The International Visegrad Fund (IVF) is an international donor organization, established in 2000 by the governments of the Visegrad Group countries – Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – to promote regional cooperation in the Visegrad region (V4) as well as between the V4 region and other countries, especially in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions. The IVF does so by awarding EUR 8 million through grants, scholarships and artist residencies provided annually by equal contributions of all the V4 countries. Other donor countries (Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States) have provided another EUR 10 million through various grant schemes run by the Fund since 2012.
The IVF vision is that grants, scholarships and residencies will become the catalyst for the advancement of innovative ideas in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (CM) is the supreme decision-making body of the IVF. The conference consists of the Ministers of the Foreign Affairs of the Visegrad Group countries and meets at least once a year in a member state holding the annual rotating presidency. The CM determines the amounts of annual contributions from every V4 member state, approves the rules of procedure of the Fund’s secretariat, and approves the Fund’s budget.
The Council of Ambassadors (CA) approves projects recommended for funding by the IVF. The council consists of Ambassadors of the V4 member states accredited to the member state which currently holds the presidency of the Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and meets at least once every six months. The CA drafts up programs and documents for the sessions of the Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, ensures monitoring, control, and evaluation of the Fund’s operations.