Skip to main content
European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR)
News article11 July 2018Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Brussels Hosts Event for Young Civil Society Leaders from the Eastern Partnership Countries

40 young civil society activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, met in Brussels on 2-3 July  to exchange experiences , learn about new opportunities of better contributing to reforms in their...

20180711_civil_society.jpg

40 young civil society activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, met in Brussels on 2-3 July to exchange experiences , learn about new opportunities of better contributing to reforms in their countries, and raise awareness of local civic activism as a major vehicle of needed changes in the life of their communities. The 40 young activists, who are part of the EU-funded Eastern Partnership Civil Society Fellowship Initiative, also had the opportunity to enter into dialogue with representatives of the European Commission.

From the side of the European Commission, Mr. Lawrence Meredith, Director for Neighbourhood East, DG Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), exchanged views with the civil society fellows on the challenges and opportunities faced by Eastern Partnership countries, as well as the role of civil society in changes taking place in the region.

In line with “20 Deliverables for 2020”, the EaP Civil Society Fellowship Initiative is built around annual calls for applications with new ideas of positive changes in community life and leadership skills development from qualified civil society activists in EaP partner countries. Each call concludes with the selection of the 20 best applications from EaP countries whose authors receive fellowships to bring their initial concepts to fruition. 40 Fellows were already selected in 2017-2018; the total number of fellows should double by the end of 2020.

Background information:

The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility – Regional Actions is an EU-funded Project working with the six EaP countries to promote the role of civil society actors in reforms taking place in their countries. The Project covers several components, including e-learning, development of digital solutions to improve the public sector’s transparency and accountability, and strengthening cooperation and networking among civil societies throughout the region. The Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by GDSI Limited (Ireland).

For more information about the Project please visit: www.eapcivilsociety.eu or www.facebook.com/EaPCivilSociety/

Details