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PROTEUS - PROTECTING EU VALUES AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS THROUGH PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND CIVIL SOCIETY ASSISTANCE IN CENTRAL EUROPE (2023-2025)
A strong and dynamic civil society is an important prerequisite for the existence and resilience of democracy in society. The growing number of attacks on civil society, greater social polarization, a shrinking democratic space, and autocratic tendencies in several European countries undermine the functioning and activity of the civil sector within them.
More efforts are needed in order to develop greater skills and knowledge inside civil society organizations (CSOs) to protect and uphold the fundamental rights and principles of the European Union. Providing such support for the organizational development of CSOs is the core aim of the PROTEUS program - Protecting EU Values and Fundamental Rights through Public Participation and Civil Society Assistance in Central Europe.
The overall PROTEUS program is led by the Transatlantic Foundation of the German Marshall Fund, implemented in partnership with the Sofia Platform Foundation and seven other European organizations, and is funded by the European Union.
The focus of the project is directed towards smaller and emerging organizations working in the field of civic education, that seek opportunities to develop their organizational capacity and team capabilities.
Objectives:
The project aims to:
- Support democratic participation, public deliberation, and inclusion.
- Strengthen the resilience of CSOs in the context of shrinking civic spaces.
- Protect and promote European values and fundamental rights, especially in peripheral areas and smaller communities.
- Support civic activism in peripheral areas and smaller communities.
Activities:
1. Capacity Building (Training) - Up to 25 civil society organizations - will be selected to participate in a series of training sessions for organizational capacity development. Participants will be invited to apply for small-scale funding (micro-grants, up to 2,500 euros each) to implement their ideas or projects, applying the knowledge they have gained from the training. Recipients of the micro-grants will also receive mentoring support.
In Bulgaria, this part of the program is be implemented by the Sofia Platform Foundation.
Under this component, representatives of 17 civil society organizations participated in three full-time, three-day trainings in November 2023 and February 2024.
2. Project Funding:
Sofia Platform Foundation implements a second component - project funding, providing grant funding to civil society organisations for projects related to the protection of the rights and values of the European Union. In the framework of the first call for applications, aimed only at participants in the capacity development programme described in section 1, 11 projects were supported. Information on the approved projects can be found here: https://www.sofiaplatform.org/en/news/projects_proteus
Until 22.07.2024 civil society organizations can apply for funding for project proposals related to the protection of the rights and values of the European Union. Detailed information, guidelines and application documents can be found here: https://www.sofiaplatform.org/en/news/call_proteus_2024
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Parallel to and independent of the capacity development activities described in point 1, the Transatlantic Foundation (TF), in collaboration with the Engaging Central Europe (ECE) program of The German Marshall Fund of the United States, is accepting applications for project funding (up to 40,000 euros). There is one ongoing call for applications:
Information on the already closed calls can be found as follows:
Information about the assessment results are presented on the PROTEUS website.
Please follow the official page and social media channels of the Transatlantic Foundation for upcoming thematic funding calls, which will be announced in 2024.
Funding organization
The PROTEUS program is co-funded under the CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) program of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Transatlantic Foundation and its project partners. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
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More efforts are needed in order to develop greater skills and knowledge inside civil society organizations (CSOs) to protect and uphold the fundamental rights and principles of the European Union. Providing such support for the organizational development of CSOs is the core aim of the PROTEUS program - Protecting EU Values and Fundamental Rights through Public Participation and Civil Society Assistance in Central Europe.
The overall PROTEUS program is led by the Transatlantic Foundation of the German Marshall Fund, implemented in partnership with the Sofia Platform Foundation and seven other European organizations, and is funded by the European Union.
The focus of the project is directed towards smaller and emerging organizations working in the field of civic education, that seek opportunities to develop their organizational capacity and team capabilities.
Objectives:
The project aims to:
- Support democratic participation, public deliberation, and inclusion.
- Strengthen the resilience of CSOs in the context of shrinking civic spaces.
- Protect and promote European values and fundamental rights, especially in peripheral areas and smaller communities.
- Support civic activism in peripheral areas and smaller communities.
Activities:
1. Capacity Building (Training) - Up to 25 civil society organizations - will be selected to participate in a series of training sessions for organizational capacity development. Participants will be invited to apply for small-scale funding (micro-grants, up to 2,500 euros each) to implement their ideas or projects, applying the knowledge they have gained from the training. Recipients of the micro-grants will also receive mentoring support.
In Bulgaria, this part of the program is be implemented by the Sofia Platform Foundation.
Under this component, representatives of 17 civil society organizations participated in three full-time, three-day trainings in November 2023 and February 2024.
2. Project Funding:
Sofia Platform Foundation implements a second component - project funding, providing grant funding to civil society organisations for projects related to the protection of the rights and values of the European Union. In the framework of the first call for applications, aimed only at participants in the capacity development programme described in section 1, 11 projects were supported. Information on the approved projects can be found here: https://www.sofiaplatform.org/en/news/projects_proteus
Until 22.07.2024 civil society organizations can apply for funding for project proposals related to the protection of the rights and values of the European Union. Detailed information, guidelines and application documents can be found here: https://www.sofiaplatform.org/en/news/call_proteus_2024
***
Parallel to and independent of the capacity development activities described in point 1, the Transatlantic Foundation (TF), in collaboration with the Engaging Central Europe (ECE) program of The German Marshall Fund of the United States, is accepting applications for project funding (up to 40,000 euros). There is one ongoing call for applications:
- Strengthening the capacity of monitoring organisations to conduct strategic litigation: https://t.ly/zr2W1
Information on the already closed calls can be found as follows:
- Supporting sustainability organizations: https://rb.gy/6cjek
- Strengthening online and offline forms of citizen participation: https://rb.gy/ltxuz
- Strengthening the presence of human rights and anti-corruption monitoring organisations: https://rb.gy/fn82v
- Strengthening women's participation in political processes: https://rb.gy/mwpdk
- Strengthening participation of vulnerable groups in political processes: https://rb.gy/kp9pi
- Promoting social engagement of children and young people through democratic education and innovative projects: https://rb.gy/muux1
Information about the assessment results are presented on the PROTEUS website.
Please follow the official page and social media channels of the Transatlantic Foundation for upcoming thematic funding calls, which will be announced in 2024.
Funding organization
The PROTEUS program is co-funded under the CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) program of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Transatlantic Foundation and its project partners. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.