Art, XR & Impact Opportunities - Week 4 (Oct Deadlines Inside 🚨)

Hey friends 👋

Thanks for all the love as this little newsletter keeps growing 💛. Here’s this week’s roundup of global grants, awards, fellowships, and showcases with deadlines coming up soon. Whether you’re an artist, technologist, or changemaker, I hope something here sparks your next big step.

🔥 HIGHLIGHTS — Don’t Miss These!

🌍 Echo Change — Future Action Summit (FAS) Malaysia 2025

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025 • Event: November 27–30, 2025 • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

👥 Ages 16–45, youth leaders, SDG advocates, social innovators

✏️ Four days of high-impact workshops, policy simulations, networking; fully or partially funded spots available (non-refundable $19.99 application fee for funded tracks).

👉 Apply here: https://echochange.org/fas-malaysia-nov-2025/

🎭 Entertainment Week Africa (EWA) 2025 — Submissions Live

📅 Event: November 18–23, 2025 • Lagos, Nigeria

👥 Open to startups, artists, filmmakers, designers, technologists

✏️ Tracks include Deal Room (startup pitch), Showcase (music/fashion/art), Content Market, Film Screenings (via FilmFreeway), Hackathon, Creators’ Hub, and more.

👉 Apply hub: https://ewafrica.com/apply/

👉 Film submissions: https://filmfreeway.com/EntertainmentWeekAfricaEWA

🌍 Women Changing The World Awards (WCWA) — Global Regions

📅 Nominations close: October 26, 2025 • Completed applications due: October 31, 2025

👥 Women leaders, innovators, sustainability champions, educators, and organizations

✏️ International recognition across multiple tiers (Rising Star, Emerging Leader, Company of the Year, etc.).

👉 Details: https://wcwawards.com

💰 GRANTS & PRIZES

🎨 The Hopper Prize — Fall 2025

📅 Deadline: November 11, 2025

📍 Global / Online

👥 Visual artists & photographers worldwide

✏️ Six unrestricted artist grants totaling $13,000 (two × $4,500; four × $1,000). Winners announced February 23, 2026.

👉 Info & apply: https://hopperprize.org

🎓 FELLOWSHIPS

🙏 Dalai Lama Fellows — 2026 Cohort

📅 Application window: October 1 – November 12, 2025 (22:00 UTC)

📍 Global (virtual + in-person assembly

)👥 Social innovators aged 20–36 worldwide

✏️ A year-long fellowship with coaching, contemplative leadership training, and a fully funded 5-day international assembly.

👉 Details & apply: https://www.dalailamafellows.com/apply

📚 Joan Ganz Cooney Center (Sesame Workshop) — Well-Being by Design Fellowship 2026

📅 Deadline: October 13, 2025

📍 USA-based with global collaborations

👥 Eligibility: U.S. citizens or permanent residents, 21+

✏️ 5-month professional fellowship with virtual sessions and mentorship, focused on building healthier, more equitable digital experiences for kids.

👉 Program page: https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/initiative/well-being-by-design-fellowship/

👉 2026 call: https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/2025/09/15/announcing-the-2026-well-being-by-design-fellowship/

🚀 SHOWCASES & HACKATHONS

💡 Tech for Change: ReMix the Future (ASU MIX Center)

📅 Register by October 5, 2025 • Event: October 16–19, 2025 • Mesa, Arizona

👥 Open to creators, technologists, and changemakers

✏️ Four-day spatial storytelling challenge with tracks in startup design, game design, immersive installation, and virtual production.

👉 Info: https://herbergerinstitute.asu.edu/about/venues-facilities/mix-center/remix-the-future👉 Registration: https://asuevents.asu.edu/event/tech-for-change-remix-future?id=0/%3FeventDate%3D2025-10-16

💻 Technica 2025 — Hackathon for Underrepresented Genders

📅 November 15–16, 2025 • Hybrid (College Park, MD + Online)

👥 Women & non-binary participants (mentors and volunteers welcome)

✏️ The world’s largest all-women and non-binary hackathon. Workshops, mentorship, and a collaborative community.

👉 Website: https://gotechnica.org

🧱 8th Wall (Niantic) — Creator Challenges & Game Jams

📅 Rolling; next challenge not yet announced

📍 Global / Online

👥 AR & WebXR creators

✏️ Past events include the Real-World Impact Challenge and “Forge the Future” with HTC VIVERSE, with prize pools up to $32,000.

👉 Blog for updates: https://www.8thwall.com/blog/

✨ That’s it for Week 4!

If you apply to any of these, let me know so I can celebrate your wins 🎉. And please share this with a friend who’s looking for their next opportunity in art, XR, or impact 💡.

🙋 PS: If you’re interested in contributing to Tanit XR — Tunisia’s first open-source digital archive of endangered heritage sites and artifacts — email me at ines@tanitXR.org. We’re building a global volunteer network of artists, technologists, and cultural advocates, and we’d love your help.

The best Art, XR & Impact Opportunities You Can’t Miss by Ines Said.

See you next week 🌟