Deadline: 13-Nov-23
The Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC) is pleased to announce a call for proposals funded by the European Union, aimed at strengthening civil society in five EU Member States: Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia and Portugal.
Against the background of concerning shrinking civic space trends in the European Union (EU), this project aims to contribute to creating an enabling environment for civil society in five EU Member States that are in acute need of civil society strengthening: Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Portugal. The project will allow Civil Society Organisations (CSO’s) working on women’s rights, environmental justice, and anti-corruption to be more effective in the promotion of EU values, be more resilient to threats, and be able to quickly respond to concerning trends affecting space for civil society in their respective countries. This will ultimately lead to better protection, promotion, and acknowledgment of the EU fundamental rights and values in the target countries and, consequently, will contribute to strengthening respect for the EU values at the EU level too. To address these concerning developments, the project will contribute to:
- Enhancing civil society’s response to new trends affecting democratic and civic space and civil society;
- Strengthening effectiveness, accountability and sustainability of grassroots CSOs;
- Enhancing visibility and understanding of the work of grassroots CSOs supported by the project.
Objective
- The general objective of the call is to enhance civil society’s response to new trends affecting democratic and civic space and civil society in the target countries. This call will ultimately help contributing to increase collaboration and networking among CSOs working in the areas of women’s rights, anti-corruption, and environmental justice. It will also encourage CSOs to come together, share resources, exchange knowledge and experiences, and build stronger coalitions at the local, regional, and national levels. Furthermore, it will empower CSOs to implement outreach initiatives aimed at raising awareness about the issues they address, such as workshops, seminars, and media campaigns to engage communities, decision-makers, and the general public in discussions and actions related to women’s rights, anti-corruption measures, and environmental justice.
Funding Information and Duration
- The NHC aims to provide approximately 10 grants, each grant between 10,000 and 15,000 EUR.
- The project will have a maximum duration of 12 months.
- The anticipated starting date for the selected projects is 1st December 2023.
Eligible Types of Activities
- Data collection on rights violations;
- Publication of monitoring reports;
- Development of monitoring methodology;
- Developing an advocacy strategy;
- Advocacy and lobbycampaigns;
- Stakeholder meetings;
- Organisingregional coordination meetings;
- Participation in coalition building activities.
Eligibility Criteria
- The grant can be received by:
- Registered civil society organisations’ working on the protection and promotion of EU values including on enhancing women’s rights, and/or environmental justice and/ or anti-corruption.
- CSO’s upholding and respecting EU values in their work (such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights, including the rights of minorities).
Ineligibility Criteria
- CSO’s breaching EU values or with a political/religious affiliation as well as public administration institutions, state agencies, local or regional authorities, are not eligible for this call.
For more information, visit Netherlands Helsinki Committee.