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Fellowship Programme

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Semi-automated System for Gathering Deficiencies in Police Investigations of Attacks on Civil Society

Maksym’s action aimed at defining the most problematic stages of police actions during the investigation of crimes against civil society in Ukraine, creating a tool gathering deficiencies in police investigations, and teaching activists how to deal with/respond to police inaction. To achieve the above objectives, Maksym established cooperation with the leading national human rights organization – Center for Civil Liberties and started data collection from the Ukrainian civil society activists, human rights defenders, and journalist persecuted for their professional activities between 2017-2019 and whose cases were either not investigated or not adequately investigated by the police. In the second stage of the project, Maksym engaged the legal experts and IT engineers to create a Telegram chatbot FightBack combining the function of a legal self-help instrument and a practical guide for those who face an attack or police inaction. Finally, the project team organized the online presentation of the bot at the premises of the Ukraine Crisis Media Center attended by the civil society representatives, lawyers, journalists, and other stakeholders.

The project raised the issue of police inaction and the necessity of reforming the law enforcement system in Ukraine. Applying the data from the first-hand sources, it delivered a bilingual publication on the deficiencies and malpractices of police investigations; the research document has been distributed among the authorities and will be used for future advocacy campaigns in Ukraine. Most importantly, the project team created a FightBack chatbot to raise awareness of the potential victims, i.e teaching them how to preserve evidence, or fill the complaints. Last but not least, the action has facilitated contacts between activists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and journalists from different regions of Ukraine that will accelerate the implementation of future nationwide human rights projects.

Telegram chatbot FightBack is accessible here.

Report “Shortcomings in the law enforcement system of Ukraine exemplified by the investigation of attacks on civil activists”

Report in Ukrainian: “Недоліки правоохоронної системи України на прикладі розслідування нападів на громадських активістів”

Project in media:

Presentation of the Chatbot in English 

Presentation of the Chatbot in Ukrainian

Country Ukraine
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Enhanced Engagement of Civil Society in Monitoring of Implementation of the UN CEDAW in Ukraine

Leila’s action aimed to enhance the engagement of civil society in monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UN CEDAW) and recommendations of the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). To ensure the holistic approach to the CSO involvement in CEDAW implementation, the project covered the following aspects: Alternative reporting and individual complaints procedures (elaboration on the joint alternative report to CEDAW in collaboration with the UN Women and the NGO Monitoring Group) & educational and community outreach activities. To deliver high-quality online training on gender and human rights, Leila engaged international experts and field-professionals. Also, to inform the larger audience about the application procedure and criteria of the individual complaints to the UN Women’s Rights Committee, she developed a short educational video in Ukrainian and disseminated it throughout the country. 

The project delivered 6 webinars and raised awareness and advocacy capacity of more than 130 non-governmental representatives from Ukraine, Eastern Partnership and other Eastern European and Central Asian Countries on Women’s Rights and UN CEDAW. Also, the action engaged civil society activists and international experts from Denmark, Romania, Moldova, Russia and Kyrgyzstan contributing to the development of the recommendations. In the long term, the project beneficiaries are equipped with the necessary skills to strengthen their advocacy for women’s rights by applying the UN human rights instruments, more precisely the UN CEDAW Optional Protocol. The project delivered the Joint Alternative Report to CEDAW, educational video and informational package that serves as the instrument and direction for better protection of women who are victims of gender-based discrimination.

Video on how to apply with individual complaints to UN CEDAW  (in Ukrainian – “Як звернутися в Комітет CEDAW”):

Country Ukraine
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Gender Mainstreaming in Public Security Service in Ivano-Frankivsk

Uliana’s action aimed to encourage gender mainstreaming in public security services in Ivano-Frankivsk city through monitoring and evaluation of public spaces in the city. To achieve the above objective, Uliana conducted a wide range of activities, including research, awareness-raising training, development of the online platform and community outreach. First, she developed the monitoring methodology to evaluate the safety of the public spaces. Then, Uliana researched the public places of Ivano-Frankivsk and prepared recommendations for the local authorities. Following this, she launched the development of a new web-section for the online map – Safe City to detect dangerous spaces/zones in Ivano-Frankivsk. To reach a larger audience of the city and educate them, the project team organized two online trainings on public safety. Finally, to disseminate the research findings broadly and creatively, they created a short animated video attracting the attention of hundreds of viewers on social media. 

The project delivered the monitoring methodology and evaluation report on safety of Ivano-Frankivsk public spaces from a gender perspective; the research applied a participatory approach and informed the decision-makers about the issue through the list of recommendations. Also, the online map – Safe City developed within the action increased visibility of dangerous/safe public places, since any visitor is able to mark any place of the city. Therefore, two training reached 102 applicants and engaged 39 participants; the trainers – Natalia Tarasenko and Olena Ostapchuk discussed gender-sensitive urban planning and shared the case studies of the successful and unsuccessful solutions for public spaces, schools, kindergartens, youth clubs, parking lots, etc; they also covered the topic of safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of that, the public presentation and animated video summarizing the research deliverables raised awareness of the 8k stakeholders through Facebook, YouTube and other social media channels. 

