The Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) Science & Technology Conference is going to be held in June 24-28 in Vienna, Austria. The civil society advocates from all over the world await it with their breaths captured. It’s hard to believe but it’s been just over 3 years since the CTBTO Youth Group has been established to support the CTBTO agenda from the future leaders’ perspective. Back then it seemed promising, though the global youth engagement experience that could extend even to the most high-level events on the agenda has been poor if it ever existed. The CTBTO had the unexplored path to step into to accomplish the objectives for which the Youth Group got formed.

The beginning

The way my own life has been rolling out nothing seemed to predict me joining the Youth Group, though it happened as such through the numerous surprises from my own destiny. Simply visiting Vienna back in April 2016 half of our student group got sent to see the OSCE session and another one got to tour the Vienna International Centre (VIC) where Ban Ki-Moon, the UN 8^th Secretary General, was supposed to be present. I personally dreamed of seeing the UN Secretary-General, the ambassador of all nations and of people, the figure so grand in my imagination. I was 17 years old back then and was hoping to achieve something important and very early. I woke up every day hoping to reach the stars that were shining for me.

The CTBTO

And once inside of the VIC we went to take our tour and then proceeded to the CTBTO Anniversary Ministerial Meeting. The hall was packed and we, the tiny students from some distinct Russian towns, have stood almost by the doors. In such cases I always find my way to get through and stand so that I can participate well. I knew I wasn’t there for standing and watching, I was there for acting. That was my first time I ever heard about CTBTO. Anxiously googling everything about the Organization I actively posed my questions live through Twitter. My activity got noticed by the moderators for sure. Finally, by the closing of the session the floor was open for questions. And there I knew – this was my one and only chance to address the UN Secretary-General directly. I had no idea about what I should ask him. Though I knew I had to ask something. And I started googling everything about Ban Ki-Moon and have discovered that he won an essay contest and visited the United States of America as an award back when he was a school student. I am also the winner of a similar U.S. Department of State Exchange Program and I have linked our biographies into a question: “How winning a high school essay contest lead you to become the UN Secretary-General?”. Everyone turned back to see the boy who asked such an extraordinary question. I heard people smiling and applauding. I felt as if the question was posed at a right time and at a right moment.

Joining the Youth Group

And that question led me to have been noticed by CTBTO and the offer to join the newly forming Youth Group followed right after. I accepted it still having little idea about the organization. I was 17 back when I joined it and I was still in High School. Over the years of my engagement with the Youth Group I have been pursuing every chance to get involved whether it be helping at a booth during the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting in San-Francisco or participating at an unforgettable trip to one of the first Soviet nuclear test sites in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan – everything welcomed me to learn more and fall deeper in love with the good causes of CTBTO – secure the world we live in from the nuclear arms testing. Once and forever we are capable of achieving it as a whole. Recognizing the mutual concerns of all parties and respecting all views. The important and almost universally accepted idea is that CTBT has to enter into force. Though the missing signatures to the Treaty remind us of the differences in the approach to the issue. This makes the situation even more challenging, though it is also the opportunity to cooperate more.

The CTBTO 2019 Science and Technology Conference

The conference to be held during this week is the bell ringing for all the citizens of the planet Earth to come together to the city where diplomacy experienced its’ Renaissance. The city where nations recognized the power of negotiations stronger and more robust than the power of any weapons. This is the time to remember this and recognize that the comprehensive agreements are uneasy to reach, though once the determination is strong and the support is extensive – they are simply a signature away. The Youth Group members are actively engaging into the dialogue on the grounds of CTBTO to learn as much as they can from the current policymakers as if they were in line waiting for their time to come. Taking into account how strongly the role of the youth actors is transforming currently, I would offer the alternative plan: the youth is not the one to come tomorrow and to take on the unfinished work. The Youth is here and now to engage into resolving the challenges. And CTBTO is on the right track having the extraordinary Youth Group open to all inspired individuals offering them the means to learn and participate, impact the agenda and address the policymakers and the expert community to get together to work out the solutions for making CTBT become the codified universal law. The bells of 2019 Science and Technology Conference ring louder than ever before.

