Granting Opportunity from The International Visegrad Fund: Visegrad+

The International Visegrad Fund is currently accepting applications for the Visegrad+ Grants Program to support projects which contribute to the democratization and transformation processes in selected countries of the Western Balkans (WBs) and the Eastern Partnership (EaP) regions.

 

 

Objectives

 

• Culture and Common Identity

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• Projects creating/presenting common audiovisual, literary, and other contemporary art products to new audiences
• Projects reflecting on common historical and cultural heritage as well as cultural diversity by joint research and knowledge-sharing activities
• Projects establishing and fostering cooperation among municipalities, regions, and local groups through common cultural activities

 

• Education and Capacity Building

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• Projects strengthening professional networks of educational institutions and supporting mobility of students, researchers, and educators to share best practices
• Projects improving hard and soft skills for the 21st century through formal and non-formal educational methods

 

• Innovation, R&D, Entrepreneurship

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• Projects aiming to build up new business and cluster networks for SMEs, startups, and research institutions within and outside the V4
• Projects tackling economic challenges and improving the ecosystem for businesses and social enterprises through joint lobbying, common policy solutions and exchange of best practices
• Projects dealing with innovation, new technologies and scientific research on regional and cross-sectoral levels

 

• Democratic Values and the Media

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• Projects promoting active participation of citizens in democratic decision-making processes and fostering democratic debate
• Projects promoting transparency and the fight against corruption by supporting knowledge-exchange and capacity-building of whistleblowers, investigative journalists, and watchdogs
• Projects improving media and information literacy, and increasing resilience towards biased reporting, disinformation, and propaganda
• Projects aiming for better media coverage of relevant topics in the V4 region and increased access to information

 

• Public Policy and Institutional Partnership

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• Projects connecting the expert communities to find joint solutions to common policy challenges
• Projects promoting active lobbying for policy change and good governance and connecting relevant stakeholders with decision-makers

 

• Regional Development, Environment and Tourism

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• Projects offering new solutions and activities to the fight against climate change and raising awareness of environmental protection within and outside the V4 region
• Projects aiming at sustainable tourism development on the local and regional levels by combining international expertise and shared know-how
• Projects aiming at finding and sharing innovative solutions in local and regional infrastructure development, urban planning, land revitalization and agriculture

 

• Social Development

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• Projects promoting an inclusive mindset in society and addressing protection and empowerment of minorities
• Projects improving intergenerational dialogue and the social care infrastructure to tackle common demographic and public health challenges
• Projects promoting a healthy and active lifestyle and reduction of addictive substance abuse.

 

 

Conditions

 

• Projects must develop meaningful cooperation and ensure active involvement of at least 3 V4 countries and 1 entity from the EaP region or the Western Balkans countries at minimum, regardless of the applicant
• Visegrad+ Grants should be implemented in the EaP or WBs region, and/or have a strong impact on local communities in at least one of those countries
• Maximum duration of project implementation is 18 months
• Grants cover up to 100% of project budget with maximum 15% of the requested sum 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
• At least 3 organizations from 3 different V4 countries
• At least 1 organization from Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
• At least 1 organization from Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine