28. 06. 2011
EU AWARDS GRANT CONTRACTS TO 43 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS
Belgrade, June 28, 2011. (Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, GOPA) - Within the Support to Civil Society Project, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia awarded grants 43 civil society organisations at today's official ceremony which took place in Belgrade Dom Omladine. The grants to the civil society have been awarded within the public call for proposals published in December 2010 providing four (4) million EUR in total for the support to selected civil society organisations.
On this occasion Mr. Ferenc Simon, Head of Operations in the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Ms. Ivana Ćirković, Director of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, Government of the Republic of Serbia and Vladimir Jovanović, Head of Info Unit in the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, addressed the participants at the ceremony.
The ceremony is organised to publicly recognise the winners of call for proposals, in which 284 non-governmental organisations, cultural foundations, associations of consumers, business associations and trade unions participated. The European Union allocated the overall amount of EUR 4 million, from IPA 2009 and IPA 2010, for grants to civil society organisations. For achieving the project goals the winners will work in partnership with other civil society organisations, cultural and educational institutions and local authorities from Serbia, the EU member states or other neighbouring countries. The grants awarded selected projects are between EUR 50,000 and EUR 150,000 while the duration of supported projects is up to 12 months.
Namely, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia launched the Support to Civil Society Project in October 2010 with the overall goal to support active civil society participation in Serbia's EU-integration. The specific objectives of the project are defined as:
- building social cohesion and overcoming discrimination in Serbian society by promoting tolerance and cultural diversity, and
- active civil society participation in the socio-economic development.
For example, pursuing the combat against discrimination, cultural and educational institutions together with civil society actors will work on promotion of intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. Music concerts, theatre plays, festivals of young contemporary writers and other specific events will be organised to explore issues of concern in the region and make specifics of diverse communities known to the general public.
Age discrimination, quality standards in education and services sectors, mediation are also in the focus of the supported actions. Through the implementation of the awarded actions, civil society organisations will contribute to raise social inclusion in Serbia by establishing and improving community based services for people with disabilities and applying public policies addressing homeless people and street children.
Together with local authorities, some of awarded civil society actors will strengthen the human resources capacities in rural tourism and stimulate women entrepreneurship. Several actions will ensure the effectively implementation of a number of well-planned local strategies, while others will contribute to the protection of Serbian environment. Consumer protection, prevention of harassment at workplace and enhancement of social dialogue are also within the objectives of certain awarded projects.
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