Applications Invited for Visegrad Grants Program 2021

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About the Organization:

Visegrad Fund is an international donor organization, established in 2000 by the governments of the Visegrad Group countries—Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to promote regional cooperation in the Visegrad region (V4) as well as between the V4 region and other countries, especially in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions. Their vision is that grants, scholarships and residencies will become the catalyst for the advancement of innovative ideas in Central and Eastern Europe.

Visegrad Grants Program 2021

Visegrad grants support regional partnerships among NGOs and civil society organizations, public institutions and municipalities, private companies and nonprofit organizations as well as education and research centers that contribute to cooperation in the Visegrad region.

Objectives:

To apply for Visegrad Grants, your project must address one of the objectives of the grant program from one of seven focus areas eligible for funding.

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 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

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 active participation of organizations from at least 3 V4 countries
• Cross-border cooperation of at least 2 organizations from 2 neighboring V4 countries also qualify for support with projects taking place within a 40-km radius from the border
• Maximum duration of project implementation is 18 months
• Grants can cover up to 100% of project budget with 15% 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

Deadline: 1st February, 2021

For more information please check the Link