The European Youth Foundation (EYF)is a fund established in 1972 by the Council of Europe to provide financial support for European youth activities. It has an annual budget of approximately 3 million Euros. Since 1972, more than 300 000 young people, aged between 15 and 30 and mostly from member states, have benefited directly from EYF-supported activities. In 2007 the EYF supported some 300 projects involving more than 15 000 young people.
Its purpose is to encourage co-operation among young people in Europe by providing financial support to such European youth activities which serve the promotion of peace, understanding and co-operation in a spirit of respect for the Council of Europe's fundamental values such as human rights, democracy, tolerance and solidarity.
ACTIVITIES WHICH CAN BE FINANCED BY THE EYF
A. International youth meetings (Category A)
B. Youth activities other than meetings (Category B)
C. Administration of international non-governmental youth organisations and networks (Category C)
- Category C bis
D. Pilot projects (Category D)
What is a Category D and a Category D-HRE?
Category D
A Category D is a pilot project that contributes to the following priority objectives of the Council of Europe youth policy (please refer to the priorities for the Council of Europe's youth sector in 2009 (pdf)):
* to help young people, in particular the disadvantaged, to find ways of meeting both the challenges facing them and their own aspirations;
* to encourage new forms of youth participation and organisation;
* to contribute to social cohesion, in particular by combating exclusion and by preventing phenomena specifically affecting young people;
* to adapt and open up programmes and structures to the changes in society.
Within this context, in order to qualify for financial support, pilot projects must meet the following conditions:
* be youth activities prepared, run and managed by a local, regional or national youth NGO and involving young people under 30 years of age;
* have a participatory approach, from the conception to the evaluation;
* have a European dimension, either by involving more than one country, and/or by taking into consideration the European context;
* be innovative activities in terms of methodology for the target group and/or organising body;
* contribute to youth participation;
* follow the basic non-formal educational principles of the Council of Europe youth sector's work, including intercultural learning and participatory approaches, and use the educational material and resources available.
Category D priorities for 2009
In addition, for pilot projects taking place in 2009, priority will be given to:
* projects presented by Georgian and/or Russian youth NGOs dealing with the peaceful transformation of conflicts, especially projects involving co-operation between the two countries;
* projects dealing with conflict prevention and resolution, notably in the Causasus region;
* projects promoting new constructive ways of participation for young people to make their voices heard;
* projects promoting the access of young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to social rights;
* projects dealing with the reintegration and inclusion of young offenders in society;
* projects on the prevention of violence, and especially gender-based violence, through youth work.
Category D-HRE
A Category D-HRE is a pilot project focusing specifically on Human Rights Education, as part of the Council of Europe's Youth Programme on Human Rights Education and Intercultural Dialogue (please refer to the priorities for the Council of Europe's youth sector in 2009 (pdf)).
In order to qualify for support, projects must:
* be directly related to human rights education with young people and human rights issues affecting young people;
* have a clear potential local impact while being open to European realities;
* be prepared, run and managed by a local association, institution or youth group acting directly with children, young people or a specific target group of the Youth Programme on Human Rights Education and Intercultural Dialogue;
* have a clear educational or awareness-raising function;
* concern primarily participants under 30 years of age;
* have a participatory approach, from the conception to the evaluation;
* integrate intercultural learning in its educational approach;
* have an innovative character (in terms of methodology, target groups addressed, etc.);
* be open to other partners and foresee using the educational resources developed through the programme (e.g. Compass http://www.coe.int/compass);
* respect the basic educational principles of the Council of Europe's youth sector.
Category D-HRE priorities for 2009
In addition, for pilot projects on Human Rights Education taking place in 2009, priority will be given to:
* projects developing local strategies and initiatives for intercultural approaches with young people in highly multicultural social environments, using a human rights approach;
* projects at local or regional level developing human rights education and training activities with and for young people, presented and run by participants having taken part in a European, national or regional training course on Human Rights Education with young people based on Compass, co-organised, supported or sponsored by the Council of Europe.
Synopses and reports on the pilot projects implemented in the framework of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme are available at: www.coe.int/hre.
Who can apply?
- An international non-governmental youth organisation or network
- A national or local non-governmental youth organisation or network
- Another type of non-governmental structure involved in youth work
What are the conditions?
The grant allocated by the EYF to selected projects in both categories cannot exceed 7,600 Euros.
When to apply?
There is no fixed deadline for the submission of Category D and Category D-HRE projects. However, the project application should reach the EYF Secretariat at least 3 months before the beginning of the activity.
Submitting an application
The grant application form must be filled out in full in English or French (the Council of Europe's working languages) online on the EYF web site. The information supplied should give a clear idea of the project's aims and content. If applicant organisations so wish, they may send additional documentation (see Attachments below), which will be used by the Secretariat and made available to the decision-making Committee when it meets to examine the application.
Below are some practical guidelines to help you complete the form.
(!) Attention! ALL fields marked in red are mandatory.
Organisation
When you log in and click on Category D or Category D-HRE / Application form, the number and name of your organisation will be filled in automatically.
Submission
These fields are filled in automatically.
Project description
Nature of the project
The nature of the activity for which EYF grant aid is sought (e.g. meeting, study, workshop, research, training, educational materials, information campaign).