L'articolo Youth in power: the CTBTO Science & Tech conference proviene da Youth Networks.

Should Russia evetually leave the CoE, in fact, this last one could be discontinued after 2020. The alternative would be a partial agreement on voluntary basis according to the will of the member states (with extra funding needed). The formal committee will meet on 23 May, after some informal consultations. In the meantime, the affected stakeholders did not stay quiet.

The reactions

The European Youth Forum, together with representatives from the major Political Party Youth Organisations active in Europe and beyond, released a public statement denouncing the cut:

The news is spreading across Europe and the Youth organisations are already clustering to prevent the cuts that are going to affect the Youth sector. The Youth department of the Council of Europe, that works closely to the European Commission in many co-operation projects, is as much pivotal as the European Union for the education of the new generations of Europeans. The fact that political matters, as the ones behind the decision from Russia and Turkey are, can affect the core of European values, is what is being contested.

The Youth department of the CoE

The international organisation of the Council of Europe was founded in 1949 by 47 countries. It aims at fostering human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Since 1972, the works within the Youth Department are managend in co-operation with the Advisory Council. This is made up of 30 representatives from youth NGOs and networks who provide opinions and input on all youth sector activities, together with setting the priorities and suggestions.

It also ensures that young people are involved in other activities of the Council of Europe. Here, representatives of the governements of the member states work closely with young people, who are then in the position of being able to influence important decisions on the functioning of the Youth Department. That is why it is so important to push for a better understanding of the issue: the more we know, the more we can make an impact.

L'articolo The youth department of Council of Europe is in danger due to financial cuts proviene da Youth Networks.

The story

The festival, born in 2009 from an idea of a group of six young people coming from Avilés, took place since then (with just a couple of years of interruction, due to logistic reasons). It consists in a tour across private houses: the owners open their doors to the people of the community, in order to share different kinds of experiences.

During these years, people had the chance to enjoy activities such as theater, short films, performances, concerts, cooking or gardening lessons etc. People walk around the city, enter a house participating to the festival and are welcome to take part in the activity held inside. Moreover, to get into the mood, part of the play implies also being dressed up in comfy clothes, like pajamas, slippers, dressing gowns and rollers in the hair or night caps – a sort of “my place is your place”.

The goal

Goal of the activity is to break down the barriers between private and public space for one night, to stimulate the cultural and artistic life of the community and to foster the relations between different people, groups and youth organisations.

Global Youth Advocacy in Oviedo

This year, in spite of the pouring rain, the three routes of the festival led the young participants of the Global Youth Advocacy capacity building (together with many people from Oviedo) to cooking lessons, Tarot reading, ballet performances and much more. It was a chance to know more in deep the local life and customs, and to learn how to respect and share at the same moment spaces that are normally closed to strangers.

That’s the best outcome of the festival: although you are in a home you’ve never been before and you’ll probably never visit again, you don’t get to feel like a stranger.

L'articolo Good practices: “Andar por casa” for KA2 Global Youth Advocacy proviene da Youth Networks.

What are Lifeline Advocacy Grants?
Lifeline rapid response advocacy grants give local nonprofits the resources to push back against closures of civic space as they arise. Lifeline advocacy grants are highly flexible, and can support a wide variety of activities: community mobilization, policy and legal analysis, civil society coalition building, strategic litigation, awareness raising campaigns, and advocacy capacity building.

Applications can be made directly to CIVICUS.

The CIVICUS Crisis Response Fund, established in 2007, serves as a mechanism for mobilizing quick, principled and effective advocacy responses to events that threaten civil society’s fundamental right to associate and assemble freely.

Advocacy supported through the Crisis Response Fund
The Crisis Response Fund will provide small grants of 10,000 USD maximum to primarily national civil society organisations in order to conduct advocacy activities over a course of a maximum of 6 months. These activities, designed by the applying organization, should be relevant and have the largest chance of bringing about positive change. These activities could be, but are not limited to:

– National workshops with civil society actors to discuss and plan advocacy strategies, such as to repeal restrictive legislation;
– Advocacy meetings with decision makers at to give recommendations on how to ensure freedom of association and assembly within the given context;
– Public engagement campaigns conducted via social media, traditional media or alternative advocacy tools;
– Fact-finding and report publication with the aim of conducting evidence-based advocacy;
– Regional networking with other civil societies under siege to exchange best practices and share legal expertise;
– Solidarity visits or missions by international high level bodies and/or celebrities.

