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Amateo Award 2019

Thank you for your interest in the Amateo Award! The submission period for the Award 2019 is now closed. Out of 65 beautiful projects and initiatives the jury will select 5 finalists. In January 2020 the third edition of the Award will start. We hope to meet you then.

The Flagship Events team from Amateo


Does your craft create community?
Are you bringing people together with dance?
Do people sing themselves happy in your choir?

If you’re making a big impact through your creative work then you could win 1,000 euros and a trip to the beautiful Serbian city of Novi Sad on 7 June 2019.

The Amateo Award 2019 is now open to applications from inspiring creative projects across Europe that are having a powerful, positive impact on their community.

The awards programme supported by Creative Europe took place for the first time last year in Ljubljana, Slovenia, marking 10 years of the Amateo network which supports participatory culture across Europe.

‘Ed Van Hoorn, F*** the System’ won the coveted prize, an amazing project from the Dutch city of Hoorn which united newcomers from Syria, Eritrea and Palestine with more than 40 amateur actors, singers & musicians to create a musical.

More than 2,000 people came to watch their performance in a disused factory, depicting the story of Ed, a volunteer from Hoorn credited with building camps, roads and hospitals in refugee camps over 25 years.

Amateo Award 2018

“We were very, very proud and honoured,” said Lyda Tijsen from Op Roet, the theatrical group which created the project. “It meant a lot to us because now we are sure that we made a project & a performance with a lot of participation from the community and universal meaning.”

The production had a profound impact on all those who took part including cast member Ayat from Syria: “Before Ed van Hoorn I was afraid, I was alone all the time, it was like living in the dark. But afterwards, my life is sunny. I met many Dutch people and made new friends.”

In all, 42 projects from 16 different nations were judged last year from large scale events to first-time-out projects led by individuals. Finalists included a Scottish group drumming to improve their mental health, a production from Belgium involving amateur actors exploring the experience of aging, life-enhancing musical summer camps in Denmark and a project from Slovenia involving paintings based on fingerprints created by artists living with muscle-wasting conditions.

In 2019, it’s hoped even more projects can be recognised for the amazing work they do, inspiring others across Europe.


Applications closed on March 15, 2019

To be in with a chance to win this year’s Award and the 1,000 Euro prize, projects must be carried out by people participating for the love of it on an amateur basis. Projects involving professional arts organisations can be considered as long as volunteers are core to the work and any paid staff involved are not the main nor the sole decision makers. Full terms and conditions can be found here: goo.gl/GFXMM1

Any queries can be sent to award@amateo.org

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