Monitoring Methodology to Evaluate the Safety of the Public Spaces (in Ukrainian):

Report of the Evaluation Results (in Ukrainian):

Project in media:

Як і навіщо робити громадські простори ґендерно безпечними?, Interview with Uliana Sydor in Hmarochos Media.

Country Ukraine
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Foster to Create new possibilities for better E-participation in Georgia

Enjoying the variety of e-participation tools in Georgia, the project aimed to research the popularity of those instruments among the general public. To achieve the above objective, Tea studied citizen’s experience during their e-participation interactions. The research covered almost all electronic websites, including ichange.gov.ge (Governmental portal on e-petitions), myparliament.ge (“Give an Idea to the Parliament” project allowing the citizens to suggest proposals), declaration.gov.ge (Online system of the Civil Service Bureau of Georgia), manifest.ge (National e-petition portal funded by the Open Society Georgia Foundation), idea.tbilisi.gov.ge (Website of the Tbilisi City Hall enabling the residents to submit their ideas to the local authorities), mkhileba.gov.ge (national platform to disclose the violation of the Georgian Legislation or the Code of Ethics) and budgetmonitoring.ge (Budget monitoring website developed by Georgia’s State Audit Office. The research was followed by interactive discussions, in-debt interviews and awareness-raising campaigns in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi. 

The action delivered a research document analyzing the barriers and challenges faced by the citizens during the e-participation process. Also, the project developed and disseminated a list of recommendations/digital solutions to the governmental and non-governmental stakeholders; the guidelines serve as a framework to develop the technical and contextual sides of the web-portals, improve the multimedia interface and make them more user-friendly. Besides, the interactive workshops, in-depth interviews and campaigns in the biggest Georgian cities of Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi raised awareness of the young people in digital tools that can be applied to enhance the e-democracy level in Georgia. 

Country Georgia
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Research for Advocacy for Higher Quality of Care in Maternal and Newborn Health Services in Armenia

This Fellowship research project aimed to study the experience of pregnant women in maternal health care centers of Armenia and advance the implementation of an integrated person-centered model of obstetric care in the country. As a component of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this initiative can be exemplified by the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent’s Health 2016–2030 which has expanded the focus of its objectives to cover not merely the survival but also thriving of women and children so that they can achieve their full potential for health and well-being, and contribute to the transformative change envisioned in the SDGs. To promote higher quality obstetric services, Suren conducted research and pursued advocacy campaigns with his team. First, the gaps, inconsistencies, and violation of patients’ rights in the local hospitals were examined and the extent of person-centered maternity care during facility-based childbirth was assessed; then he prepared the summary of specific recommendations for the Ministry of Health and relevant organizations in the sector. Following this, Suren launched an advocacy campaign, trained the administration and staff members in all 12 maternity hospitals along with the validation of suggested recommendations, and disseminated research findings to the wider audience.  

The project produced a research paper analyzing the data collected from 729 patients of all 12 health facilities of Yerevan delivering maternal care services. The project also facilitated high-level discussions on the challenges and solutions of advancing the integrated person-centered model of obstetric care in Armenia. As an advocacy campaign, Suren conducted 14 workshops in the sector organizations and the Ministry of Health, allowing him to raise the awareness of over 150 obstetric care providers, policy-makers, and health care planners in the field. The action overall promoted person-centered maternity care as a quality attribute of obstetric care delivery and suggested expertise-based recommendations to the relevant entities to advance the health, wellbeing, and human rights of women and children in the country.

Country Armenia
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Іnvolving Young People to Physical Culture and Sports in Small Cities of Ukraine

All-Ukrainian project: Involvement of Youth in Physical Culture and Sports in Small Cities of Ukraine aimed to analyze the general conditions in Sports in different cities, conduct collaborative roundtable/training among Physical Culture and Sport functionaries and engage the central authority – Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Ukraine in discourse. The project was implemented in three phases. First, Vladislav selected 5 Ukrainian cities of Vatutine, Korsun-Shevchenkivsky, Bakhmach, Slavutich, Kozyatyn and interviewed the relevant stakeholders, including the coaches, heads of sports organizations, local deputies, etc. Following this, Vladislav organized roundtables and training for the local youth, authorities and sports organizations to exchange ideas and analyze the conflicting issues; the discussions resulted in constructive proposals for industry reforms. Finally, the action disseminated the acquired information and project deliverables to the larger audiences through the social media page, comprising diverse photo/video materials and publications.  

The action delivered a comprehensive analysis on the status of the Physical Culture and Sport sphere in 5 Ukrainian cities and facilitated collaboration between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and active functionaries from the target municipalities. Also, the project created a communication platform for Sports and Physical Education Professionals and fostered a constructive dialogue between the Sports teachers, local authorities and private sports organizations To showcase the results in numbers, Vladislav conducted 20 individual interviews, organized 5 roundtables in each city, attended by more than 100 stakeholders; the proposals developed at those meetings were sent to the relevant official bodies and added to the Sports Reform Concept by 2020-2028.  On top of that, the Facebook page @sportinsmallcities raised awareness of the large audience through the final video and more than 50 photo/video publications. 

