Creative Forum Launches Successfully: Focus on Creative Industry Grant Opportunities

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) launched a new professional event series in spring 2025, called Creative Forum, which, according to industry professionals, fills a gap in the sector. The series aims to support domestic creative industry players in making better use of funding opportunities and facilitate the sharing of grant experiences and best practices. The first event took place on March 25, 2025, in Budapest at the Event 26 venue. The presentation titled "Overview of Creative Industry Grants" provided a comprehensive and practical knowledge base for local creative industry players.

The platform is designed to help businesses make more informed use of funding opportunities while also promoting the exchange of experiences and best practices related to grant applications. The initiative aims to operate long-term as a knowledge-based, interdisciplinary forum that strengthens the competitiveness of the Hungarian creative industry and supports its entry into international markets.

In her welcome speech at the event's opening, Patrícia Amfer, Director of Fashion and Design at HFDA, emphasised: “Today we are shifting our focus to a new, highly important area: financing. Ideas and creativity alone are not always enough – to bring them to life, we need resources. That is why we launched the Creative Forum event series: to support creative industry players in identifying funding opportunities and preparing successful applications.” She noted that beyond providing information, the Creative Forum also places a strong emphasis on community building. The event series creates a genuine meeting point that can foster collaboration among Hungarian creative industry players, thereby contributing to the development of the sector.

The event’s invited expert, Vivien Csillag, presented current and upcoming funding opportunities relevant to creative industry businesses. She outlined the key features of the most important schemes – such as the GINOP Plus and DIMOP Plus programmes – highlighting the eligible activities, application criteria, and submission deadlines. She outlined that, in addition to technological developments, some calls also provide opportunities for marketing, organisational, or logistical innovations. She also pointed out the evaluation criteria crucial for a successful assessment, such as competitor analysis, innovation potential, project complexity, and social aspects – such as equality of opportunity and the inclusion of disadvantaged workers.

The presentation’s practical focus allowed participants to ask questions directly. Due to the high level of interest and positive feedback, the Creative Forum event series will continue on a quarterly basis. Participation in the event, like the first session, is free of charge but requires registration.