The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) is seeking proposals of civil society organizations and secondary schools for supporting projects in the fields of promoting the reconciliation in the region of the Western Balkans by increasing youth mobility, cooperation and activism.

Through this pilot Open Call for Proposals, RYCO is establishing itself as a leading regional initiative for supporting young people in the Western Balkan. RYCO wants to empower youth for setting the course to a better society in the Western Balkans and for ensuring further progress towards European integration of the region.

The exchange of experiences between young people from regional contracting parties will help to form new ideas for the future of the region, contribute to the better understanding of human rights, initiate intraregional exchange and cooperation, and help foster trust building between youth from different ethnic groups.

The General Objective of this Call for Proposals is to contribute to the process of reconciliation in the region of the Western Balkans through increasing youth mobility, cooperation and activism.

To contribute to the global and specific objectives (SO) of this Call for Proposals, actions should fall into the one of the following priority areas (PA):

Priority Area 1: INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE

• SO1: Ensuring a safe environment for young people for constructively dealing with the past
• SO2: Providing opportunities for intercultural learning and enhancing intercultural competences
• SO3: Enabling intercultural dialogue and tolerance through decreasing the level of hate speech, negative stereotypes and prejudice among young people in the region

Priority Area 2: ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

• SO4: Fostering active citizenship and participation in decision-making processes by young people
• SO5: Strengthening capacities of key actors working for and with young people for civic participation and social inclusion
• SO6: Promoting social inclusion of young people through mobility, cooperation and shared projects

RYCO will support projects built upon a partnership, with at least one partner from WB 6 (please check the Guidelines).

The overall financial envelope for this call is EUR 900,000.

Indicative allocation of funds by lot:

LOT 1 for Priority Area 1 – INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE: EUR 500,000
1.EUR 400,000 for CSOs
2.EUR 100,000 for secondary schools

LOT 2 for Priority Area 2 – ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL INCLUSION: EUR 400,000
1.EUR 300,000 for CSOs
2.EUR 100,000 for secondary schools

Deadline for submission of applications: 15 November 2017, 23:59

More information on how to apply can be found here.