Promoting rights and values by empowering the civic space

In line with the Charter Strategy and following up to the Charter Report 2022 on a thriving civic space for upholding fundamental rights in the EU, as well as the findings of the 2023 seminars and concluding conference, projects under this priority should promote rights and values by empowering civil society actors to work together at the local, regional and national levels on the fields covered by the programme. Projects should also help creating a channel of communication with the EU level to report on the state of the civic space in their countries and voice their concerns.

More specifically, projects could create a systematic and comprehensive monitoring system to regularly and consistently monitor the environment in which civil society organisations work in the national contexts, building on the Fundamental Rights Agency indicators about the shrinking civic space and of internal organisations’ data, and in particular of breaches of civil society organisations and human rights defenders’ fundamental rights.

Projects could also support and enhance the protection of civil society organisations, their members and human rights defenders working to protect and promote EU values under attack, including by facilitating access to dedicated support services. As such, they could also contribute to strengthening the resilience of civil society actors against attacks, including cyber threats, and their capacity to fully exploit the possibilities of the converged media to carry out effective, visible and impactful advocacy activities in the digital environment.

Transnational partnerships with mutual learning possibilities for partners in several EU Member States are particularly encouraged to apply, as well as networks of relevant actors at national level such as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), equality bodies, Ombuds-institutions, and the national Charter Focal Points.