Prishtina, 15 September 2022

Fifteen organizations from all over Kosovo signed contracts today as beneficiaries of new grants from the Kosovo Foundation for Civil Society (KCSF), within the EJA Kosovo program.

While eight of them benefited from grants for organizational development in the second cycle of this unique instrument in Kosovo, seven other organizations benefited from grants for medium projects.

The total value of the grants signed today exceeds 500,000 Euro and is dedicated to different areas, such as education, justice, civic engagement, local government, social inclusion of persons with disabilities as well as art and culture.

During the contract signing ceremony, the KCSF Executive Director, Taulant Hoxha, emphasized the importance of such grants. “The big EJA Kosovo program family is being joined today by 15 new partner organizations, and through them thousands of Kosovo citizens who will have many spaces and activities to engage in issues of their interest, in neighbourhoods, villages and cities all over Kosovo”, said Hoxha. Approaching the number of around 80 organizations and initiatives supported through this program during the last two years, Hoxha expressed his extraordinary gratitude to the governments of Switzerland, Sweden and Luxembourg for continuing to help the development of active citizenship in Kosovo, as a basic condition for the development of society and our state.

The beneficiary organizations of the grant for organizational development operate in different areas: Down Syndrome Kosovo is an institution enabling the most meaningful inclusion in society of people with down syndrome; Committee of Blind Women of Kosovo is an community-based organization engaged in supporting the blind women; Center for Information, Critique and Action – QIKA works to increase collective and institutional awareness on gender equality and feminism; Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture – ACDC is committed to the affirmation of human rights, rule of law and democracy; Organization for Children WITHOUT Parental Care – OFAP provides support for children without parental care; Center for Affirmative Social Actions – CASA is a civil society initiative for building capacities of representatives of the Serbian community in Kosovo; Duart plotë mëshirë – DPM as an entity helps people in need, the elderly and poor children; Organization for Democracy, Anti-Corruption, Dignity – ÇOHU, an institution that has been working for two decades in the rule of law and anti-corruption area.

Whereas, the beneficiary organizations of the grant for medium projects are: EdGuard, an institute operating in the area of education; Network of Peace Movement – NOPM is an organization operating in greater public engagement in matters of importance at the local level; Debate Center as a center operating to increase debating skills among young people; Foundation 17 working for the inclusion of all citizens in the community through culture and art; Association of people with disabilities – Handikos Ferizaj is an association assisting in the well-being of people with disabilities, INJECT is an organization working for the empowerment of women and their legal protection, and Aktiv, an organization working for the inclusion of the Serbian community in social and political processes.

As to grants for organizational development, they last approximately one year and include activities aiding the internal development of organizations that have demonstrated clear ideas of their strategic direction and are supported by a maximum amount of up to 15 thousand Euro per grant.

On the other hand, grants for medium-sized projects receive a maximum amount of 40,000 Euro per grant, with a maximum duration of up to 18 months during which the organizations will work on special topics that require systematic and focused treatment.

Unlike 2020 when the first grants of this program started, EJA Kosovo has distributed grants in the amount of about 2 million Euro.

EJA Kosovo is a KCSF program co-funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Sweden and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.