of exceptional quality or where institutions coordinate between 5-10 events as Being Human ‘Festival Hubs’.
In order to maximise the likelihood of another successful application from Kent (see last year’s event at http://beinghumanfestival.org/event/doing-satire-cartoon-workshop/), we will be coordinating our application to the festival. Multiple applications from single institutions are less likely to be awarded. We are inviting expressions of interest to be sent to this email address (peresearch@kent.ac.uk) by 9am on Monday 25th April 2016. Depending on expressions submitted, we may choose to apply for support for a programme of events as a ‘Festival Hub’.
To be successful, events must:
- reflect the key aims and objectives of the festival
- provide a clear link to research in the humanities
- have at least one humanities researcher directly involved in the planning and delivery of the event
- be held during the Festival period 17-25th November 2016
- be free to attend
- be targeted at a clearly defined non-academic audience
- respond to the 2016 theme of ‘hope and fear’
- demonstrate capacity to reach a significant number of people
- demonstrate participation with local, national or international cultural organisations
- engage with topical debates and the news agenda
- encourage innovation in methods of public engagement, especially dynamic or participatory events
- engage with diverse audiences (specifically younger and ethnically diverse audiences)
- applications that will showcase new and innovative research in the humanities by, for example, disseminating outputs from research projects during the festival itself, are encouraged.
For more in depth information about what the festival is looking for and the types of costs/activities that are eligible, please check the call for applications via the link in the email below.
To express your interest in this call:
Email your expression of interest (please limit your expression to two sides of A4) to peresearch@kent.ac.uk by 9am on Monday 25th April 2016 with the following headings:
- Event title
- Date/s
- Summary of proposed event including targeted audience and how it aligns to the 2016 theme of hope and fear
- Aims
- Break-down of costs and details of any matched funding
- Details of partners/colleagues involved