As a result of an open tender announced last October, three civil society organisations from Europe have been selected by the Council of Europe’s Democratic Institutions and Civil Society Division to receive grants of 40,000 EUR each. The funds will be used to carry out projects aimed at enhancing the mutual engagement between the Council of Europe and civil society organisations and raising awareness of the Council of Europe and its work to strengthen democracy, with the goal to foster democratic culture and strengthen the engagement of citizens in decision making in their countries.

The grantees are:

1. Human Rights House Foundation, a Norwegian civil society organisation that establishes and supports Human Rights Houses, coalitions of local civil society organisations advancing human rights at home and abroad with a special focus on vulnerable groups. Today, the network of Human Rights Houses unites 80 civil society organisations across Eastern & Western Europe, the Caucasus, and the Western Balkans. Awareness-raising and capacity building activities will be organised for these local organisations, in order to familiarise them with the ways of engaging with the Council of Europe, as well as to bring local perspectives into the work of the Council of Europe. The project will strengthen democratic governance and resilience against anti-democratic values.

2. Volonteurope (Belgium) non-profit network with members in more than 20 European countries, together with Social Platform (Belgium), Europe’s largest organisation working on social issues, and a coalition of 7 other organisations: ProActive Group Georgia (Georgia), WeWorld (Italy), La Ligue (France), Kimbé Rèd (French overseas territories), Volunteering Matters (UK), Európa Ház (Hungary), and IDC (Serbia). The project will seek to increase knowledge among civil society organisations about the Reykjavik Principles for Democracy and to create a better understanding of how the Council of Europe operates and how CSOs can actively participate in its work on developing legal standards, monitoring how member states implement their commitments, as well as in cooperation activities.

3. ALDA, European Association for Local Democracy, a French-registered association with over 300 members, including local authorities, associations of local authorities, and civil society organisations, coming from more than 45 countries in the larger Europe. The work of ALDA is dedicated to the promotion of good governance and citizen participation at the local level in the European Union, its neighbouring countries and beyond. The project is focused on Eastern and Southern Europe, more specifically Moldova, Ukraine and Italy and aims to increase awareness of the CoE in promoting civil society representation, and to foster dialogue on the evolution of civic space and the challenges of democratic resilience in Southern and Eastern Europe.

External communication is a vital part of all projects.  The NGOs will produce articles and podcasts, conduct webinars on social media channels, set up websites and organise communications clubs, along with other events and conferences. Targeted outreach will engage persons in vulnerable and marginalised positions.

The projects run from March until the end of October 2025.

More information about the Council of Europe’s work with civil society