Set to take place in the midst of a profound political and economic crisis, the 2014 European Parliament elections mark a watershed moment in the EU’s history. The election—the first since the financial and Eurozone crises—can be viewed as a referendum on the future of Europe as a united political space based on the shared values of human rights, democracy, and rule of law. Against this backdrop, the Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE) seeks to support projects that can amplify the voice of those calling for these values to be brought back to the core of the European project.

The main objectives for the call are to support initiatives around the 2014 elections in Europe, including those for the European Parliament as well as local and national elections: to amplify the voice and demands of constituencies that are far from the centers of power, including migrants, minorities, youth, and women; to counter xenophobic speech in the election campaigns and in the European Parliament; to mobilize EU citizens living in other EU countries to vote in their countries of residence.

OSIFE has defined five key priority countries for this call:

• France
• Greece
• Hungary
• Italy
• the Netherlands

Concept notes will be accepted in English or any of the local languages from one of these five priority countries. In addition, OSIFE will accept concept notes in English only for projects in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the UK.

Read more...