Deadline: 15-Aug-23
The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) is seeking applications for the RYCOnnecting You(th) Programme 2023.
RYCO initiates and participates in policy-making and advocates for reform. It supports the development of a political and social environment that empowers and facilitates youth exchange. In pursuing its mission, RYCO will demonstrate its commitment to human rights, human dignity, and the building of peace based on mutual respect and trust.
General Objectives
- The general objective of this call for proposals is to support the civil society in the Western Balkans to foster reconciliation, peacebuilding, regional cooperation, and intercultural learning by providing young people with opportunities that create space for dialogue, mutual learning, and increased understanding across communities and RYCO Contracting Parties.
- This call is specifically designed to provide decisive support to actors that can contribute to this vision, whether they wish to engage in such action for the first time or are in need for assistance to continue or expand their already existing work in this regard.
- All project organizers have to ensure that their activities do not foster further divisions among youth, and instead contribute to mutual understanding, peace, and social cohesion. Every young person participating in the projects supported by RYCO must be free to express her/himself without fear of punishment or retribution for their beliefs. Finally, every young person must also be protected from violence, bullying, or belittlement, especially based on their identities, origin, social standing, or abilities.
Thematic Areas
The thematic areas under this call are presented below:
- Thematic Area 1: Peacebuilding and Reconciliation
- Through projects focused on this thematic area, they are looking to support initiatives where young people address their differences concerning the region’s past and challenge inherited narratives through guided processes in a safe environment; and where they engage in intercultural learning and dialogue with their peers from diverse communities within their Contracting Parties and across the Western Balkan region.
- Under this thematic area, RYCO acknowledges the following sub-areas that applicants can incorporate in their project proposals: intercultural learning and dialogue, constructively dealing with the past, and countering hate speech.
- Thematic area 2: Youth empowerment and engagement in society
- This thematic area aims to empower youth and their civic engagement in society on reconciliation and intercultural learning, and of the implementation of youth mobility and exchange both within and among Contracting Parties in the Western Balkan region. The development of social capital among young people and the facilitation of their awareness, ability, and motivation to participate actively in society is a major RYCO commitment. RYCO believes that youth should be among the drivers of democratic development, social and economic prosperity, and European integration in an increasingly open Western Balkans region.
- Projects focused on this thematic area should promote youth participation in social, political, cultural, educational, and economic processes that have the potential to improve the lives of youth, their communities, and the region as a whole. They are looking to support projects that build the capacities of youth and create platforms for them to be active contributors to processes in their schools, communities, and societies.
Funding Information
- The overall financial envelope for this call is EUR 300.000. RYCO reserves the right to not award all available funds.
- Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- minimum amount: EUR 15.000
- maximum amount: EUR 30.000
- Indicative allocation of funds by lots:
- LOT 1: EUR 200.000 for CSOs with last year’s annual turnover of up to EUR 50,000.
- LOT 2: EUR 100,000 for CSOs with last year’s annual turnover higher than EUR 50.000.
Duration: The duration of the project must be a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 8 months. All project activities must take place before 30 June 2024.
Target Groups: Please note that the eligible target group under this call are young people from the WB6, from 14 to 30 years old. The application form should indicate the exact number of targeted participants in the project, classified by gender, if possible.
Location(s): All the project activities financed by RYCO must take place in the Western Balkans 6 Contracting Parties (WB6) – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
Eligibility Criteria
- Lead Applicant(s)
- To be eligible for a grant, a Lead Applicant must:
- be a legal entity, and
- be a non-profit-making CSO, established in one of the six Western Balkan Contracting Parties, a minimum of one year prior to the launch of this call for proposals.
- Potential applicants may not participate in RYCOs calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations indicating that they are bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures; where their assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court; where it is in an arrangement with creditors; where their activities are suspended; or where they are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under national laws or regulations; they are in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions, in accordance with the law of the Contracting Party in which they are established.
- CSOs that employ or are represented/overseen by members of the RYCO statutory bodies (i.e., Governing Board or Advisory Board) are not allowed to apply for this call for project proposals. These applications will be subject to conflict-of-interest policy and rejected.
- Grants to individuals will not be considered.
- The Lead Applicant must act with partner(s).
- The number of applications and grants per Lead Applicant:
- A Lead Applicant may submit only one (1) application under this call for proposals.
- To be eligible for a grant, a Lead Applicant must:
- Partner(s)and collaborators
- Each Lead Applicant must apply with at least one other partner from a different Contracting Party, meaning that a partner must be registered as a legal entity in a Western Balkans six Contracting Party other than the one where the Lead Applicant is registered. The following are eligible to be a partner under this call for project proposals:
- non-profit-making CSOs, registered as legal entities established a minimum of one year prior to the launch of this Call;
- The Lead Applicant and partners should jointly ensure that project activities and follow-up are planned and implemented with young people and/or by young people. RYCO is committed to supporting youth empowerment and engagement in society and through this open call it specifically aims to support ideas coming from young people.
- RYCO recognizes the added value of collaborators that can support the partnership to further reach the intended goals and outcomes of their projects. The following are considered as potential collaborators:
- cultural institutions (private and public) from the WB6;
- sports associations and organizations in the field of sports from the WB6;
- trade unions from the WB6;
- educational institutions such as universities and institutes (public and private).
- Youth informal groups with a proven track record of working with and for young people.
- Each Lead Applicant must apply with at least one other partner from a different Contracting Party, meaning that a partner must be registered as a legal entity in a Western Balkans six Contracting Party other than the one where the Lead Applicant is registered. The following are eligible to be a partner under this call for project proposals:
For more information, visit Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO).