Within the SMART Balkans project, which is implemented in six Western Balkans countries by the Centar za promociju civilnog društva (CPCD) from Bosnia and Herzegovina in partnership with the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) from Albania and the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) from North Macedonia, with the financial support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, agreements were signed with nine civil society organizations, media and creative groups from Montenegro, selected and rewarded as part of another public call for grants.
The signing ceremony, along with which guidelines for project management were presented, was held at Hotel Cue Podgorica, and in a festive atmosphere, the newly selected Cooperating partners were joined by previous winners of Regional and Core grants from Montenegro with the aim of networking and exchanging experiences. The public call received a total of 670 applications from six countries, of which 30 applications were from local organizations, media and creative groups from Montenegro, of which nine were selected and supported with a total amount of 84,579.3
Recipients of Local Initiative grants:
- Mreža za otvoreni dijalog – Open dialogue network;
- Biciklo.me;
- Center for Climate Change, Natural Resources & Energy;
- Foundation Institute for Social Innovations;
- Centre for Security, Sociological and Criminological Research of Montenegro ‘’Defendologija’’.
Recipients of Creative Box grants:
- NVO TNT;
- NGO Parents
Recipients of Media grants:
- Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro;
- NVO Kompas – Centar za informisanje i savjetovanje mladih
Grants for Local Initiatives are a mechanism for financing local projects related to the main themes of the project – security and stability and governance, media grants are intended for legal entities, civil society organizations or private media companies for the creation of media content and/or media sensitization in relation to the main themes of the project, while Creative Box grants are intended for legal entities (associations or foundations) and informal groups that, through various creative products, disseminate the project’s key messages to citizens, also within thematic areas.
By the end of April 2023, agreement-signing ceremonies with cooperating partners for Local initiatives, Creative box and Media grants will be held in the five remaining countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.
