The Active Citizens Program will support another 61 projects
29.5.2020
The Ekopolis Foundation, together with the Open Society Foundation and the Carpathian Foundation, supported up to 61 NGO projects in the total amount of EUR 3,032,745 in the second round of calls. Thanks to the Active Citizens Fund Slovakia program, which is part of the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-21, more projects can launch their way throughout Slovakia that will help better governance, protect human rights and improve the position of vulnerable groups in society.
The second call again offered to the applicants from the non-profit sector five areas in which they could apply for funding for their support. The themes are Increased citizen participation in civic activities, Strengthened civil society advocacy and watchdog role, Increased support for human rights and civic education, Vulnerable groups empowered, Enhanced capacity and sustainability of civil society
The topic Increased citizen participation supports 6 projects in the total amount of EUR 414,057. The supported organizations include the Rafael Foundation with a project to involve the public in the preparation of the Concept of Helping People with Autism, the Center of Environmental and Ethical Education Živica with the Green School project, the Tabačka Kulturfabrik non-profit organization, the Tichá voda civic association with a project to build a network of active citizens, and the Mládež ulice organization.
In the topic of Strengthened civil society advocacy and watchdog role, 7 projects are supported in the total amount of EUR 608,305. For example, the organization Cyklokolaícia with a project concerning sustainable mobility advocacy activities, the IPčko organization with a project of legislative anchoring of hotlines, Transparency International Slovakia with the project To Who is Running Our Money ?, or the VIA IURIS and the Pillar of the Rule of Law project received support.
The topic of Increased support for human rights and civic education has the priority to improve education in the field of civil and human rights in Slovakia. The program supported within it 11 projects in the total amount of EUR 765,708. The supported projects are for example, the Education of Critical Thinking Teachers in the Regions from the Slovak Debate Association, the civic association Dúha na východe, or the Center for Community Organization with the Schools for Democracy project.
In the topic of Vulnerable Groups Empowered, 25 small projects in the total amount of EUR 341,325 and 4 medium projects in the total amount of EUR 253,350 were selected to support. Successful small projects included, for example, the Detstvo deťom with the Early Intervention Support Center project, Oheň nádeje with the Way Out of the Ghetto project, the non-profit organization Centrum dobrovoľníctva or the civic association for education and culture – ROMAD with a project for a better life for Roma women. Other supported projects are, for example, The Road to Life from the Spoločnosť Úsmev ako dar, or the STORM association and the 3P project – work, help, support (in Slovak: práca, pomoc, podpora).
The program also supports the Enhanced capacity and sustainability of civil society. 8 projects were supported in the total amount of EUR 650,000. These include WWF Slovakia with the Green for Business project, the Centrum inkluzívneho vzdelávania, and the civic association Carpathian Development Institute with the project Strong Voice of Civil Society in Public Policy-Making in Times of CLImate CRIsis – CLICRI.