Nomination time extended!
The application window has been extended to March 30th! Apply to have your trip to Eurocon 2025 covered by the European Fan Fund or spread the word to fellow fans!
The EFF helps fellow European fans to participate in the Eurocons.
The application window has been extended to March 30th! Apply to have your trip to Eurocon 2025 covered by the European Fan Fund or spread the word to fellow fans!
EFF is the European Fan Fund which transports European SF fans to Eurocons.
The purpose of the EFF is to create and strengthen bonds between European fans and fandoms. Currently in almost every country there is a fandom that quite often has little or even no connection to the broader European fandom. Most fans do concentrate on the “here and now” and are not looking for friends in other countries.
Nominations in the race to send a fan to Archipelacon (Eurocon 2025 in Mariehamn, Åland islands, 26-29 June 2025) are open to any European fan living outside Finland, Bulgaria and Poland who was active in fandom prior to January 2023. For more details on the rules, visit the FAQ section.
If you wish to stand, please apply at the form below. The nominee will need:
Among your nominators there must be at least one fan from your country and one fan from another European country.
Nominations are open from 27 February 2025 until 30 March 2025 and candidates will be announced soon after. Voting will then run until end of day on 25 April 2025, with the delegate announced online as soon as possible after voting has closed.
The EFF delegate will commit to participate in the fund management for the next two years and also produce a trip report to be published on this website.
If you feel unsure about how to go about getting any of these things, what the fund pays for or the duties of an EFF delegate and administrator, then feel free to contact us in confidence – we’re happy to help!
Mark your calendar for these key milestones
Eurocon is the yearly all European festival for Science Fiction and Fatnasy. It is traditionally the event that gathers fans, authors, artists, journalists from all across the continent. The convention usually offers many talks, panels, workshops, presentations and performances, roundtables, signings and interviews.
The convention is run with the support of ESFS, the European Science Fiction Society that represents the fandom of European countries. It is organized by a local team and usually builds on a local festival but adds English speaking programme. Usually, there are also exhibitions, competitions, tourist outings and other side events.
Eurocon also hosts the European Science Fiction Society Awards. All European countries can submit nominations for the Awards' many categories. For more details you can visit the ESFS website.
This year's Eurocon was voted to be in Finland. It will coincide with the local Archipelacon 2 in Mariehamn, Åland islands, 26-29 June 2025. The European Fan Fund is devoted to helping fellow fans attend the Eurocons in order to foster community building and exchange of ideas and good will.
Complete the registration form and process the payment for your bond
Find answers to common questions about the fund. If you have another question that we haven't answered here, please feel free to contact us by email and we will do our best to reply promptly and add it to the list.
EFF is open to any fan active in European fandom for over 2 years (meaning prior to January 2023). “Active” is considered to mean participating in common fannish activities such as attending conventions, producing fanzines or writing blog posts, or participating in local science fiction groups. As per the Fund rules, candidate should come from a country different than the Eurocon hosting country and different than EFF race winners from the last two years. It means this year it is open for fans from countries other than Finland, Bulgaria or Poland.
Similarly to candidates, nominators must be active in fandom since at least the start of 2023. Please note that the choice of nominators may impact how the voting will go, as people who don’t know enough about a particular candidate may be voting partially based on the nominators. Fans willing to nominate may of course approach potential candidates and propose the nomination to them.
You might already have friends in fandom in a different country but if that is not the case there are a few options. You may know or find someone through your activities in social media. You may also find someone through your blog, fanzine or a mailing list you participate in. EFF administrators can help with putting you in touch with people, but you still have to convince them you are a good nominee. The more you know your nominators the more likely they are to actively encourage other fans to vote for you.
Anyone active in fandom before the start of 2023. If a voter thinks they might not be known to the administrators, they can include brief information that would help verify their fannish activities (e.g. name of a fannish friend they have in common, link to their blog, information about their fanzine, photo of convention badges etc.)
A 300-word platform for each candidate is printed on the ballot forms, along with the names of their nominators. The content of the platform is up to the candidate, but broadly speaking it should explain who the candidate is and what is their involvement in fandom. Platforms should be strictly 300 words or under, which does not need to include your name. Of course candidates are encouraged to write more about themselves on their blog, social media, fanzine etc.
It might seem counter-intuitive that candidates must pay a fee to become a candidate when the fund is for sending them to convention, but this small financial commitment is intended to act as a guarantee that, in all reasonable circumstances, they will make the trip if they win.
To stand, you must fill in and submit the form on the left above, in the Apply section. Then, you must submit your bond by using the PayPal button on the right. Alternatively, you can use your own PayPal account and send the bond to europeanfanfund@gmail.com by PayPal, making sure to use the same email address you used for the registration, or put it in the notes so that we can match the payment to the nomination. We will then reach out to the three supporters you have listed in the form in order to confirm your nomination and verify your credentials as a fan according to the rules. From that point onwards, you can be considered a candidate and eligible for the voting.
Yes! Both you and your nominators are encouraged to campaign. EFF welcomes many forms of campaigning, including in person at conventions and other events, or online, in fanzines, and in other media.
The purpose of the EFF is to create and strengthen bonds between European fans and fandoms. It is not about money but about the willingness to connect fandoms in different countries. You can stand for EFF whether you would be able to afford the trip or not. Of course, if you feel that a fellow fan that has difficulties attending should have more chances, you can abstain, too. We leave that up to the fans themselves.
There are a few main sources of money:
EFF aims to send fans to Eurocon in order to allow them to meet other fans. The whole idea is about building bridges between fandoms in different countries. Eurocon is a great opportunity to get to know people, tell them about your local fandom and learn about fandom in other places. As you will be an ambassador of your local fandom this can involve helping out as much as possible at the convention, which can include taking part in the programme, possibly presenting an award, helping with fundraising for future EFF trips, and generally being as visible and friendly as you can.
EFF is a young fund and cannot offer trips as long as are known from TAFF, GUFF, and some other fan funds. The trip should last for the length of the Eurocon, but if there are opportunities to stay with nearby fans for longer this is encouraged.
Once the trip finishes the winner becomes the co-administrator of the EFF. It means the winner is responsible for managing two next races. It is also their duty to raise and manage the EFF money for future trips. Although it may sound difficult, there are other fans willing to help with both fund administration and money-raising. The two years after the trip is also a time when the winner is expected to either produce a trip report or make a fanzine together with fans met at the Eurocon in order to help other fans understand more about the experience.
One of the important fundraising methods for EFF is the money people pay to vote. A strong field of candidates will encourage fans to vote. Encouraging voters may help you to become a winner. It is historically known that some fans won in races against more well-known fans. There is always a possibility to convince voters to support you: just show them why you would make a good candidate.
Popularity and well-established fannish connections certainly help, but it might not guarantee winning. Active campaigning and great ideas for building bridges across fandoms in different countries may be a deciding factor in any race.
As many as they wish! There is no limit to the number of applicants. The more candidates run, the more interesting the race is and the more votes and contributions it is likely to get (which is very important!). Fan funds are about fannish collaboration, and competition between candidates is and should be friendly.
Although in the past many fan funds have been won by couples (or friends) running on joint tickets, EFF cannot provide such an option this year. This depends on the fund’s financial status, and as this is the second race we need to be cautious about that. Yet we hope to be able to offer such an option in the future.