On the 29th of May the official launching of th1st Round of the Block Grant within the frame of the Swiss – Romanian Cooperation Programme took place in Bucharest. On behalf of the International Fund for Cooperation and Partnership of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea the members of the project team of the BSCSIF central office, Liliana Coman, Julia Akhunova and Luiza Popa participated in this important event.
The initiative is elaborated by the consortium formed by KEK-CDC Consultants, Civil Society Development Foundation and Romanian Environmental Partnership Foundation as the Swiss Intermediate Body for administrating the Thematic Fund for Civil Society Participation.
The ceremony started with the opening speech of the Ambassador of Switzerland to Romania, H.E. Jean –Hubert Lebet. The Swiss – Romanian Cooperation Programme was briefly presented by Elena Georgescu, Deputy General Director, Ministry of Finance and Thomas Stauffer, Head of the Swiss Contribution Office in Bucharest.
The Thematic Fund for Civil Society Participation above mentioned is part of the Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme, which consists of a non-refundable aid offered by the Swiss Federal Council to 12 European member states who joined between 2004 and 2007. This programme aims to contribute to the reduction of economic and social disparities between Romania and more advanced countries of the enlarged European Union. Also, the Programme aims to contribute within Romania, to the reduction of economic and social disparities between the dynamic urban centers and the structurally weak peripheral regions
The objective of the announced call for proposals is to strengthen Romanian NGOs and to enable their active participation in policy processes, as well as to promote the activities of NGOs primarily tackling environmental issues and providing of social services, and, in the meantime, strengthening their organizational capacities.