Call: Call for proposals to protect and promote the rights of the child

The general objective of the Programme is to protect and promote rights and values as enshrined in the Treaties, the Charter and the applicable international human rights conventions, in particular by supporting civil society organisations and other stakeholders active at local, regional, national and transnational level, and by encouraging civic and democratic participation, in order to sustain and further develop open, rights-based, democratic, equal and inclusive societies which are based on the rule of law.

Furthermore, the Programme shall have the following specific objectives, which correspond to strands:

1. to protect and promote Union values (Union values strand);
2. to promote rights, non-discrimination and equality, including gender equality, and to advance gender mainstreaming and the mainstreaming of non-discrimination (equality, rights and gender equality strand);
3. to promote citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union and exchanges between citizens of different Member States, and to raise awareness of their common European history (citizens’ engagement and participation strand);
4. to fight violence, including gender-based violence (Daphne strand).

Union values strand

The Union values strand shall focus on protecting, promoting and raising awareness of rights by providing financial support to civil society organisations which are active at local, regional, national and transnational level in promoting and cultivating those rights, thereby also strengthening the protection and promotion of Union values and respect for the rule of law and contributing to the construction of a more democratic Union, democratic dialogue, transparency and good governance.

Equality, rights and gender equality strand

The equality, rights and gender equality strand shall focus on:

1. promoting equality and preventing and combating inequalities and discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, and respecting the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds provided for in Article 21 of the Charter;
2. supporting, advancing and implementing comprehensive policies aimed at:
   1. promoting women’s full enjoyment of rights; gender equality, including work-life balance; women’s empowerment; and gender mainstreaming;
   2. promoting non-discrimination and the mainstreaming thereof;
   3. combating racism, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance, including homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, interphobia and intolerance on the basis of gender identity, both online and offline;
   4. protecting and promoting the rights of the child;
   5. protecting and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities;
3. protecting and promoting Union citizenship rights and the right to the protection of personal data.

Citizens’ engagement and participation strand

The citizens’ engagement and participation strand shall focus on:

1. supporting projects aimed at remembering defining moments in modern European history, such as the coming to power of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, including the causes and consequences thereof, and projects aimed at raising awareness among European citizens of their common history, culture, cultural heritage and values, thereby enhancing their understanding of the Union, of its origins, purpose, diversity and achievements and of the importance of mutual understanding and tolerance;
2. promoting citizens’ and representative associations’ participation in and contribution to the democratic and civic life of the Union by enabling them to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action;
3. promoting exchanges between citizens of different countries, in particular through town-twinning and networks of towns, so as to afford them practical experience of the richness and diversity of the common heritage of the Union and to make them aware that such richness and diversity constitute a solid foundation for a common future.

Daphne strand

The Daphne strand shall focus on:

1. preventing and combating at all levels all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls and domestic violence, including by promoting the standards laid down in the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention);
2. preventing and combating all forms of violence against children, young people and other groups at risk, such as LGBTIQ persons and persons with disabilities;
3. supporting and protecting all direct and indirect victims of the forms of violence referred to in points (1) and (2), such as the victims of domestic violence perpetrated within the family or within intimate relationships, including children orphaned as a result of domestic crimes, and supporting and ensuring the same level of protection throughout the Union for victims of gender-based violence.

Objective:

Supporting, advancing and implementing comprehensive policies to protect and promote the rights of the child.

Policy initiatives supported: EU strategy on the rights of the child.

Scope:

This call for proposals will contribute to the implementation of the first thematic area of the EU Strategy on the rights on the rights of the child – Participation in political and democratic life: an EU that empowers children to be active citizens and members of democratic societies.

This priority aims at mutually reinforcing efforts undertaken at the European level by the Commission with those happening in the EU Members States. The call aims to strengthen the sustainability and impact of child participation mechanisms (existing or to be created) at local and national level in decision making processes.

Therefore in this call, strong involvement of local, regional and national public authorities is essential as it contributes to the sustainability of the results and ensures more systemic changes. This can be achieved by allocating adequate resources for new and existing mechanisms of child participation, through education on citizenship, equality and participation in democratic processes in schools, capacity building for adults on how to engage in discussions with children in a meaningful way and awareness raising and training activities for children.

Schools are a natural environment where children can exercise and nurture participatory activities together with their peers and experience the impact of their engagement on their daily lives. There is already a wealth of good practices on establishing school advisory boards, councils or national school student’s councils. Therefore this call also targets schools to support their efforts in creating safe, nurturing and meaningful environment and involve children in the school’s daily life and decision making.

Awareness on children’s rights is a precondition to ensure effective and meaningful participation of children, in particular to ensure the right of the child to be heard and listened to. Children, professionals working with and for children, the media, the public, politicians and policy-makers need to know the rights of the child to effectively implement the right to be heard.

Expected impact

• Implementation of the EU Strategy on the rights of the child, and in particular of its recommendations to EU Member States;
• enhanced child participation at local and national level, including in schools;
• strengthened knowledge and expertise on how to embed child participation in decision making at local and national level;
• increased space provided by local authorities for girls and boys in all their diversity to make their voice heard on issues related to the communities where they live and that matter to them;
• established long–term child participation mechanisms at local and national level, including in schools;
• increased awareness on and general knowledge of children’s right to be heard and on child participation, especially with regard to public decision making processes as well as and their practical implementation, among the general population, professionals working with children, and children themselves;

• be legal entities (public or private bodies)
• be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
  • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
  • non-EU countries: EEA countries and countries associated to the CERV Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature

• Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self-employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person).
• EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.

• Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants  and the summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)
• Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded)
• Part C (to be filled in directly online) containing additional project data including mandatory indicators
• mandatory annexes and supporting documents (to be uploaded):
  • CVs (standard) of core project team
  • activity report of last year of the coordinator
  • list of previous projects (key projects for the last 4 years)
  • for participants with activities involving children: their child protection policy covering the four areas described in the Keeping Children Safe Child Safeguarding Standards

Technical Secretariat

For the  strands "Union Values" and "Citizens’ engagement and participation": Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
Email: EACEA-CERV@ec.europa.eu

For the strands "Equality, rights and gender equality" and "Daphne": Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission.
Email: EC-CERV-CALLS@ec.europa