European Youth Foundation: 2022 Youth Campaign for Revitalising Democracy
Overview
The European Youth Foundation has announced that the next cut-off date for pilot activity applications for their Youth Campaign for revitalising democracy is the 6th June 2022.
Grants of up to €15,000 are available through the campaign which aims to strengthen young people’s roles in the process of revitalising participatory democracy and restoring mutual trust between young people and democratic institutions and processes.
EYF 2022 focus themes for pilot activities
In order to respond as close as possible to the needs of youth NGOs, specific focus is given to certain themes under each priority every year (youth sector priorities 2022-25).
These are the themes adopted for 2022:
1. Revitalising pluralistic democracy
a) Actions supporting young people’s participation in political life, including those living in rural communities, in decision-making and actions at local and regional levels, particularly in co-operation with local authorities;
b) Actions raising awareness about the shrinking youth civic space;
c) Actions supporting youth participation in strengthening effective, accountable and inclusive democratic institutions;
d) Actions supporting young people’s participation for environmental protection and combating the climate crisis;
e) Actions supporting the 2022 Youth Campaign.
2. Young people’s access to rights
a) Actions supporting human rights education with young people;
b) Actions advocating for and supporting young peoples in access to rights;
c) Actions strengthening access to social rights for young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods;
d) Actions supporting media literacy and young people’s rights in the digital environment;
e) Actions supporting access to quality employment, including new forms of employment;
f) Actions supporting the 2022 Youth Campaign.
3. Living together in peaceful and inclusive societies
a) Actions preventing and combating all forms of discrimination and promoting gender equality taking an intersectional approach, with a specific focus on Roma youth and other minority groups, national and religious minorities, young refugees in transition to adulthood, young people with disabilities, LGBTQI young people, young women and girls;
b) Actions promoting intercultural dialogue and peacebuilding, particularly in communities affected by conflicts;
c) Actions supporting inclusion of young refugees, migrants and youth living in rural communities;
d) Actions supporting the 2022 Youth Campaign.
4. Youth work
a) Actions advancing the European Youth Work Agenda;
b) Actions supporting the 2022 Youth Campaign.
What is a pilot activity?
The aim of pilot activity grants is to support actions which address young people’s needs or challenges at a local level. The actions have a clear link to the local context and address the focus themes for pilot activities, as set out by the Joint Council on Youth.
These activities should be based on innovation or on replication of good practice, have a clear youth work dimension and be based on non-formal education principles. The link between the action and the envisioned impact on the community should be clearly thought out.
Format of a Pilot Activity
Pilot Activities are flexible in their format and may utilise a range of approaches, such as training sessions, meetings with experts, local workshops, local actions, visits, campaigns, workshops in schools, festivals etc. An essential feature of a pilot activity is the educational element - the EYF supports education projects, using a non-formal approach.
The pilot activity can be :
- An awareness raising activity: participants are informed or educated about a topic or an issue, with the intention of influencing their attitudes, behaviours, solutions or responses in their local context. At the end of the activity they can say “I have learned this” or “I am aware of that”.
- A Skills development activity: participants develop skills to address identified needs. At the end of the activity they can say: “I can do this” or “I have the ability to do that”.
- Collaborative work: participants’ skills and knowledge serve as a basis to build and develop an outcome (for example a campaign, guidelines, recommendations etc.) and at the end they can say “I have contributed to the development of this or that”.
The maximum duration of a pilot activity project is 6 months.
If you are interested in reading some examples of EYF supported projects from the past years, you can visit the page “Supported Projects”.
When assessing applications for pilot activities taking place in 2022, the EYF will pay particular attention to activities developed with local authorities or social services/workers, and projects involving young people trained in the European Youth Centres or presented by local NGOs supported by an international/European youth NGO.
Grant amount
The maximum grant available for a Pilot Activity in 2022 is €15,000. The EYF can cover the all real costs of the activity up to this amount.
The EYF will initiate the payment of the first instalment – 80% of the grant awarded – 10 weeks before the start of your activity. However, it can take up to 3 weeks until the money arrives into your bank account. The remaining 20% will be paid upon receipt and approval of the final report (check the Reporting page).
The Programming Committee on Youth has decided to update the list of eligible costs in pilot activity grants, which now include certain specified administrative costs linked to the activity. It is now possible to include certain administrative costs as eligible expenditure, as long as they are linked to the activity and for a maximum of 7% of the awarded grant. More specifically, it concerns the following costs:
- Part of staff salaries, corresponding to their time dedicated to the project. Please note that expert or trainer fees have always been eligible and are not considered salaries;
- Office rent, insurance, electricity, water and heating costs.
Administrative costs not mentioned above will continue to not be considered eligible.
For more information, please refer to the revised instructions for financial reporting, available on the EYF website.
What costs are covered by the grant?
Participant’s travel, accommodation and food are covered. Also trainer/expert fees, production of material and renting of rooms and equipment. Volunteer time can be included up to a maximum of 10% of the total budget.
The volunteer cannot be paid (travel, accommodation, food can be covered) but the monetary value of the volunteer’s contribution can be included in expenditure and income. A more detailed explanation can be seen in the Volunteer time recognition .
Who can apply?
Local actions may be carried out by international NGOs/networks as part of their work plan and in co-operation with local NGOs. However, only the NGOs mentioned above may submit a Pilot Activity application.