The Central Europe Programme supports and empowers local actors in independent media and the civic sector in the region. Our goal is to safeguard democratic institutions and strengthen networks of active citizens defending democratic values.
We offer highly flexible grants tailored to the needs of our grantees. We plan to distribute approximately 4 million USD in grants between 2023 and 2026.
In the first year, we awarded 17 grants to independent media organization from Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, totaling 819 840 USD. Approximately the same amount will be distributed in 2024 as well, while the number of countries will expand to also include Bulgaria.
As new challenges to democracy continue to emerge across Central Europe, independent media and civil society are the cornerstones of democratic participation, rule of law, transparency, and pluralism. The Central Europe Programme supports actors defending and advancing these values.
We provide a combination of grants, coaching and networking and learning opportunities to independent media and civil society to boost their resiliency, capacity and impact.
WHAT WE OFFER
• Flexible grants for both core institutional support and programmatic activities
• On-demand, tailored expert support
• Opportunities for knowledge sharing and networking through conferences, workshops, and trainings
• Support to journalists, media and civic organizations under threat
• Support to policy reform initiatives
.webp)
Tarik has over two decades of experience in media development, international media assistance, media research and advocacy, strategic communication, and academia. Apart from his role as the Head of the Central Europe Programme at the Prague Civil Society Centre, Tarik also teaches several courses on issues related to media, democratization and social change, at the University of New York in Prague. He holds a Ph.D. degree from the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Vienna, Austria. Check his full CV here.
Director of Central Europe Programme, Head of Research and Learning
Read full bio
Dominika is an experienced human rights lawyer. She's previously worked at the European Court of Human Rights and has been the director of the Media Freedom Observatory at the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights since 2008. She has also served on the Advisory Panel of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and was a member of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Management Board for 5 years. For her contributions to freedom of speech, Dominika got an award of Article 54 of the Polish Constitution.
Senior Advisor at the Central Europe Programme
Read full bio
Nuša Muršič is one of the Programme Officers at the Central Europe Programme. Her academic background is in international relations and sociology, more specifically in gender studies. She previously worked in project management and research,particularly in the area of human rights and gender equality. She also launched and participated in many projects aimed at promoting human rights and equality outside of work and university, with one receiving an award from the Rector of the University of Ljubljana for Best Innovation.
Programme Officer
Read full bio
Tamás is a professional with a passion for social justice and environmentalism. His work has taken him all over Europe, where he has worked for various NGOs to support marginalized groups such as minorities, refugees, and migrants. In his most recent role at Minority Rights Group, he contributed to the support of civil society organizations collaborating with Roma communities in Central and Eastern Europe. Tamás has also been involved in EU-funded research projects on public diplomacy, social inclusion, gender equality as well as media and social media research at the Public Policy and Management Institute in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Programme Officer
Read full bio