U.S. Embassy in Slovakia announces Countering Extremism Program

Deadline: 31-Aug-20

U.S. Embassy Bratislava, Public Affairs Section (PAS), has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a program to train and mentor national/local government officials and civil society community leaders in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic on best practices for preventing and countering racially/ethnically motivated violent extremism.

Specifically, the awardee will, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and the Strong Cities Network:

organize a two-day workshop in spring 2021 (or thereafter) with the participation of 4 US speakers;
organize pre- and post-workshop webinar discussions with workshop participants (two total);
issue and monitor two small grants of approximately $3,750 each ($7,500 total) which will be awarded to conference participants from the Slovak Republic to conduct awareness raising campaigns/counter-messaging on racially/ethnically motivated violent extremism;
facilitate a post-workshop visit of four days/three nights by Strong Cities Network staff to the Slovak Republic;
facilitate round-trip international airfare for up to 10 workshop participants from the Slovak Republic to visit the United States in fall 2021 (or thereafter) on a State Department exchange; and
provide guidance to local and national government officials in the Slovak Republic on addressing violent extremist messaging online.

The awardee will be asked to arrange a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), which manages the Strong Cities Network, to work with them as a sub-awardee to organize the conference and follow-on activities (budget estimate: $18,000).

Project Goals

Raise awareness among local and national government officials and community leaders about the spread of hateful and intolerant ideologies by racially/ethnically motivated violent extremists, including via propaganda imported from third countries.
Encourage local government officials to work with community leaders and national government officials to actively counter hateful and intolerant ideologies.
Encourage local government officials to share best practices and lessons learned on countering racially/ethnically motivated violent extremism with counterparts from third countries, including via the Strong Cities Network.

Funding Information