Deadline: 13-Apr-24
Within the framework of the joint European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility programme and its action on “Combating Hatred and Intolerance in North Macedonia”, the Council of Europe is launching a call for applications for grants scheme “Support to local self-governments and/or CSOs for combating hate speech”.
The purpose of the Action is to enhance the implementation of mechanisms on combating hate speech and discrimination especially those on combating intolerance, hate speech and inequality, in line with the ECtHR case law, recommendations of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), as well as other applicable standards such as the latest Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on combating hate speech and Committee of Ministers’s Recommendation on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Action also aligns to support the implementation of the recommendations and conclusions from the EU progress reports for North Macedonia. In particular, it aims to continue revising and developing legal framework in line with European standards as well as to continue enhancing the implementation of the current relevant laws, through capacity building for relevant institutions. The objective is to implement the respective action plans, strategies and other government’s guidelines and support them to better tailor their interventions to counter discrimination, hate speech and to promote tolerance and inclusion. In addition, the action aims to support the fight against hate speech, improve the protection and inclusion of vulnerable groups and promote rights of the LGBTI persons.
Objectives
- The grants will fund activities aimed at supporting the concrete implementation and/or follow-up at local level of the recommendations of the Council of Europe’s monitoring body in the field of anti-discrimination, namely the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), other applicable standards such as the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on combating hate speech and the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on combating discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as other relevant documents such as the Strategy for Equality and Nondiscrimination adopted in 2022 and its Action Plan, as well as the recommendations from the Data Analysis on Hate Speech and Hate Crime. Projects designed could address the following issues:
- Combating hate speech and/or countering intolerance, exclusion, inequality, hatred and racism in local communities in North Macedonia, whereby focusing on vulnerable groups such as Roma, people with disabilities, people of different ethnicity/religions, LGBTI people, etc.
- Promotion and protection of rights of LGBTI persons in the local communities in North Macedonia related to access to health and education, in the area of sports, media and administration, protection against hate speech and hate crime, etc.
Funding Information
- The indicative available budget under this call for proposals is 20.000 Euros (twenty thousand Euros).
- The Council of Europe intends to award 2 (two) grants of a maximum amount of 10.000 Euros (ten thousand Euros) each.
- The implementation period of the projects should start on 1 May 2024 and shall not extend beyond 31 January 2025.
Reporting requirements shall be completed on 5 March 2025 at the latest.
Funding Conditions
- The funds for each grant should in principle be distributed as follows:
- 80 % will be paid to the Grantee or the Lead Grantee in case of a consortium when the Grant Agreement between the Parties is signed;
- The balance will be paid to the Grantee or the Lead Grantee in case of a consortium based on actual expenditures incurred, and after the presentation and acceptance by the Council of Europe of the final narrative and financial reports for the Grant implementation.
Preferred Projects
- Further to the general objective, preference will be given to:
- Projects proposed by a local self-government in cooperation with CSOs or proposed by a CSO in cooperation with local self-government or/and other relevant stakeholders/institutions;
- Projects and their activities implemented in partnership between local self-governments/CSOs from different entities of North Macedonia
- Projects that aim to fight multiple forms of discrimination or to support multiple vulnerable groups;
- Projects/actions that involve vulnerable groups themselves;
- Projects that make links between strategies in fighting discrimination and hate speech that exists at the local level towards above mentioned groups or that support the preparation of such strategies;
- Projects that incorporate gender mainstreaming elements;
- Projects that include a list of visibility activities that should be implemented through the grant, aiming to: promote tolerance, intercultural dialogue and cultural pluralism among general public – public has access to fact-based/well-researched information about sexual minorities (and their rights) and/or on hate speech. Based on this it can make a positive connotation with issues linked to the vulnerable groups in society; stimulate media interest and to increase the number of media reports aimed at increasing awareness related to the promotion of tolerance, combating hate speech; provide visibility of the contribution of the Horizontal Facility Programme.
Target Stakeholders
- Projects should target in particular the following key stakeholders:
- Local self-governments
- Civil society organisations
- Youth – General population
- Vulnerable groups such as Roma, people with disabilities, LGBTI people, people of different ethnic/religions, etc
Eligibility Criteria
- In order to be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:
- be legally constituted as a non-governmental organisation or is a local self-government in North Macedonia;
- be entitled to carry out activities in North Macedonia described in its project proposal;
- for CSOs: have been active for at least three years in the field of human rights/anti-discrimination, hate speech;
- have sufficient financial capacity on the bank account: at least 2000 Euro or the equivalent in the local currency
- Have sufficient operational and professional capacity, including at least two staff members, to carry out activities described in its project proposal and who have at least three year experience in project implementation.
For more information, visit Council of Europe.