Project Partnerships through EEA and Norway Grants

The EEA and Norway Grants was founded in 1994 after the establishment of the EEA (European Economic Area) agreement. The grants which are a joint contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway aim to reduce social and economic disparities within the European Union.
 
Publisert: 5. Mai 2015, kl. 15:26 | Sist oppdatert: 10. nov 2017, kl. 09:19
The funding is targeted to areas where there are clear needs in the beneficiary countries and that are in line with national priorities and wider European goals. All programmes that receive funding adhere to standards relating to human rights, good governance, sustainable development and gender equality. Amnesty International Norway, in conjunction with the EEA grants, is a partner in three different projects being implemented by Amnesty International Poland, Amnesty International Czech Republic and Amnesty International Slovakia. Each of the different projects has a specific and targeted focus but all align with the requirements of the EEA and Norway Grants.

Amnesty Poland’s project title is “We can do it together: STOP DISCRIMINATION!” and the project has been running from September 2014 and will continue until April 2016. The main goal of this project is to raise awareness of discriminated groups within the Polish society and mobilise local communities to take action for local change. The project is managed by engaging youth on social media. Active participation among young people and their individual engagement are key components within the project activities. The different target groups of the project are school groups, activists, NGOs, media, discriminated groups and the broader community. The project is being carried out throughout the whole country. Taking action is an extremely important part of the activities and they are planning to conduct 80 school projects against discrimination in local communities. In order to achieve this, educational material with workshop scenarios for teachers and educators have been produced, as well as infographics and posters to support the work via social media.

In Czech Republic, our organisation is a partner in the project „The Amnesty International Human Libraries – With Openness Through Reading“ supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants (www.eeagrants.org). The project has been running from August 2014 and will continue until April 2016. The project aims to sensitise and confront attitudes of pupils and students, from primary school level all the way through to University, towards people who are frequent targets of discrimination or prejudice. ‘Human Libraries’ are organised on different project days where students borrow real people (instead of books) and have an interview session in small groups with the human book - who are representatives of the groups to which stereotypes exist in Czech society (e.g. Roma, LGBT people, Muslims, refugees, homeless people etc.). Amnesty Czech Republic also organises human rights seminars for teachers focusing not only on topics of discrimination and racism in curricula, but also on the uneasy issues such as how to react to xenophobic, discriminatory and extremist expressions and behaviours from students and their colleagues in schools. Volunteer lecturers and the human books are trained for their roles in schools to ensure they deliver the expected results.

In Slovakia, the project title is My World – My Rights and it will run from 15th September 2015 and continue until 31st January 2016 The project aims to provide youth with the skills and competences necessary for creating attitudes towards minorities that understand, support and protect human rights. During the project, lecturers will develop a long-lasting relationship with a class based on regular meetings (four times per semester). The topics of the workshops will be chosen by the students and it will empower them to organise their own activities and events to protect human rights as a result.