Deadline: 11 May 2020
Within the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II – action on “Promotion of diversity and equality in Serbia”, the Council of Europe is launching a call for emergency grants, which is to be opened to civil society organisations (CSOs) registered in Serbia, with the aim to fund specific measures to favour inclusion and combat inequalities of vulnerable groups, and/or raise awareness against hate speech targeting these groups in the specific context of the spread of the COVID virus in Serbia.
Through this call, the Action on “Promotion of diversity and equality in Serbia’’ will support maximum of 6 (six) local CSOs for fighting discrimination during COVID time.
The purpose of the Action is improving the functioning of anti-discrimination mechanisms and their accessibility to vulnerable groups in line with European standards, and COE monitoring body’s findings and recommendations, notably those from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), as well where applicable, those of the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) and those of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for the Regional and Minorities languages (ECRML).
The Call aims to support selected grantees in developing concrete responses on combating discrimination, including discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, and combating hate speech under the specific circumstances. An increase of stigmatization of vulnerable groups is already reported, as well as the urgency for reinforcing inclusion measures for such groups, especially when outside the formal social security schemes offered during the emergency by the state.
In particular, it aims to:
- Support initiatives to harmonise the anti-discrimination framework across the country and to develop and implement the respective action plans/strategies in relation to anti-discrimination, rights of LGBTI persons and hate speech;
- Strengthen the capacity of the authorities, local governments and/or equality bodies in order to allow them to better tailor their interventions to address discrimination and increase cooperation among authorities in this field;
- Increase the knowledge and awareness of the general public about the importance of anti-discrimination policies, about the rights of LGBTI persons, and about the dangers posed by hate speech, offering means to develop counter-narratives.
General Objectives
The grants will fund activities aimed at supporting the concrete implementation and/or follow-up at local level of issues included in the last country report of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), and frame them in the current situation of COVID virus spread in Serbia and challenges to social inclusion.
Projects design could address the following issues:
- Promotion and protection of the right of LGBTI persons in the local communities, including issues related to access to health, adequate accommodation and facilities, and social services;
- Combating hate speech, notably stigmatization of vulnerable groups, and creating relevant counter narratives.
Funding Information
- The indicative available budget under this call for proposals is 30.000 Euros (thirty thousand Euros). The Council of Europe/the European Union intends to award grants of a maximum amount of 5.000 Euros each.
- The implementation period of the projects should start on 20 May 2020 (see indicative timetable under VIII. below) and shall not extend beyond 31 August 2020.
- Reporting requirements shall be completed on 30 September 2020 at the latest.
Target Stakeholders
Projects should target in particular the following key stakeholders:
- Civil society organisations
- Vulnerable groups
- General population
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:
- be legally constituted as a non-governmental organisation in Serbia;
- be entitled to carry out the activities described in its project proposal on the territory of Serbia;
- have been active for at least three years in the field of human rights/anti-discrimination;
- have sufficient financial capacity (stable and sufficient sources of funding) to maintain its activity throughout the period for which the grant is awarded and to participate by way of its own resources (including human resources or in-kind contributions);
- have sufficient operational and professional capacity, including staff, to carry out activities described in its project proposal;
- have a bank account.
Exclusion Criteria
Applicants shall be excluded from the grant award procedure where they:
- have been sentenced by final judgment on one or more of the following charges: participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, money laundering;
- are in a situation of bankruptcy, liquidation, termination of activity, insolvency or arrangement with creditors or any like situation arising from a procedure of the same kind, or are subject to a procedure of the same kind;
- have received a judgement with res judicata force, finding an offence that affects their professional integrity or constitutes a serious professional misconduct;
- do not comply with their obligations as regards payment of social security contributions, taxes and dues, according to the statutory provisions of the country where they are established;
- are or if their owner(s) or executive officer(s), in the case of legal persons, are included in the lists of persons or entities subject to restrictive measures applied by the European Union
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2yQIfhL