U.S. Mission to Serbia announces 2020 Annual Program Statement

Deadline: 31 August 2020

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade is pleased to announce this call for proposals in support of projects and activities funded through Public Diplomacy Small Grants.

Program Objectives: The purpose of APS-funded projects is to strengthen ties between American and Serbian citizens as they work together to make progress toward the goals outlined:

• Grant projects can take any number of forms, including conferences, workshops, courses, public debates, role-playing exercises or simulations, TED Talks, summer camps, festivals, master classes, hackathons, online projects, etc.
• In light of social distancing measures and to limit the spread of COVID-19, they welcome creative proposals that utilize video conferencing, distance learning tools, etc.
• Projects should include an American element and/or connection with an American expert, organization, or institution. Activities might also highlight shared Serbian-American values, national interests, etc.
• Activities should focus on audiences in Serbia, but they also suggest applicants consider putting together regionally-focused proposals that include participants or partners from neighboring nations.
• If you are successful and secure funding and launch your project, you should publicize your activities through both social media and traditional press outlets.

Priority Areas: PAS welcomes ideas for creative, engaging projects aimed at Serbian audiences that address the Embassy’s main objectives. The U.S. is striving to strengthen the Serbian-U.S. relationship and explain U.S. culture, society and values to Serbian audiences. They also want to lend assistance to the Serbian people through: promoting economic development; strengthening democracy; protecting human rights; advancing regional stability and cooperation; and making progress towards accession into the European Union.

This year, PAS Belgrade in particular is seeking proposals focusing on the following areas.

