FUNDING
EDUCATION & TRAINING
The financial support schemes of EKKOMED for Education and Training form an integral part of a comprehensive strategy to strengthen creativity within the cultural audiovisual sector.
The objective is to support:
– production and professional development
– education and technological innovation
– networking and Greece’s international presence
– promotion and digitization of audiovisual cultural heritage
Emphasis is placed on social inclusion, through initiatives that enhance access, participation, and the creative expression of individuals on the autism spectrum.
These initiatives form part of EKKOMED’s five-year Action Plan, which invests in knowledge, innovation, and the development of modern skills (up-skilling, re-skilling), contributing to the shaping of a dynamic and competitive cultural and creative economy.
Introduction
The Action Plan “Autism & Creativity” forms part of the broader strategic framework for strengthening creativity in sensitive groups through support for production, professional training, networking, expertise development, and specialization both in Greece and internationally.
More specifically, the Action Plan aims to support audiovisual and cinematic creation, raise awareness, and foster the development of skills and talent within the creative sector for vulnerable social groups, through a series of actions involving content production, networking initiatives, impact and awareness campaigns that enhance professional development, creative expression, social cohesion, and inclusion for individuals on the autism spectrum.
Within this framework, film and audiovisual media function as means of expression and communication, allowing individuals with autism to articulate thoughts, emotions, and experiences in ways that are not always easily conveyed verbally. At the same time, participation in creative processes such as screenwriting, directing, cinematography, or editing strengthens skills including imagination, concentration, visual thinking, and problem-solving. Furthermore, cinema can serve as a tool for empowerment and self-confidence, as individuals see their ideas transformed into completed works.
At the same time, films that are created by, or narrate experiences related to autism, contribute to raising public awareness, reducing stereotypes, and promoting a deeper understanding of neurodiversity. Equally, active participation in the audiovisual sector can open pathways toward professional opportunities and creative inclusion within the cultural industries, highlighting diverse perception and aesthetic approaches as sources of innovation.
Impact Campaigns and Awareness Campaigns in audiovisual media and film can serve as powerful tools for highlighting the relationship between autism and creativity, transforming personal experiences into narratives with social impact. Through short films, documentaries, animation, or interactive digital works, individuals on the autism spectrum can express their unique ways of perceiving the world, offering original aesthetic and narrative perspectives. An awareness campaign extends beyond informing the public; it also promotes inclusion within the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCIs) by awarding diversity as a source of artistic innovation and as a driving force for new forms of audiovisual expression.
The Action Plan operates within the renewed framework of EKKOMED’s financial support schemes for 2026, aiming to support training and strengthen the skills of emerging professionals, generating meaningful impact within the domestic cultural and economic environment while actively contributing to the international promotion of contemporary Greek creativity.
The Action Plan is structured around three Pillars of Action:
- Support for the creation of cinematic and audiovisual works that promote the inclusion of individuals with autism, either through creative participation or through narrative representation.
- Impact Campaigns, Awareness Campaigns, and International Outreach Actions.
- Educational actions aimed at the public, and particularly students, through cinematic and audiovisual works promoting the inclusion of individuals with autism / Training actions for media professionals, individuals with autism, aiming at their inclusion through professional integration into the creative industries.
Total Budget
The Action Plan “Autism and Creativity” has a total budget of €250,000 for the year 2026.
Further information can be found in the full Action Plan document.
EKKOMED ACTION PLAN 2026
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS FOR FILM SCHOOL STUDENTS 2026 //EKKOMED Fellowship
THESIS SUPPORT PROGRAM, E.DI.ER. //EKKOMED Fellowship
Investing in the Narratives of Tomorrow
Investing in the vision of shaping the narratives of tomorrow, as well as in the development of Greek creation, E.KKOMED. initiates the first Scholarship Programs // EKKOMED Fellowship, through the newly established Independent Office for Supporting Young Creators of the General Directorate of Greek Cinema, kicking off with the announcement of the Diplomatic Thesis Support Program for Film School Students, E.DI.ER.
Working as a dynamic and inclusive national hub of creativity and free thinking space, offering specialized grants and scholarship programs, EKKOMED thus inaugurates the Specialized Scholarship Program with the E.DI.ER Scholarship Program as its core, with the aim of:
– empowering creators of tomorrow,
– connecting them with the film communities and the creative industry from the very period of their studies,
– training Young Creators in the procedures for financing their work by the national body, in real time, yet protected environment, preparing them for the actual challenges of their work.
EKKOMED Fellowship//E.D.I.ER
“Introducing” Young Creators to their future audiences
Considering them already professionals from the very beginning of their studies and offering much more than financial support for their first film work, the E.DI.ER. Diplomatic Thesis Support Scholarship Program for Film School Students, thus constitutes the reference point of the national audiovisual body’s investment, aiming to:
– establish a community of tomorrow’s creators and a permanent network of filmmakers who remain active even after completion of the program,
– supporting them in their transition period from their studies to the actual professional experience,
– while the auspices of the national audiovisual body thus functions as a “Reference” and endorsement to their work in the creative industry, offering visibility & extroversion to their art.
EKKOMED Fellows Privileges
Most specifically through this scholarship, participants obtain:
– Financial support for the creation of the student film they prepare as part of their academic obligations
-The title of National Body Scholar, EKKOMED Fellow, with the possibility of using it in CVs, pitch decks, professional profiles and other professional platforms,
– Professional recommendation from the national body for pitching at industry/festivals
– Access to early calls or special invitations from EKKOMED
Total program budget: 60,000 euros
Duration of the program. The Program starts in May 2026 and is open until December 2026 or until the budget for the year 2026 is exhausted.