ProEUvaluesBG

During 2023 – 2025, ECAS will implement the ProEUvaluesBG project to raise public awareness of EU values at national, regional and local levels in Bulgaria and to provide capacity-building and financial support to Bulgarian CSOs in order to enhance their role as key messengers.

The project is led by the Open Society Institute – Sofia (OSIS) in collaboration with ECAS and Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF). Two funding streams will be available for applicants – one for grassroots CSOs and the other for initiatives and strategic actions from more experienced organisations.

ECAS will lead the project’s capacity-building work, providing training in both online and in-person environments to aspiring and selected applicant organisations. Grassroots CSOs selected in the smaller funding stream will receive intensive and detailed capacity-building, while masterclasses and exchanges of good practices will support organisations implementing larger projects.

The training programme called “Guide,” will focus on the three thematic areas of the call – European rights, Democracy and Non-discrimination.

The project objectives are:

• To support the capacity and role of civil society organisations as key carriers and ambassadors of EU values, including respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights.
• To contribute to raising public awareness of these values.

The project “Rights and Values” (ProEUvaluesBG) is co-funded by the European Union. The expressed views and opinions are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

January 2023 – January 2026

• ECAS will organise info days in each of the six planning regions in Bulgaria. The info days will take place in two panels: half-day technical information sessions on the Call for proposals, the application process and funding criteria implemented by OSIS and WCIF and a half-day open for all introduction on EU rights and values for third-party CSOs that are interested in applying for financial support.
• ECAS will organise webinars on EU values-related subjects organised in three thematic areas – EU rights, Democracy, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Each thematic area webinar will be held twice (a total of 6 webinars).
• ECAS will organise a training on EU values practical implementation and training on successful project management for third parties from the small projects scheme
• ECAS will organise orientation sessions for third-party CSOs receiving financial support for small projects.
• ECAS will organise three masterclasses, providing in-depth expert knowledge and examples of practical implementation of projects promoting EU values through case studies. The participants will be given practical exercises followed by individual feedback sessions with the trainers.
• WCIF and ECAS will foster a community of practice for third parties implementing projects within both schemes to create synergies between the projects (e.g. everyday communication activities), networking opportunities and a cooperation environment. Four online networking sessions will be planned to enhance sharing of good practices and build new partnerships.
• ECAS will participate in the creation of the EU Values online toolkit. The toolkit will include relevant case studies and self-assessment quizzes to provide learners with an evaluation of their EU values-related knowledge.