• Responding to COVID-19. PAS welcomes projects that focus on:
  • practical, helpful, and realistic strategies and approaches to assist Serbian businesses and communities to recover economically in the post-coronavirus period. (Note: That could be based on American experiences in responding to crises in the U.S., including natural and/or manmade disasters.)
  • promotion of the exchange of academic and scientific expertise on COVID-19 and other public health issues between U.S. and Serbian institutions.
• Economic Resilience, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. PAS welcomes projects that focus on:
  • promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation, the study of STEM subject (science, technology, environment, and math), and business development skills for women, youth, minorities, members of other disadvantaged groups, and underserved communities, including in smaller towns and in rural areas.
  • leverage Serbia’s historic and cultural sites, including past beneficiaries of Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grants, and/or its natural resources (e.g., parks, rivers, mountains, farmlands, vineyards, etc) to attract more tourists and promote local economic development.
• Disability Issues. This year the United States is marking the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Congress’ passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into by President George H. W. Bush in 1990. To commemorate this landmark in the struggle for equality for People With Disabilities (PWDs), PAS is interested in proposals that generate broader awareness and promote a discussion within Serbia about the situation of the disabled community. Your project might address one or more of these questions:
  • How can the activities and success of the disabled community in Serbia be publicized more widely? What are the best practices of NGOs, government offices, schools, institutions, and unions that should be showcased?
  • What are challenges PWDs in Serbia still face? How can they get greater access to opportunities in all fields: education, employment, sports, civic engagement, public policy debates, culture, etc? How can society ensure teachers and schools are able to provide quality instruction to children with learning disabilities? How can communities minimize or remove physical barriers to PWDs? How can the deaf/hard of hearing and the blind/visually impaired get easier access the same information on matters of public interest as the rest of the population in Serbian society?
  • Are there further lessons to be drawn from the struggle to expand the rights of and opportunities for PWDs that can be applied in Serbia?
  • What kind of measurable impact have past U.S. Embassy programs on disability issues had in Serbia?
  • What are the opportunities for regional cooperation in this field?
• Serbian-American Connections. PAS welcomes projects that: inform and educate audiences in Serbia about historical, cultural, scientific, and people-to-people ties between the two countries; underscore the common attitudes and shared values, including their faith in democracy and commitment to academic inquiry; cooperation in different sectors (economic, governance, security, health, science, etc); explaining and debating current U.S. policies toward Serbia, the region, and Europe, as well as the intersection of Serbia’s and America’s national interests; examining the benefits of past and current cooperation and coordination with the U.S. and western institutions (including the EU); or evaluating the benefits of U.S. assistance to and investments in Serbia.
  • Applicants might want to consider some key anniversaries this year and next which offer interesting jumping off points for activities.
    • For example, 2020 marks: the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Yugoslavia (2000); U.S. Congress’ passage of the Yugoslav Emergency Relief Act (1950); and the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War period in U.S-Yugoslav relations (1945).
    • Next year (2021) marks: 20 years of the reestablishment of U.S. assistance and exchange programs (2001); George Kennan becoming U.S. Ambassador to Yugoslavia (1961); the beginning of U.S. military assistance to Yugoslavia (1951); and the opening of the Svetozar Markovic Library at Belgrade University, constructed through a donation from the Carnegie Foundation (1926).
• Confronting Global Challenges. PAS welcomes programs or activities that focus on U.S.-Serbian cooperation in keeping their citizens safe. That includes:
  • efforts to combat common challenges such as human trafficking, other international crime, terrorism, disease, etc.
  • Serbian diplomatic and military cooperation with the U.S., other countries, and international organizations, including in peacekeeping missions around the globe.
• Joining the EU. PAS welcomes programs or activities that would help Serbia make further progress toward integration into the European Union (EU).
• Regional Stability. PAS welcomes programs focused on peace-building, ethnic reconciliation, and/or regional integration activities that aim to:
  • support the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade;
  • promote mutual understanding, tolerance, and respect among peoples of the Western Balkans;
  • identify joint approaches to solving problems or challenges currently facing the Balkan region;
  • expand and strengthen ties of Serbian professional societies and civil society organizations with their counterparts in the Balkan region.
• Education. PAS welcomes programs focused on:
  • Ensuring children from vulnerable populations have equal educational opportunities. That should include support for inclusive education, ensuring the People With Disabilities (PWDs) receive high quality instruction.
  • Establishment or strengthening of linkages between American and Serbian academic institutions, including faculty, staff, and/or students. The focus might be on curriculum development, lectures and seminars (including virtually), or joint research projects. Activities can also include moot court competitions, college bowl competitions, and other academic activities that promote critical thinking and the free exchange of ideas.
  • Promotion of innovative or interactive teaching methods, student-based or project-based education, inside or outside the classroom, and/or development of educational TV, radio, online, and video game programs, that focus on:
    • Holocaust education, historical memory, and the promotion of tolerance.
    • civic education:
      • expanding students’ understanding of government, policy-making, and representational government in a democracy;
      • involving them in debates on matters of public interest;
      • promoting active engagement by citizens, no matter what their age, in a democratic society;
    • the role Serbia does or can play in diplomacy, promoting regional and global stability, and/or combating global problems, such as crime, terrorism, human trafficking, disease, etc.
  • Strengthening academic integrity and combating corruption in education.
  • Please do consider opportunities for regional cooperation.
• Cultural Dialogue. PAS is interested in proposals that foster a cultural dialogue with Serbian audiences about American contributions in the musical, dance, theater, literature (including graphic novels and comics), visual art (including street art), film, radio (including podcasts), television, video games (aimed at education or social change), and other fields. Programs could fund exhibits, securing the rights to show American works, festivals of American culture, development of educational curriculum for museums and other cultural institutions, training for Serbian artists how to protect their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), etc.
  • Applications related to sites in Serbia preserved through past Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) projects will receive special consideration.
  • Please do think about reaching locations beyond Belgrade, including those with fewer cultural opportunities. and about how to use culture as a form of outreach to disadvantaged groups in society, including the disabled.
  • Please do consider opportunities for regional cooperation.
• Outreach Through Sports. PAS is interested in sports-related programs in support larger U.S. Embassy goals, such as promoting tolerance, respect for diversity, civic engagement, regional reconciliation, or academic achievement. These should be aimed at key groups, such as minorities, people with disabilities, underserved or at-risk youth, and members of other disadvantaged groups.
  • Please do consider opportunities for regional cooperation.
  • PAS will consider proposals that bring together athletes, coaches, and/or trainers from the U.S. and Serbia (and/or neighboring countries), but these activities must serve one of the larger goals mentioned above and have a positive impact on the Serbian participants and on Serbian society more broadly.

Funding Information

• Award Amount: The review committee will generally fund activities up to $25,000. In rare instances, however, they will consider funding larger projects, but only if the justification is very strong and assuming the applicant also has a proven track record of handling larger, more complex activities.
• Length of Performance Period: Up to 18 months
• Anticipated Program Start Date: Depending on availability of funds, but no sooner than July 1, 2020.

Project Participants/Audiences

The participants or audiences for the proposed activity:

• should be citizens or legal residents of Serbia, though if the project has a regional focus, a number of participants might come from neighboring countries, too.

Eligibility Criteria

The following Serbian and American entities are eligible to apply:

• not-for-profit organizations, including civil society organizations/non-governmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, libraries, museums or other cultural institutions, etc.;
• governmental institutions;
• individual citizens, assuming they have a demonstrated capacity to carry out the proposed activities laid out in the application.

Note: A Serbian not-for-profit organization submitting an application must be registered in the territory of the Republic of Serbia with the Agencija za privredne registre (APR).

For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=327057