Through the Swiss PRO Programme the project proposals submitted by the civil society organisations and local self-governments in the calls for supporting socially innovative projects have been approved. The Call was opened during August 2018 where as many as 85 organisations from 16 local self-governments applied.
Grants worth between 10,000 and 14,000 EUR per project were approved to 26 civil society organisations (CSOs) in order to implement “new ideas fit for communities“, i.e. socially innovative projects designed for vulnerable groups. Eleven projects will deal with the empowerment of vulnerable groups through trainings, while others will deal with the improved access of public services for vulnerable groups: access to social protection, access to healthcare services, as well as education. All details are available here (PDF, 4 Pages, 1.8 MB, English).
“We are extremely pleased with the implemented call, evaluation process and quality of the projects,” Ursula Läubli, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Serbia said. “This is the continuation of the work in the wake of another successful programme, “European PROGRES” and in the future we will try to provide support to local self-governments in line with their needs but also, in coordination with the line ministry, to support the projects addressing youth employment.”
Moreover, within the second call, technical support for 16 local self-governments was approved so that they can develop or upgrade processes, procedures, and regulations about defining public interest and funding local projects implemented by CSOs, whereas in the next stage part of towns and municipalities will receive support for implementing the projects in partnership with CSOs. All details are available here (PDF, 2 Pages, 1.5 MB, English).
“This is the continuation of a successful cooperation between the Governments of Serbia and Switzerland,” Graeme Tyndall, European PROGRES Programme Manager stated. “Through the Programme we will try to achieve that both the Government and local self-governments have the essential ownership of the processes we implement together, so that the goals and priorities are realised and sustainable in the long run.”
The Swiss PRO Programme has been supported by the Governement of Switzerland with EUR 5.8 million. The Programme supports enhancement of local capacities and resources for applying good governance principles, social inclusion and gender equality measures in order to meet the needs of citizens and improve the life conditions of excluded groups.
