Today, on the occasion of Human Rights Day, nine civil society organisations received EUR2 million worth of grants.

The EU Delegation to Serbia and the Government Office for Cooperation with Civil Society awarded grants to nine CSOs within the European Instrument for Human Rights and Democracy 2016-2017 at the EU Info Centre.

I am happy to have an opportunity to present projects supported through EU programmes to the tune of EUR2 million, said Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Mateja Norcic Stamcar.

“Today we presented projects worth EUR2 million aimed at supporting the most vulnerable social groups to exercise their fundamental rights,” she said.

EU Delegation Deputy Head said “it is very important to draw attention to the principles of equity and equality.”

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“You are not alone, the European Union is by your side,” Mateja Norcic Stamcar said quoting EU High Representative Federica Mogherini’s words from the film “Add Your Voices” screened at the beginning of the event.

Norcic Stamcar said that “despite the dire financial situation many associations and organisations found themselves in nowadays, enthusiasm and activism are still among the main features of the non-profit sector in Serbia.” She thanked the Government for the co-funding and added that the EU would continue to extend its support through similar projects.

Acting Director of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society Zarko Stepanovic expressed his satisfaction over the fact that Human Rights Day coincided with the signature of contracts on co-funding.

“Over the past six years, we have co-funded 65 similar projects with the total of over RSD27 million,” he said.

Stepanovic said that 10 December should be seized as an opportunity to recall the fundamental principles of equity and equality.

He said that the freedom of association “is extremely important and one of the constitutive principles of constitutional order” and that “the right to take collective action in order to advance a certain interest is one of the fundamental civil principles.”

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The contracts signed will allow nine CSOs to implement various projects running from 12 to 24 months.

Co-funding will be provided for seven projects selected through a public call for proposals launched by the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society on 3 November 2017.

The founder of the Tijana Juric Foundation, Tijana’s father Igor Juric, said that EU’s financial assistance would help the Foundation to continue organising workshops on the dangers of the Internet and combatting peer violence.

He told FoNet that the Foundation would continue to conduct research on children safety in Serbia.
Among the supported organisations are: Initiative for Inclusion VelikiMali (Fight against discrimination of children and young people from the most vulnerable groups in education), Astra – Action against human trafficking (Make It Work for Youth – My Way), Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation (Strengthening the equality of single parents in labour market in Serbia), Civil Rights Defenders (Who defends the defenders), Children Rights Centre (The child’s right to be heard) and the International Assistance Network I.A.N (Fight against torture and impunity).

Furthermore, support will be extended to Foundation SOS Children’s Villages Serbia (Alternative care and child rights in Serbia), Citizens’ Association EGAL (Facing violence and discrimination against LGBTI persons – establishment of a monitoring and reporting system) and Foundation Tijana Juric (Safety and well-being of children and young people).