The purpose of this initiative is to support young people from Ukraine affected by the war through civil society and youth work interventions, within the framework of the Council of Europe’s values of human rights, democracy and rule of law.

For the European Youth Foundation, an ‘international activity’ is an international meeting of young people or youth leaders in Europe which contribute to the work of the Council of Europe’s youth sector in addressing priority themes in a spirit of European youth cooperation. International activity projects may include events such as training courses, seminars, camps, conferences, networking and partnership building meetings. This is not an exhaustive list.

For this special call, project applications will be assessed based on the EYF criteria for international activity projects.  A successful project will:

  • be in line with the values of the Council of Europe and its priorities in the field of youth.
  • be a gathering of young people or youth leaders that involves directly young people from Ukraine or international multipliers working directly with young people from Ukraine.
  • be a project that includes a one-off youth gathering, preferably with some follow up actions, and that will have direct impact on young people from Ukraine affected in their daily life by the war, and which will support them to access their rights and navigate multiple challenges faced.
  • be attended, in balanced numbers, by participants coming from at least 7 Council of Europe's member states or signatory states of the European Cultural Convention. Attendance and involvement of representatives of youth organisations from Ukraine is essential.  
  • respond to the needs of young people, and participants are at the centre of the activity, with non-formal educational approaches included. In this case, the needs and rights of young people from Ukraine should be clearly highlighted in the application.
  • have a core project team where people of at least 4 nationalities are represented (this includes the trainers, facilitators, project coordinator, etc.). Involvement of people from Ukraine in the core project team is particularly encouraged.
  • have at least 75 % of participants under 30 years old.
  • follow the basic principles of youth work, in particular the promotion of intercultural dialogue and understanding, and the promotion and protection of human rights and democracy.
  • have in place measures to ensure gender equality and inclusive practices both in the planning and running of the international activity.

Projects must start at least 6 weeks after the submission date.

When applying, the organisation must indicate the full project duration, including any preparatory, follow-up and evaluation activities. Please note that the full project duration is the period within which the project costs incur.

Projects that support the war effort are not eligible for this special call. The EYF grant cannot not be used for purchasing and/or promoting goods or services for humanitarian and/or military-related actions.

Financial conditions

The maximum grant allocated is €25 000.The EYF will cover up to two-thirds of the total real costs of the activity. Youth NGOs need to find additional resources to cover the remaining one-third of the total cost.

The EYF grant can cover real project costs such as accommodation and meals, travel costs, fees for trainers or other experts, interpretation, translation, rental of equipment, rental of venues, communication. The project can also include up to 7% administrative costs of the grant awarded for office rent, electricity, water and heating, and insurance, and up to 10% for staff costs for project coordination. 

The EYF grant is transferred in two instalments: a first instalment of 80% after the signature of the grant agreement with the successful grantee organisation; a second transfer of the balance (20%) upon receipt and approval by the EYF of the final project reports (narrative and financial) due within 2 months following the project end date.

Co-financing is required to cover at least 1/3 of the project budget

The budget can include volunteer time recognition as co-funding, up to 15% of the total budget.

The narrative report of the project needs to be filled in online in the EYF granting system. The financial report must be sent to the EYF in paper copies or on a USB stick. For NGO grantees based in Ukraine, the financial report may also be submitted electronically to the EYF.

Who can apply

Youth organisations can submit applications only if they are registered with the EYF.

International activity grants are accessible to youth organisations registered with the EYF as:

The instructions and criteria for registration can be found here. The registration of new organisations based in Ukraine will be processed by the EYF within maximum 1 week upon receipt of the NGO’s relevant information.

How to apply

Applications can be submitted at any time, with no deadline until the call funds are exhausted.  Applications must be submitted via the EYF online system in English or French. Please note that the title of the applications should include the text: “Special Call for Ukraine”.

Timeline

The typical timeline for the application process is:

  • If not registered with the EYF, count at least one/two weeks for the registration process once you submit the needed information on your organisation (questionnaire to answer to, plus original statute of the organisation, short translation to English or French of the statute, and short description of recent activities).
  • From the moment you submit your project application, expect 6 weeks before receiving the results related to whether the project is approved or not.
  • Once approved, you will receive a grant agreement to sign and return to the EYF by email. From the moment the EYF receives the signed grant agreement, expect up to 4 weeks until you receive the first grant instalment.
  • After the project is finished, you have up to 2 months to submit to the EYF a narrative report through the EYF online system and the financial report by post. Youth NGOs based in Ukraine will be allowed exceptionally to sign and submit the financial report electronically. Upon receipt of a complete report file, expect up to one month to receive the remaining instalment of the grant.

Contact

If you have any further questions regarding the “Special Call for Ukraine” you can contact the EYF secretariat, via email, [email protected], in English or French.

In case of need, you may also contact [email protected], in Ukrainian.