How to apply
1. Please read the Crisis Response Fund Guidelines and Protocols document to know the criteria for applying
2. Complete the Crisis Response Fund Application Form
3. Complete the Crisis Response Fund Budget.
4. Email the completed Crisis Response Fund Application Form and the Crisis Response Fund Budget to crisis.response@civicus.org

Download the documents here or  discover other advocacy grants here.

L'articolo Civil society organisations, supported by Lifeline proviene da Youth Networks.

How to apply for the advocacy grant

One-to two-page letters of inquiry or concept notes can be sent to  latinamerica@opensocietyfoundations.org.
Your letter should include:
1 A paragraph about your organization and its mission
2 A description of the project(brief summary of the main objectives and proposed strategies)
3 The total amount of support being sought for the project, and the proposed duration of the project.
4 The letters of inquiry can be submitted in English, Spanish or Portuguese
5 There’s no deadline. The applications are reviewed on ongoing basis
6 Most noteworthy the Latin America Program makes every effort to review letters of inquiry within six weeks
7 If you have not received a response from us after that time, please assume that your letter of inquiry is not being considered.
8 Furthermore, only those inquiries that staff members consider will receive a response.

What types of grants do the Open Society Foundations award?

Every year, Open Society awards grants for a wide range of activities, everything from small project grants to general operating support.
In some circumstances, the organizations flexibility in how they use the funding, while in others situation, they can offer grants for specific projects. Even more, another type of grants is the one dedicated to individuals, rather through scholarships and fellowships. Even more, Open Society is able to make recommendations to the Open Society Policy Center for 501(c)(4) grants in support of policy advocacy (lobbying).

Profile of the organisations

Formally established organisations can access funding directly. Seems like the informal organizations or networks can receive grants through intermediaries (fiscal sponsors, fiscal agents). Each program within the Open Society Foundations has its own strategy and process for selecting grantees. Organizations or individuals whose values, goals, and work align with their strategies may inquire with the relevant program.

Search more calls here or read more about the program here.

L'articolo Advocacy grants for Latin American non-profits proviene da Youth Networks.

The ILGA-Europe Documentation and Advocacy Fund started in 2006 as a pilot project. Since then it has grown to collect valuable evidence about LGBTI human rights violations on a systematic basis. First of all, it supports small grant applications from member organisations. Besides that, ILGA-Europe and its members use this evidence strategically for advocacy purposes.

Therefore, their goal is to promote documentation of cases of discrimination, hate crimes and other human rights violations against LGBTI people according to international human rights standards.

How can be achieved the goal?

1. Work  towards LGBTI equality by gathering evidence of human rights violations
2. Support evidence-based advocacy throughout Europe
3. Build capacity of LGBTI organisations in Europe. Likewise, monitor and document human rights violations on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression
4. Enable the use of well-documented information for advocacy purposes at the national level
5. Develop methodology and tools that can be replicated in other European countries
6. Promote documentation of cases of discrimination, hate crimes and other human rights violations against LGBTI people. Furthermore, these should be according to international human rights documentation standards.

Open calls for grants

Calls for proposals are announced once or twice a year, with almost 5 to 10 grantees per call. There are two types of grants – a documentation grant and an advocacy grant.

About ILGA Europe and human rights

ILGA-Europe are an independent, international non-governmental umbrella organisation bringing together 490 organisations from 45 European countries. ILGA-Europe are a driving force for political, legal and social change in Europe and Central Asia. Therefore, their vision is of a world where dignity, freedoms and full enjoyment of human rights are protected and ensured to everyone regardless of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.

More info here.

L'articolo Grants up to 10.000 euro for LGBTI non-profits proviene da Youth Networks.