Staff Exchange

Open Call: EDN Staff Exchange

As an EDN member, you are invited to take part in the network’s Staff Exchange Programme: a unique opportunity for peer-to-peer learning, a change of professional perspective, and mutual growth across Europe’s dance sector.

This edition of the staff exchange encourages participation that resonates with the network’s three new working group themes:

• YOUNG: Community-engaged practices with young audiences and emerging artists
• FAIR: Improving working conditions for artists and professionals
• DIGITAL: Cross-sector collaboration for digital innovation and access

Your Exchange May Take Place:

→ As part of an EDN working group initiative

→ During professional events co-organised by EDN members

→ Or independently, based on mutual agreement between organisations.

Meet Your Peers – Through a New Lens

Whether you're a technician, curator, producer, educator, communicator or administrator: this is your chance to share your questions and insights in a structured yet informal way, and take back new tools, perspectives, and practices to your home organisation.

Some guiding questions to inspire your exchange:

• How are young people and emerging artists involved in programming, creation, or decision-making? What does meaningful youth engagement look like?
• How are other organisations ensuring equitable working conditions for artists and staff? What structures exist to support fair pay, sustainable workloads, or inclusive environments?
• How is digital innovation transforming production, access, or audience engagement in dance? What new tools or cross-sector partnerships are being explored?

Do you want to understand how another organisation handles technical production with sustainability in mind? Curious how others co-create with young communities? Want to see how digital platforms are used in participatory or artistic ways? Or do you have another idea that connects your curiosity to one of these core themes?

Then this opportunity is for you.

Be part of a shared journey of learning, reflection and innovation. Apply for a Staff Exchange and deepen your engagement with EDN’s collective future.

How to attend?

The current call is open to EDN members until 18 July 2025. All EDN members’ staff and associates are eligible for the placement.

Two travel exchanges are available in 2025: Register now to participate in the staff exchange in the period between August 2025 and November 2025.  

EDN will grant a bursary of 1,300€ to cover the costs of 6 overnight stays, per diems, and travel for 2 EDN members in 2025 and 14 between 2026 and 2028.

Members can apply for a top-up from our Green Travel Programme to cover additional costs of their slow or low-impact travel.

To offset additional access needs, members can apply for a top-up from our Accessibility Travel Programme.

The Staff Exchange is co-funded by the members. The participation fee of 300€ for the travelling participant will be invoiced to their organisation.

In short

All EDN professionals 

August 2025 - November 2025 (Application Deadline: 18 July 2025)

January 2026 - November 2026 (Application Deadline: 30 September 2025)

January 2027 - November 2027 (Application Deadline: 30 September 2026)

January 2028 - October 2028 (Application Deadline: 30 September 2027)

1,300€ bursary for 6 overnight stays, travel and perdiems

300€ participation fee charged to your organisation

Register below

Registration

Register by 18 July 2025 for an exchange between August 2025 and November 2025.

After this date, the EDN coordination team will get in touch with you to help organise and confirm the exchange.

Consider calculating the environmental impact of your travel when planning for your trip.

Criteria

In cases where the number of applications exceeds the available travel support, allocation will be based on the following criteria, in order of priority:

• Even participation frequency among members
• Balanced regional or geographical representation of participants
• A limit of one support allocation per member organisation.

Organisation and Financing

Please note that EDN will not organise your travel or handle financial transactions related to your exchange.

We kindly request that each member cover the actual costs of the exchange in advance and invoice for the bursary after the exchange has taken place, attaching the relevant documentation of costs.

Cancellation

Cancellations are no longer possible after your exchange has been confirmed by the hosting organisation. Participation fee still applies.

Reporting

Carte Blanche Staff Exchange is a knowledge-exchange activity designed and presented in collaboration with participating EDN members. We will ask you to write about your experience, share your learnings with the working group, and submit a self-evaluation report after your exchange.

Contact

For any questions, reach out to Lucrezia Ponzano at lucrezia[at]ednetwork.eu

Attribution

The EDN Staff Exchange is made possible by Embodied Transformations, EDN’s EU-funded network project. It connects contemporary dance professionals, organisations, and communities across Europe to foster a transformative and interdependent dance ecosystem.