New Cooperation Fund announces awarded projects and new round of funding

The New Cooperation Fund has also opened for its next round of funding. Civil society organisations and cultural, educational and knowledge institutions registered in Denmark are eligible for funding to help establish long-lasting cooperations with organisations in the Eastern Neighbourhood Countries. Learn more about the fund any apply here.

The New Cooperation Fund supports smaller projects that allow civil society actors to continue existing partnerships or develop new ones with partners in the Eastern Neighbourhood Countries. The projects chosen in the first round of funding are:

Cross Cultures Project Association (CCPA) together with Ukraine Football Federation, All Ukrainian Foundation for Children Rights (AUFCR) and the  Moldovan Football Federation – Open Fun Football Schools + SSP

The Open Fun Football School programme (OFFS) was first introduced in Georgia in 2003 to use the Danish summer football schools and the Danish association model as tools to promote reconciliation between children and adults from population groups in conflict with each other, as well as promote gender equality, ethnic and social inclusion, and active citizenship. The programme was so successful that it has since spread to Armenia and Azerbaijan (2004), Moldova (2006) and Ukraine (2010).

The recent years the programme has been further developed in both Moldova and Ukraine to use the Open Fun Football school programme as a platform for introducing the Danish SSP initiative (interdisciplinary cooperation between school, sport, social authorities and police) and thereby bringing inspiration and synergy to the implementation of new police reforms in Moldova and Ukraine. Thus, this project is a further development of the Open Fun Football Schools + SSP (OFFS+SSP) programmes in Ukraine and Moldova. The project is expected to help Cross Cultures and local partner organisations strengthen, further develop and anchor their OFFS+SSP programmes in their respective countries. Firstly, the project will contribute to the implementation and strengthening an interdisciplinary governance structure of the programme at the strategic and tactical level, i.e., strengthen the meeting structure of the national and regional SSP committees/community security councils. Secondly, the project will help strengthen the capacity of SSP practitioners at the operational level, i.e., help to further develop relevant initiatives and methods that address concrete social challenges in the respective local areas for the benefit of thousands of vulnerable children and young people in the countries. And thirdly, the initiative is expected to help develop a relevant youth component for use in current and future OFFS+SSP programmes.

Royal Danish Academy (Det Kongelige Akademi) Institute of Architecture and Culture together with Oni Municipality, Fair Trees Fund, Free University of Tbilisi – Visual Art, Architecture, and Design School (VAADS), Dinesen  – Oni Hub-in

The Georgian rural district of Racha has for several years been connected to Danish Christmas tree seed producers who have developed both commercial and people-to-people connections to the remote province, which is rich in native natural forest. But opportunities in the area are stagnating in line with the industrialisation of the surrounding community, and young people, especially women, are lacking education and job opportunities. There is political will for sustainable growth in the region, but hardly any experience basis. There is, however, a lively interest in using the good relations with Danish partners to develop an innovative and interpersonal collaboration based on mutual exchange of experience. Drawing on this momentum, we have developed the Oni Hub-in project with local actors, which aims to develop Racha’s traditional wooden construction types towards a self-sustaining and sustainable building culture that includes cultural heritage, commercial production of timber and building parts, tourism and sustainable forestry in a framework of mutual respect, cooperation and democratic responsibility.

Silba together with Solidarity Fund PL in Georgia (SFPL) – All-inclusive: A modernized youth infrastructure in Ozurgeti as a tangible example of enhanced cooperation between LSG and social partners in extra-budgetary grant management

This project addresses underinvested youth infrastructure in one of the most disadvantaged regions of Georgia, Guria, which has the second-lowest GDP rate. It looks specifically at youth infrastructure accessibility and availability in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, aiming to provide equal chances for, primarily but not only, young people with disabilities and fewer opportunities. The modernised, “all-inclusive” youth infrastructure is a result of enhanced cooperation between the local self-government unit in Ozurgeti and local civil society organisations, moderated by Silba and Solidarity Fund PL in Georgia (SFPL). It eventually leads to developing a sustainable methodology for the extra-budgetary funds’ absorption for socially important projects that can be easily replicated in any location in the territory of Georgia.

Nordic Journalist Center together with Team Resource/GALA TV – Independent regional TV in Armenia

In 2020, the Armenian National Commission on Television and Radio announced a competition for digital television broadcasting, the deadline of which coincided with the period when there were hostilities and a state of emergency was declared in the country. As a result, many TV companies did not manage to apply and lost their broadcasting licences. Thus, the Armenian population lost independent voices and sources to independent, reliable information.

The project aims to establish a cross-regional digital TV network, operated by six independent TV companies from different regions of Armenia, and combines capacity building and training with the production and broadcasting/distribution of up to 312 video reports. This will contribute to an independent, impartial and objective alternative to government and mainstream media, covering relevant topics, including youth, culture, labour market, environment and gender.

The New Cooperation Fund is a part of the New Democracy Fund, a consortium of five organisations, including IMS, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark’s Eastern Neighbourhood Programme. This second call for applications is open until 15 November 2021. Visit the New Cooperation Fund page for more information on the fund and how to apply.