Deadline: 4-Mar-25
With support from the Government of Norway, Hivos is implementing project called ‘Connect, Defend, Act!’ to counter shrinking civic space and amplify civil society-led action in Colombia, Indonesia, Malawi and Palestine (oPt) by supporting civil society actors in their efforts to defend and expand civic space.
Civil society actors and rights- engaged in this work face an array of political, institutional, legal, and societal forces actively working against their goals. Civil society actors urgently need secure and trustworthy spaces for evidence-based learning and strategizing enhanced capacity to counter digital threats, and access to funding that ensures organizational resilience and adaptability.
The project aims to strategically support relevant actors within civil society whose work actively contributes to civic space from the perspective of different sectors and interests, particularly including groups who are marginalized within civil society. Across all activities and outcomes, the project will promote local ownership and leadership, with Hivos taking a facilitating and supporting role that emphasizes civil society actors’ agency and existing knowledge.
Project Goal
- Civil society Actors in Colombia, Indonesia, Malawi and Palestine (oPt) can positively influence the openness of and respond to changes in the civic space.
Project Objectives
- Promote coalition building among diverse civil society actors, including human rights defenders, rights holder-led civil society organizations, and independent media actors, grounded in civil society-led evidence gathering and knowledge production, and facilitated by context-specific communities of action.
- Contribute to safe and inclusive digital civic spaces for sustained collaboration and action among civil society actors through localized holistic digital security capacity strengthening, knowledge production, and active referral to digital protection providers.
- Increase civil society actors’ flexibility to rapidly respond to changes in civic space through organizational capacity strengthening and the provision of strategic funding for sustainable action.
- The project aims to strategically support relevant actors within civil society whose work actively contributes to civic space from the perspective of different sectors and interests, particularly including groups who are marginalized within civil society.
Funding Information
- Budget Size: Maximum 14,300 Euros per organization
Duration
- 6 months
Geographic Focus
- Palestinian territory
Eligibility Criteria
- They encourage applications from national civil society actors including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), grassroots organizations, actionbased/movement groups, etc. It is essential that the organizations have balanced representation of youth, women, local/traditional/indigenous, diverse groups and, if applicable, persons with disabilities
- Organizations that meet the following criteria are encouraged to apply:
- Registered organizations, that have a physical presence (office & staff) in the oPt and serving Palestinians residing in oPt.
- If unregistered organizations are interested, they must submit a joint proposal with a registered organization. The application must clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each party.
- Demonstrated experience in monitoring civic space.
- Proven track record in defending human rights and civic space, particularly the rights of marginalized groups.
- Strong operational and financial management capacity.
- Commitment to human rights principles, with no involvement in sexual violence.
For more information, visit Hivos.
