Background information

The scheme refers to a bundle of measures that aim to support local cultural operators and artists, which includes individual allowances for artists, the covering of operational costs of operators, the development of theatre productions and the support of the institutional events of the Island. The scheme is approved by the Cabinet in February 2021 and regulated by the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth.

Content of measure

The available budget for all measures of the bundle is €4.045 million and includes the following:

• A lump-sum allowance for individual artists of €1,500, and the estimated costs is €2,550 million.
• An emergency operational cost allowance for non-profit cultural operators that received an allowance in 2020 for the covering of their operational costs. It covers 100% of the operational costs of the beneficiaries reported in 2020 and the maximum grant is €20,000. The estimated total cost of the measure is €225,000.
• An emergency operational cost allowance for other profit and non-profit cultural operators that did not receive an allowance in 2020. Beneficiaries of the measure are organization, which were active in the Cypriot cultural production in 2020. The allowance covers 100% of the eligible expenditures that will be submitted and the maximum grant is €20,000. The estimated total cost of the measure is €600,000.
• An additional sponsorship of 10% for the ‘Cultural Programme 2021’ of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth. The total sponsorship is €1,870 million and the expected additional cost is €170,000.
• An additional financial support for the production of Theatrical Performances. Beneficiaries are organization that their applications of sponsorship for the ‘ΘΥΜΕΛΗ 2021 Programme’ of the ‘Cyprus Theatre Organization’ have been already approved. This is an incentive for organization in order to reactivate in the production of theatre performances in 2021 and provides a maximum of €5,000 equivalent for 10 plays of €500. Similarly, the measure provides the same financial support for other profit and non-profit organization not supported by the ΘΥΜΕΛΗ programme.

Use of measure

The current information for the estimated number of beneficiaries is as follows:

• For the lump-sum allowances for individual artists it is expected that 1,500-1,700 artists will be benefited.
• For the emergency operational costs for profit and non-profit organizations, it is expected that 30 organizations will be benefited.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Other groups of workers	Sector specific set of companies SMEs Other businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Social partners jointly	European Funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

The bundle of measures for artists and cultural operators emerged after the harsh criticism and the public outcry for the limited support of the government provided to the artistic domain since the first wave of the pandemic. The pressure and the demands for support by the artist social partners, the interventions of political parties and the public mobilization of artists forced the government to act. Broad consultation meetings of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth and social partners led to the designing of the bundle of measures. The Cultural Services of the Ministry and the ‘Cyprus Theatre Organization’, accordingly, are monitoring the implementation of the measures.

Views and reactions

Taken that the foreseen amount for support of the bundle of measures is double that the usual annual amount that is granted for the support of the artistic domain by the government, social partners are satisfied with this development. Particular reactions or disagreements with the measures have not been expressed to this moment.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 04 February 2021: Ανακοίνωση των Πολιτιστικών Υπηρεσιών για τα μέτρα στήριξης των πολιτιστικών φορέων και των καλλιτεχνών (enimerosi.moec.gov.cy)