The Swarovski Foundation has launched its Creatives For Our Future initiative, inviting global applicants aged 21–30 to apply. Targeting artists, designers, architects, engineers, and fashion professionals, the program supports those driving sustainable development through innovative projects.
Applicants who are successful will be engaged in crafting a novel initiative or product aimed at supporting awareness, technology, or sustainable development solutions. Each will secure a €20,000 grant alongside a training programme that includes individualized mentorship and industry networking events.
Since its 2021 inception, the initiative has aided 27 projects in cutting-edge design, spearheaded by young creators with new concepts tackling global sustainability and development issues. The scheme has facilitated their project growth and expansion, either via financial support for research development or through mentorship and networking channels.
Maika Nakaoka, the Swarovski Foundation’s creativity lead, observes that the programme has transformed into a network of innovators and change agents pioneering fresh strategies for social and environmental challenges via creative power. Mangesh Kurund, an Indian architect and a grant awardee, focuses on bio-integrated design, working on bioreceptive materials for kinetic building facades.
Kurund states that the programme has assisted him in progressing his bioreceptive material through successful prototyping and thermal evaluation, while establishing key industry connections and investigating routes for its incorporation into current facade systems. The fifth iteration of the Creatives For Our Future initiative is scheduled to launch in autumn 2027, with each selected applicant receiving a €20,000 grant to fund their creative project and being paired with a mentor possessing relevant industry expertise.
Entries are open until 9 November 2026 at the programme’s website. Successful applicants will be notified and announced publicly in April 2027 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
