Arkhé Projesi, Turkey
A student-run project founded to counter the erosion of quality in higher education and to promote critical thinking, Arkhé Projesi runs summer school for students and has developed a relevant online presence, with lectures and blog posts about various social, cultural, and political issues. EED’s funding is allowing them to increase their institutional capacity and the volume of their educational activities in the realm of democracy and human rights.
Association for Culture and Art Crvena, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Crvena are a feminist organisation who are promoting civic participation in spatial planning in the Sarajevo region, making sure that cities and spaces are planned in line with the real needs of citizens. EED’s support will cover operational costs as well as a study on civic participation and an informational campaign on social media to increase civic participation in city planning.
Chernivtsi Youth Centre, Ukraine
Chernivtsi Youth Centre is a grassroots organisation working on increasing civic and political engagement of youth in western Ukraine, where participation in civic life is very low. An EED start-up grant is allowing them to organise public discussions and trainings with local civic activists, youth and representative local authorities on the political, economic and cultural life in Chernivtsi. They are also holding networking events for local youth and civil society actors to facilitate dialogue and cooperation.
Institute for Urban Politics, Serbia
EED is providing support to the Institute for Urban Politics, an Serbian urban collective, to build Urban Action Lab, an open community space. The aim is to build a free, autonomous space for small grassroot community initiatives to gather and plan their future actions together. This would allow them to initiate dialogue on different urban issues, strengthening the base for social democratisation and citizen’s participation.
Levizja Rinore per Demokraci Puke, Albania
Levizja Rinore per Demokraci (Youth Movement for Democracy) operates in the rural town of Puka in northern Albania. Thanks to EED, they are developing a hub for young people to socialise, learn new skills and take part in activities such as book clubs, study sessions, and movie nights. They are also organising a girls scout group to empower young women living in a deeply patriarchal society, as well as workshops to promote environmental protection and cultural heritage.
Ma3azef, Middle East
Ma3azef creates a space for the promotion of democratic values through music and writing in the Middle East and North Africa.
In addition to publishing online content, they also organise offline events such as exhibitions, live concerts, panel discussions, and public lectures. Ma3azef has become a renowned independent critical voice that challenges traditional values in the Arab world, and EED’s support will allow them to continue their activities, including the development of a recently launched online radio.
Observatorie Raqabah, Tunisia
Raqabah Observatory is a young anti-corruption and transparency watchdog that aims to improve Tunisian good governance and public accountability of state-owned companies. The organisation seeks to collect data from state-owned companies in an open database accessible to the public, and to monitor and follow-up on suspected cases of corruption and financial mismanagement by state-owned companies, making policy recommendations and proposing reforms. EED’s support will support Raqabah’s core costs.
Right Side Human Rights Defender NGO, Armenia
The only trans-led organisation in the South Caucasus, Right Side is raising public awareness of transgender issues. Thanks to EED’s support, they have managed to maintain a safe space for the community, did advocacy work for equal rights and provided legal and psychological support to more than 370 beneficiaries. They also use strategic litigation to adopt trans-inclusive legislation: they have succeeded in making changes in the field of legal name changes for transgender people and contributed to a recently-adopted law criminalizing hate speech in Armenia.
South Women Media Forum, Palestine
Established in 2007, the South Women Media Forum is a key actor in empowering female journalists and activists in Gaza. The group seeks to address the lack of opportunities for female media graduates and the poor educational system in universities, as well as the lack of women's participation in Gazan public and political life. EED funding is allowing them to train young women interested in engaging in media and political work, and to conduct advocacy campaigns that aim to increase women's rights and empowerment in Gaza.
There is Time NGO / Anti-Cafe Chas Ye, Ukraine
There is Time NGO operates an anti-cafe that serves as the only platform for citizens’ engagement and the formation of innovative ideas in the city of Berdyansk, in Southeastern Ukraine. The anti-café holds events, connects civic and cultural activists, and contributes to the formation of progressive ideas. EED’s support aims to allow them to improve the physical location of the cafe, to carry out longer-term projects and to develop a sustainability plan that will improve the opportunities for local residents and activists to come together and implement ideas that will benefit the community.
Together for Health, Kosovo
Run by a diverse group of professionals, Together for Health is a voluntary initiative that aims to fulfil the need for reliable, timely, and readily-available information in Kosovo during the Covid-19 pandemic. The diversity of background of the volunteers - doctors, public policy experts, web experts, and public health professionals - allows them to gather, check, and analyse information related to Covid-19, and to publish it across 9 online platforms. With EED’s support, they aim to increase their media presence and to monitor the government’s actions against the pandemic.
Youth Farmers Association, Georgia
Youth Farmers Association is a nascent Georgian NGO working in the Khashuri municipality, a region with a very low level of civic activism. They work with young people, engaging them in community life and local governance by advocating for responsible farming. With EED’s support, they are conducting awareness-raising seminars and trainings about the importance of activism and civic participation, as well as outdoor activities to introduce young people to organic farming and environmental protection.