i-Portunus is currently a pilot mobility funding programme, entering its second year, and is now trialling out opportunities in specific sectors such as literature and music. As such, it does not have a large funding pot yet, but is certainly an exciting development to have an individual-focused funding opportunity in an EU programme. It has been seen already as being widely successful and needed, and will be taken into the new Creative Europe programme, if budget permits, from 2021 – 2027.
UK individuals are still eligible to apply for this opportunity as it comes from the current Creative Europe programme budget (2014 – 2020). The UK paid into this programmme and therefore can benefit from opportunities connected to it. However it is worth noting that the UK Government has decided not to seek participation in the future programme which launches next year (and as mentioned before is likely to see a larger-scale version of i-Portunus).
This connects with a wider set of initiatives and EU policy looking to target the music sector specifically, called ‘Music Moves Europe’