Deadline: 15-Oct-21
The Balkan Trust for Democracy has announced a Call for Project Proposals to Support ‘Western Balkans 6’ for Strengthening Media Freedom And Fighting Domestic And Gender-Based Violence.
The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to contribute to reforms processes underpinned by EU integration by supporting civil society actors in the ‘Western Balkans 6’ countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
This sub-granting scheme of the Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD) is being realized with the support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade.
Priority Areas
Support is given to two priority areas:
Media Freedom:- The media landscape in the WB6 countries is characterized by a lack of transparency of media ownership and media funding, violations of media-related laws and regulations, instances of limited accountability of actors in the media sphere, political and economic pressure on journalists, threats to journalist safety, censorship, and self-censorship.
The following actions are eligible under this priority:
- promoting media and digital literacy
- strengthening media integrity, including support to the work of media self-regulating bodies, media associations, media trade unions
- improvement of conditions for the safety of journalists
- investigative journalism
- promote access to information (freedom of information)
- contributing to disclose and prevent disinformation, falsified information and propaganda
- local media capacity-development and support
- research, media monitoring, monitoring of the work of regulatory bodies and functioning of the legal framework
- reporting, policy recommendations, advocacy
- contributing to media pluralism
Fight against domestic and gender-based violence:- Domestic and gender-based violence continues to be a widespread cause of concern across the WB6 area. Although respective national legal frameworks are adequate for the most part and are aligned with international legal instruments to a large extent, the Istanbul Convention in particular, their effective implementation remains a challenge.
The following actions are eligible under this priority:
- educational activities focusing on prevention (targeting youth, teachers/professors and other educational staff)
- training activities (for members of the police, medical services, social work centers, the judiciary, educational institutions and other actors)
- awareness-raising (targeting the general public, as well as victims and potential victims of gender-based violence)
- research, monitoring, reporting, writing policy recommendations and advocacy pertaining to gender-based violence
- developing and/or effectuating early warning mechanisms
- coordination between relevant actors (including cross-sectorial cooperation)
- victim support services (psycho-social counseling, legal assistance[3]) and protection
- support to social reintegration of victims
- prevention of double victimization of survivors of gender-based violence
- capacity-building and networking among CSOs (local, national, regional)
Funding information
- The minimum amount of funding per project proposals is 21,700 EUR (25,000 USD)
- The maximum amount of funding per project proposals is 180,000 EUR (207,000 USD)
Project duration
- 6 months minimum, 18 months maximum, depending on the date of receipt of the application.
Eligibility Criteria
- Civil society organizations registered in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are eligible to apply for funding. Activities must take place on the territory of one or more countries eligible under this Call. Projects with cross-border activities among these countries are also eligible.
- Partnerships: Organizations may apply individually or in partnership with other civil society organizations (CSO) eligible under this call for proposals.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/31Tug5s
