Deadline: 25 January 2020

Applications are now open for “Active Citizens fund (ACF) in Malta”.

Objectives

The overall objective for the ACF Malta is to have “Civil Society and active citizenship strengthened, and vulnerable groups empowered”, covering four areas of support:

• Democracy, active citizenship, good governance and transparency
• Human rights and equal treatment through combating any discrimination
• Social justice and inclusion of vulnerable groups
• Environment and climate change

ACF Malta shall also contribute to the achievement of the objective of the EEA and Norway Grants, to reduce economic and social disparities, and to strengthen bilateral relations between Malta and the donor states.

Outcomes

Increased support for human rights and social inclusion

• Thematic areas which may be tackled through project proposals submitted under this Outcome:
  • Advocacy and awareness raising campaigns on human rights (including gender equality) and social inclusion;
  • Intergenerational dialogue;
  • Civic and human rights education, with a particular emphasis on informal education;
  • Countering hate speech and negative stereotypes;
  • Knowledge and awareness of intercultural competence and cross-cultural sensitivity;

Increased citizen participation in civic activities

• Thematic areas which may be tackled through project proposals submitted under this Outcome:
  • Active citizenship and open society – with a particular focus on human rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental protection;
  • Facilitation of citizens participation in decision making processes at local and national level access to information, access to justice in environmental matters in accordance with the Aarhus Convention;
  • Media literacy, critical thinking and healthy debate education;

Funding Information

The total available funds for the call to be distributed in terms of grants are EUR 369,000 intended to support 90% of budgets being proposed. The provisional budgetary breakdown is as follows:

• One call for proposals is open through Active Citizens Fund in Malta, with a total of EUR 369,000 available funds, supporting the two main outcomes explained above:
  • Increased support for human rights and social inclusion, with € 184,500 available funding
  • Increased citizen participation in civic activities, with € 184,500 available funding.

Eligibility Criteria

The call for applications is open for applicants that are enrolled, and compliant Voluntary Organisations established and enrolled under the Voluntary Organisations Act meeting the following criteria and principles.

• Meeting the below definition of an NGO:
  • A “non-governmental organisation” (NGO) is eligible for support within the Programme if it meets the following definition: it is a non-profit, voluntary organisation established as a legal entity, having a non-commercial purpose, independent of local, regional and central government, public entities, political parties and commercial organisations. Religious institutions and political parties are not considered NGOs.
• Meeting the following principles:
  • Are non-profit, being organisations that have not been created nor operate to generate personal profit. Although they may have paid staff and may engage in revenue generating activities, they do not distribute profits to their members nor to their board. Where revenue-generating activities are undertaken, these should not represent the purpose of the NGO, but should be a means to support its mission and values;
  • Have members who do not have any direct commercial interest in the outcome of the work of the organisation or of its commercial activities and should not pursue the commercial or professional interests of their members. This requirement therefore excludes trade- and professional associations, where the aims and purposes of the association is to further the specific interests of its members only.
  • Are voluntary in nature, formed voluntarily by groups or individuals and usually involving an element of voluntary participation in the organisation;
  • Act in the public arena and for the public good on concerns and issues related to the well-being of people, groups or society as a whole;
  • Have some degree of formal or institutional existence, unlike informal or ad hoc groups, involving formal statutes or other governing document(s) defining their mission, objectives and scope;
  • Have transparent structures and elected chair/board, and are accountable to their members and donors;
  • Are independent of local, regional and national government and other public authorities;
  • Are independent of political parties and commercial organisations;
  • Abide by the principles of democratic values and human rights;

Project Partnerships

• The ACF Malta supports and encourages the formation of partnerships to enhance the value and impact of project applications. Partners shall share a common economic or social goal with the applicant, which is to be realised through the implementation of the project. They should have as their aim, the will to contribute to the outcome/s of the project, whose participation in the project is needed for reaching aims of the project and which is actively involved in the preparation, implementation and evaluation phases of the project.
• Primary locations of partners should be:
  • Malta or any other beneficiary states of ACF Grants.
  • Donor States Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

How to Apply

Applicants can download the application form via given website.

For more information, please visit https://activecitizensfund.mt/call-for-proposals