Deadline: 1-Oct-21
The International Visegrad Fund’s Visegrad+ Grants to support projects which contribute to the democratization and transformation processes in selected countries and regions, especially non-EU member states in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership countries.
Objectives
- Culture and Common Identity
- Increased awareness of cultural diversity and cross-border intercultural dialogue
- Increased awareness of common heritage, including history and contemporary art
- Increased promotion of common identity and heritage inside and outside of the V4 region
- Larger volume of common cultural productions reaching out to new audiences
- Education and Capacity Building
- Improved hard /soft skills for a better access to labor market, lifelong learning and internship programs
- Strengthened cooperation among educational institutions
- Increase in the volume of common formal, informal and non-formal educational tools and teacher training opportunities
- Increased sharing of best practices in the dialog among decision-making bodies, municipalities, schools and families
- Innovation, R&D, Entrepreneurship
- Increase in B2B networks with an emphasis on development of SMEs and start-ups
- Improved ecosystem for business and social business development at the regional level
- Development of regional networks/clusters of SMEs, academia, and research institutions with a long-lasting impact
- Increased science popularization on the regional level with emphasis on youth
- Increased promotion of joint V4 R&D projects outside of the V4 region
- Democratic Values and the Media
- Increased participation of citizens in the democratic system
- Increased awareness of transparency as a norm in society, professionalization of transparency of justice, fight against corruption
- Providing a safer environment and capacity-building for whistleblowers, fact-checkers, investigative journalists and other watchdogs
- Increased volume of media coverage in V4/Western Balkans/EaP region about regionally-relevant topics, increased access to information
- Improved media and information literacy for increased resilience towards biased reporting, disinformation and propaganda
- Public Policy and Institutional Partnership
- Increased awareness and active involvement of civil society in policy-making processes with emphasis on youth
- Increased capacity building of civil servants
- Creating new approaches to existing regional public challenges
- Creating common advocacy strategies addressing regional issues
- Regional Development, Environment and Tourism
- Increased number of town/municipality twinning initiatives
- Increased awareness, education and improve regional strategies on environmental protection, climate change and sustainable development
- Diversification of tourism by increasing the range and quality of regional products and services
- Social Development
- Promotion of tolerant and inclusive mindset in society, protection of minorities
- Deepened inter-generational understanding and dialogue
- Improved regional strategy and policy for demographic and other social and economic challenges
- Increased awareness and practice of a healthy and active lifestyle and reduction of substance abuse
Conditions
- Projects must develop meaningful cooperation and ensure active involvement of at least 3 V4 countries and 1 entity from the EaP region or the Western Balkans countries at minimum regardless of the applicant
- Maximum duration of project implementation is 18 months
- Grants cover up to 100% of project budget with maximum 15% of the requested sum for overheads
Eligibility Criteria
- Consortium of organizations of which 3 or more are based in different Visegrad countries
- All types of non-governmental, civil society organizations (CSOs); municipalities and local governments; schools, higher education institutions; research and scientific bodies and public institutions are eligible as lead partner (applicant) and partners in the consortia
- Market actors, e.g. companies – especially innovation and startuprelated actors – with a legal entity are also eligible, but only if their Visegrad project is of nonprofit character
- At least 3 organizations from 3 different V4 countries: Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia
- At least 1 organization from Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
- Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
For more information, visit https://www.visegradfund.org/apply/grants/visegrad-plus-grants/