Deadline: 20 July 2020
USAID’s Civic Engagement Project (CEP) is inviting nominations for this year’s Youth Civic Engagement Award (YCEA).
CEP will award up to six Youth Civic Engagement Awards (YCEA) to successful young men and women (age 18 – 29), informal youth groups (consisting of at least three members), and youth CSOs that have demonstrated exemplary commitment to improving the life of their community or that of the society at large by undertaking actions that address issues of public concern at any level in North Macedonia. YCEA will be awarded for actions that the nominees have undertaken during the period January 2019 to June 2020.
Individuals organizations, institutions, media, businesses or members of the community can submit a nomination for an individual young person who has been active in their community or engaged in a topic of public importance, or they can nominate an informal group or formal organization that has promoted young people to be civically engaged or active in their community.
CEP is a five-year initiative that aims to strengthen the linkages between citizens and government. It supports civil society organizations (CSOs) to constructively and effectively engage government institutions on anti-corruption, transparency, and rule of law issues, and it also promotes young people to become more engaged in public life in North Macedonia.
CEP is implemented by East West Management Institute, Inc. (EWMI), in partnership with three local CSOs: Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society, the Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI), and the National Youth Council of Macedonia (NYCM).
Award Categories
CEP will award YCEA as follows:
- Individual: up to two awards for young men and women (age 18 – 29).
- Informal youth groups: up to two awards.
- Youth CSO’s: up to two awards.
Award Information
Upon award, YCEA winners will be awarded grants to support the advancement of their civic engagement work. To that end, they will be invited to submit a brief concept paper that outlines their actual goals and needs. The grants will be:
- Up to $1,500 for Individual YCEA category;
- Up to $2,500 for Informal youth groups;
- Up to $2,500 for Youth CSOs.
Eligibility Criteria
The young men and women and informal youth group members nominated for YCEA should:
- Be citizens of North Macedonia;
- Are between 18 and 29 years old by June 1, 2020;
- Have performed the work or services for which they are being nominated, within the Republic of North Macedonia at local, regional, or national level;
- Demonstrate that they have been fundamental or integral part to the conveyance of the action, i.e., it is unlikely that the activities would have occurred without their participation.
- Youth CSOs legally registered in North Macedonia should:
- Be a CSO registered in North Macedonia, meaning that it is managed by a governing body the simple majority of which are citizens or lawful permanent residents of North Macedonia;
- Have at least two years of operational experience;
- Must not be a debtor to the Government of North Macedonia and must have cancelled any debt to the state or arranged for debt collection by the state prior to receiving the first disbursement of grant funds by CEP;
- Must operate as an independent non-politically affiliated organization;
- Must not be debarred, suspended, excluded or otherwise ineligible to receive US government funding. Civil servants, political appointees, members of the current parliament, staff of public broadcasting companies, and/or leaders of political parties cannot be nominated for YCEA.
Nomination Criteria
Ideal candidates for YCEA would be young men and women, informal youth groups, and youth CSOs that:
- Have displayed exceptional commitment and dedication towards contributing to the community or society at large through exemplary action and service;
- Is/are considered as role model by peers and the wider community;
- Have demonstrated creative and innovative approaches to addressing the issue of public concern that he/she/they has/have worked on;
- Have applied creative and innovative approaches to engaging community members and other groups in addressing the respective issue of public concern;
- Have developed or supported opportunities for youth to participate in activities that benefit others;
- Have engaged people with fewer opportunities and socially marginalized groups, including the poor, ethnic minorities, women victims of violence, disabled people, LGBTI persons, etc., in efforts to address the respective issues of public concern;
- Have undertaken actions that bring about long lasting solutions to the respective issue of public concern;
- Might have effectively combined academic learning or research with community service outside the school or university;
- As part of the actions undertaken to address the respective issue of public concern, have made creative use of digital technology to make available information that otherwise wouldn’t be accessible.
CEP will not accept or review nominations for activities conducted by individuals or groups that include:
- Support for or lobbying on behalf of a political party;
- Religious activities;
- Academic research or work for personal professional development.
For more information, visit http://www.nms.org.mk/mk/call-for-nominations-cfn-cep-ycea-04-youth-civic-engagement-award/