The European Commission launched a call for proposal under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV). The CERV programme aims to protect and promote Union rights and values as enshrined in the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It will contribute to sustain and further develop open, rights-based, democratic, equal, and inclusive societies based on the rule of law.
The objective of this call for proposals is to promote citizens’ and representative associations’ participation in and contribution to the democratic and civic life of the Union by making known and publicly exchanging their views in all areas on Union action. It aims to support projects promoted by transnational partnerships and networks directly involving citizens. These projects will gather a diverse range of people from different backgrounds in activities directly linked to EU policies, giving them an opportunity to actively participate in the EU policymaking process in areas related to the programme’s objectives.
The call provides an opportunity to broadly cover a variety of policy areas, and to contribute to the promotion of EU values, the rule of law, fundamental rights, and democracy. While maintaining a bottom-up approach, there will be a specific focus on:
- the 2024 European Parliament elections, which are central to strengthening and nurturing democracy in the EU, with further efforts needed to promote the participation of citizens in the elections. This priority could also promote EU citizenship rights and contribute to the implementation of the European democracy action plan and the EU Citizenship Report 2020;
- exploring how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the democratic debate and the enjoyment of fundamental rights;
- innovative democratic approaches and tools to help citizens make their voices heard and publicly exchange views on all areas of EU action, notably digital tools (‘e-democracy’);
- countering disinformation and other forms of interference in the democratic debate, empowering citizens to make informed decisions by helping them identify disinformation and promoting media literacy, with journalists’ involvement;
- engaging citizens and communities in discussions and action related to our climate and environment; there is a growing interest of civil society and associations in discussing climate and green issues and proposing solutions to decision makers.
The deadline for applications is the 10th of February 2021. The available call budget is 17 471 295 euros.
For more information, please visit the Commission’s website.
To learn more about current calls for proposals or Eurodiaconia’s funding events, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Policy, Projects & Research Officer Vera Nygard at vera.nygard@eurodiaconia.org and our Projects Assistant Giorgia Signoretto at giorgia.signoretto@eurodiaconia.org.