The project “Protecting democracy, human rights and the rule of law through an open civic space” (PLATO) aims to protect, promote and raise awareness of EU fundamental rights & values by supporting Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Greece & Cyprus and by increasing their capacity and sustainability.
PLATO is co-funded by the European Union through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, Bodossaki Foundation and NGO Support Centre, with a total grant amount of €3.1 million.
PLATO is coordinated by Bodossaki Foundation (Greece) in partnership with the NGO Support Centre (Cyprus).
During the 36 months of the project’s implementation, running from January 2025 to January 2028, PLATO will launch 2 open calls for funding, making available approximately 2.2 million in grants to civil society and seeking to fund 40 projects in Greece and 10 in Cyprus.
Call 1 aims to provide financial support to organisations to implement activities that empower civil society to promote the rule of law, participatory democracy, good governance, open civic space, and media freedom. Call 2 focuses on supporting activities that empower vulnerable groups to protect and promote human rights, democracy and equality. As part of the project, CSOs will implement various activities, including awareness-raising, training and capacity-building, advocacy, research, and mutual learning and exchange activities with other EU member states.
PLATO will also provide a comprehensive capacity building programme, tailored to the needs of CSOs in Greece and Cyprus, to promote their organisational development and sustainability. The programme includes specialized awareness-raising activities to strengthen the role of Civil Society in promoting the rule of law, a series of organizational development trainings, thematic trainings on EU values and the rule of law, professional support services (team mentoring, coaching, and consulting), as well as networking opportunities.
Read more about the project, funding opportunities and the capacity building programme on the PLATO webpage.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
