Earlier this year, ECNL and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC) launched a new project 'Catalyst of Change', supported by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency under the CERV programme.
The project will allow civil society organisations working on women’s rights, environmental justice, and anti-corruption in Bulgaria, Croatia, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia to be:
- more effective in the promotion of EU values;
- more resilient to threats; and
- able to quickly respond to concerning trends affecting space for civil society in their respective countries.
To achieve this, we will:
- offer peer-to-peer coaching to strengthen CSOs' technical skills in various issues, including: strategy development, project management, grant writing, communications and resource mobilisation;
- deliver trainings and develop learning resources on advocacy and relevant EU policies related to civic space and rule of law; and
- provide small grants for advocacy.
At the project launch event in May 2023, we provided more information on the opportunities the project presents for grassroot initiatives from the target countries. In her introductory speech, Eszter Hartay, Program Director at ECNL, focused the impact of securitisation, the use of technology and limited civic engagement in the EU, and what can be done by the EU and its Member States to address the existing challenges.
In May 2023 we also published a call for liaison experts, who will support the mapping and outreach towards target groups, advise on capacity strengthening, and support the evaluation and monitoring of grants.
For a more detailed overview of the project, please visit the project page.
This project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.