Where will the project take place
Please indicate the town(s) and country(ies) where the project will take place.
Duration of the project
Please indicate the start and end dates of the project.
Number of working days
The total number of working days needed to carry out the project.
Working languages
State the different working languages, even if professional interpreters are not to be engaged. In the summary (below), indicate how the various languages will be used in a meeting (e.g. through simultaneous or consecutive interpretation, in plenary sessions and/or working groups).
Summary
Please list as clearly as possible the objectives of the project. In this respect, avoid objectives which are too general such as "to reflect upon the social problems of young people". Instead, prefer objectives such as "to identify and understand factors of social exclusion of young people". In any case, objectives must be specific, realistic and measurable.
Describe the main elements of the programme and the methodology/working methods. You should not make a detailed description of the programme but present in a concise manner the essential elements of the content of the project.
For pilot projects on Human Rights Education, please indicate what the innovative nature of the project will be, as well as to whom the project is addressed (target group) and the role of young people in the project. You are also asked to give details on what you expect to achieve with your project in relation to Human Rights Education, young peoples participation and autonomy, local impact, intercultural learning and networking at European level.
NOTE: This summary must not contain more than 500 words. You may attach an electronic file to the application with more information if necessary (see Attachments below). This summary will be examined by the committee responsible for taking decisions on the allocation of grants. It is therefore in your interest to make sure that the summary gives a clear and concise description of the project.
Purpose of the project in your organisation's short- and long-term programme (not applicable for pilot projects on Human Rights Education)
Here you should explain briefly why the activity is being held and how it fits in with the organisation's policy and activities, particularly in the long term. What is required is not further information about the aims of the activity, but indications on the organisation's strategy.
Preparation of the project
In this section of the form you should not only indicate how many preparatory meetings are planned and how they are to be documented, but also state clearly the countries of residence of the planning team members.
Follow-up to the project
Please indicate how the project will be followed up. If there are plans to produce a report, other than the official report which must be sent to the EYF, it is useful to state the languages in which it will be published.
Participants
EYF grant aid is intended for youth projects. Even if the participants in a meeting are youth leaders, at least 75% of them must be under the age of 30.
Indicate the number of participants from each Council of Europe member state, their age group(s) and countries of residence.
NOTE: Use the drop-down menu to choose a country, indicate the number of participants and press ADD. Repeat this process for each country.
Please also include a brief profile of the participants (indicating, for example, whether they are leaders of local youth projects, students etc) and the way in which they will be recruited.
If some participants come from non-member states of the Council of Europe or non-European countries, please state which countries.
Do not forget to indicate the total number of participants.
Leadership team
If the team running the event is the same as that already described in the section on "Preparation of the project", simply say so: there is no need to list the members a second time.
Type of lecturers/experts to be invited
If the names of guest speakers or experts are known, it is useful to list them. If not, you should at least indicate what type of speakers are to be invited and their field(s) of expertise.
Budget of the project
It should be noted that the EYF makes an overall grant in support of a project and that the applicant organisation is required to present a full, balanced draft budget, showing both anticipated income and expenditure. Bear in mind, too, that the Foundation cannot allocate a grant exceeding 7,600 Euros. The draft budget should be as detailed as possible (indicating all expenses and any grants expected from sources other than the EYF). Participants are encouraged to use the cheapest means of transport available.
NOTE: The following items cannot be covered by an EYF grant and should not be included in the budget:
* salaries
* purchase of equipment (e.g. cameras, computers)
* overhead costs (office running costs)
Other information
Is the applicant carrying out the activity in co-operation with other organisations?
This question is intended particularly for national (or local) youth organisations or networks, given that projects eligible for EYF support must be proposed and run on an international basis. If the application is submitted by a national (or local) organisation or network, it should include information about the other European partner organisations or networks involved, indicating their aims, structure, activities and addresses.
Priorities
If you are making several applications to the EYF or to the EYCs please indicate your priorities. This information will be useful if it is not possible to grant all the aid applied for.
Person responsible for this activity
As a rule, the process of considering an application for EYF grant aid and the administrative follow-up involved entails frequent contact between the recipient organisation and the EYF Secretariat. The person responsible for the activity and for contact with the EYF should therefore be identified clearly. This person will receive all future correspondence concerning the project by e-mail.
Attachment
You may send additional information with your application. Simply click on the BROWSE button and specify the file on your computer or network to be attached. Once the name of your file appears in the right field, click ATTACH. It is possible to attach up to 3 files.
Submitting your application
Once you have finished with the application form, the following options are available:
RESET Pressing this button will clear ALL your application form fields.
SAVE This option allows you to save your application form and come back to it at a later stage. You will find your application form by clicking on Project follow-up in the Follow-up section. Note: Your project will have the status "Draft" and has not been submitted. Click on the Edit button to modify the application before submitting it to the EYF.
PRINT Will print out your application form as it appears on the screen.
SUBMIT To submit your application form to the EYF.
Once you have submitted your application form, you will be able to follow its journey through the administrative process by clicking on the menu How to follow up your projects.
For more information: http://www.eyf.coe.int/fej/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/default