CALL FOR ACTION : cultural heritage in southern Mediterranean countries

Call for Action: Youth driving cultural heritage safeguarding and promotion in southern Mediterranean countries

Deadline for application: 10 June 2018

I – Context

The regional flagship Networks of Mediterranean Youth Project – NET-MED Youth (2014-2018) stems from a strategic UNESCO/EU partnership for the Southern Mediterranean region. It aims at improving the access and effective participation of young women and men in designing national youth strategies and policies including by: (i) building the capacities of and enhancing networking among youth organizations, (ii) increasing their effective interaction with the media and their use of ICT-enabled platforms, (iii) developing their skills and facilitating transition towards the labour market. So far, the Project has initiated 7 pro-active youth networks reaching out to over 4.000 young women and men, advanced the participatory formulation of national youth policies and strategic local plans in 7 countries, developed a large body of knowledge and resources on youth needs, aspirations, representation in media and employment.

In line with UNSCR 2250 and as part of UNESCO’s and the EU’s commitment to engaging youth and regional institutions in protecting and safeguarding their tangible and intangible cultural heritage and promoting cultural diversity as a vital element of preventing prevent violent extremism, the NET-MED Youth Project launches a Call for Action targeting youth civil society organizations from southern Mediterranean countries. This new initiative will build on the regional conference “Cultural Heritage and Identity: An Arab youth perspective”, held in Tunisia, in March 2017, during which participants discussed endangered cultural heritage in the region, highlighting themes of peace building, dialogue and cohesion. Participants formulated 10 operational recommendations as well as pilot initiatives focusing on youth involvement in the context of rising threats, leveraging cultural heritage as a resource for youth entrepreneurship and development. Finally, this initiative will also build on the dynamics of UNESCO’s international #Unite4Heritage campaign, which involved several NET-MED Youth networks from the Mediterranean region.

II – Objectives

The selected actions should advance youth’s effective participation in the protection and safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, as well as the promotion of cultural diversity, as a pillar of the fundamental right of freedom of expression and as a vehicle to prevent violent extremism and bolster peace and cohesion in the region. More specifically, the Actions should target one of the four priority areas below:

• Nurture and support advocacy actions towards inclusive cultural heritage policies and strategies, focusing on the participation of youth to cultural heritage protection at the community, national, and regional levels.
• Equip selected youth networks/alliances/groups with the relevant knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to increase their collective resilience, influence and regional outreach in the fields of protection and promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and safeguarding of intangible/tangible cultural heritage.
• Capitalize on existing capacity-building tools and expertise in the field of culture to enhance the pro-active participation of youth in the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage through communications, awareness-raising and advocacy efforts, as well as through knowledge transfer and online mobilization
• Strengthen associations, networks and alliances for young creative entrepreneurs, and mobilize youth and youth organizations for the promotion of artistic freedom as a fundamental prerequisite of democracy and an essential element for the wellbeing of societies.

III – Eligibility criteria

• Criteria 01: Be a civil society organization with prior experience in working with youth groups and communities in one, at least, of the European Neighborhood South countries[1].
• Criteria 02: Show a track record in the fields of cultural heritage protection and promotion (intangible or tangible) at the community/national/regional level.
• Criteria 03: Involve, as much as possible, relevant actors from both southern and northern Mediterranean countries (artists, policy makers, bloggers, media, culture professionals, youth networks or any other relevant stakeholder), with a view to leveraging alliances.
• Criteria 04: Demonstrate that the proposed action will be youth-led, sustainable, innovative, relevant and evidence-based at the municipal, national or sub-regional level, building on the recommendations of the UNESCO Carthage Conference.[2]
• Criteria 05: Submit a communication and visibility plan for the proposed action.

IV – UNESCO’s support

Each selected action will benefit from the support of the NET-MED Youth Project - up to 15,000 USD per proposal. It is expected that two projects will be selected. The selected applicant organization should contribute to the proposed budget with a minimum of 10% co-financing (in-kind, human resources, communication costs, etc.).

The selected projects will benefit from technical support and visibility offered by UNESCO relevant Field Offices and HQ.

V – Timeline and application process

The selected actions should be implemented between July and September 2018.

The application file should include:

• A concept note (context, relevance, objectives, justification on how the action fulfills the eligibility criteria, beneficiaries, innovative dimension and implementation procedures of the proposed action) shall be submitted in English or French
• A budget breakdown detailing the foreseen co-financing by the applicant
• Cover letter and CV of the head of the organization and/or focal point for the action
• A copy of the legal status of the NGO
• Short overview of the NGO’s mandate and 2 reports of prior interventions
• A communication and visibility plan for the proposed action
• The files are to be sent by email to netmedyouth@unesco.org before 10 June 2018 COB.

Selected participants will be notified by 14 June 2018.

For further information, please contact the NET-MED Youth Coordination Team at: netmedyouth@unesco.org

To learn more about the NET-MED Youth Project, visit our website (www.netmedyouth.org) and join our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/netmedyouth/).

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/fr/med_esms.htm

[2] http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/how_young_people_rebuild_arab_cultural_heritage_and_identity/