Funds for Non-governmental Organisations

Programme Summary

Why is the programme needed? The civil society sector in Malta is relatively small and heavily dependent on volunteers. Few organisations are involved in concrete advocacy work on the rights of marginalised groups, in particular due to lack of funding and weak organisational sustainability. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) programme aims to encourage networking among NGOs to engage in policy change and strengthen democratic process and human rights. What will the programme achieve? The programme will focus on four thematic areas: • Human rights and anti-discrimination; • Social inequality, poverty and exclusion; • Gender equality and Environment; • Climate Change.  The Maltese population in general will benefit from a better representation from civil society through initiatives to improve social well-being and environmental protection. The programme will address horizontal concerns such as: hate speech, extremism, racism and xenophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism, tolerance/multicultural understanding, Roma, sexual harassment, violence against women and trafficking. How will it be achieved? • The NGO programme will achieve its objectives through advocacy, watchdog and monitoring activities; awareness‐raising activities; participation in policy and decision‐making processes; promotion of multicultural dialogue and cultural activities that promote integration; provision of welfare and basic services; capacity‐building and organisational support to NGOs; network and coalition building; and education and training activities and cultural initiatives to promote key areas of support. • The programme will contribute to strengthening civil society through the development and consolidation of NGO networks and platforms and the improvement of their advocacy and representation activities as well as efforts to strengthen democracy. • Support shall be provided through two open calls. How will bilateral relations be strengthened? Some 1.5% of the eligible expenditure is set aside as a fund to facilitate bilateral relations. The fund will be used to organise a conference to bring together potential grantees from Malta and counterparts in donor states and other beneficiary states. What are the partnership opportunities? The programme will contribute to strengthening cooperation with the donors states, Council of Europe and other beneficiary states. The programme expects to achieve four project partnership agreements. The fund operator will work with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee to facilitate building bilateral contacts. Who can apply for funding under this programme? Eligible applicants are NGOs that are registered in the Republic of Malta and meet the following definition, according to the Guideline for NGO programmes: “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.”