Country Ukraine
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Strengthening the CSOs’ and Young Leaders’ Fundraising Capacities & Promote the Culture of Philanthropy in Armenia

The action aimed to strengthen the CSOs’ and Young Leaders’ fundraising capacities and promote the culture of philanthropy in Armenia. To achieve the above objective, Anna conducted the fundraising capacity needs assessment survey for the 54 organizations in Yerevan and Tavush region. Then, she designed the training module and delivered interactive seminars for the young civil society activists from the Yerevan and Tavush regions. Following this, to build international cooperation and extend her networks worldwide, Anna organized business trips to the leading fundraising/international organizations in the Netherlands and the UK. During her visit to the Netherlands, she met the representatives from the European Fundraising Association, Goede Doelen Nederland/Charity Netherlands, Netherlands Red Cross and Han Valk Consulting. On the other hand, to familiarize herself with the British fundraising market, she visited the Institute of Fundraising (IoF), Fundraising Regulator, Astarita, Aldrich & Ward (AAW), Resource Alliance and attended a Fundraiser’s Club Event at Impact Hub King’s Cross in London. At the final stage of the fellowship action, Anna organized a panel discussion on “Fundraising in Armenia: Current Challenges and Opportunities” engaging the local experts, CSO representatives, media and other stakeholders.

The project raised awareness of 64 civil society activists in fundraising with a specific focus on digital fundraising tools, proposal writing, mentorship, project design and crowdfunding. Also, the action formed a community of fundraisers and hosted the official networking event involving 83 participants from 70 organizations. The panel discussion served as a platform to build dialogue among the fundraisers and encourage new partnerships. For example, the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Armenia made 5 successful partnership agreements with the international organizations to engage in cross-country collaborative initiatives․ The international business trips in Amsterdam and London gave Anna an immense opportunity to enhance her qualification and contacts in a global environment.

Country Armenia
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Laying the first bricks for the Zaharia Foundation for Documentary Photography Research

This action was a follow-up initiative of the creative project: Zaharia’s World: Restoration and Digitalization of the Zaharia Cusnir Photography Archive previously implemented by Nadejda Cervinscaia, EaP Fellow 2017. To promote the heritage of Zaharia Cusnir – the Moldovan photographer and film-maker, Victor formally established a non-profit organization –  Pod to proceed with the further projects linked to Zaharia’s creative materials.  Also, the action aimed to digitalize the full photo archive and launched it from the very early stage. Following this, Victor created a website and professional social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) to present the digitized photographs. Even two years after the project, the Archives are still in the spotlight and attract world-renowned magazines and media.

The action raised the visibility of the Moldovan non-material heritage from the ’50s-’60s and produced 3,751 high-quality digitized negative photos from Zaharia Cusnir’s archive. Additionally, Victor established a Non-governmental organization – Pod; the organization revives Zaharia’s World as it has already delivered a documentary film about the photographer. Other tangible deliverables of the project are the website www.zaharia.md and the social media pages, including Facebook hitting 2,000 likes in 6 months after it was first launched. The website and social media channels enable the local and international public to return to history and enjoy the Moldovan ethnocultural identity. Through the restoration, digitalization and dissemination of the archive, both projects provided access to knowledge and cultural heritage of Soviet Moldova which has never been disclosed before.

Country Moldova
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Lusashogh With Medical Clinic and Public Transport

The action is aimed to resolve two issues faced by the Lusashogh rural community: A lack of public transportation and poor medical services. To address the above challenges, Narine conducted public surveys among the locals and organized meetings with the authorities of the Ararat Regional Municipality and the Vedi BUAT road serving company. Following this, she held additional two meetings at the Ministry of Territorial Administration of Armenia and engaged relevant high-level officials, including the Prime Minister of Armenia, the Minister of Territorial Administration, the Head of Ararat Regional Municipality, the Head of Lusashogh Municipality. Then, Narine renovated the old medical clinic and recruited specialists to deliver training on positive parenting, first medical assistance and teeth cleaning for the local people; the training raised the interest among young parents, their children and even the grandparents who actively attended the workshops.

The action facilitated dialogue among the Ararat municipality authorities, the private company and the local residents resulting in the extension of the bus line from the city to the Lusashogh village. The latter eased communication and mobility of the people from 3 local villages to the regional city. Thus, the project delivered the renovated local medical center providing access to the emergency and other medical services for the Lusashogh and other neighboring settlements. On top of that, the courses on positive parenting, emergency assistance and teeth cleaning enhanced awareness of the young parents and saw a high participation from the local community.

Country Armenia
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Voting is not only our right, it is our power!

The action aimed to encourage the first-time voters (18 years old) from Moldova to vote at the Presidential Elections (October-November 2020) through the national advocacy campaign: Voting Is not only our right but also, Our Power! To enhance the young people’s political knowledge about the electoral process and transform their general anti-system attitude into constructive criticism, Ludmila conducted research, educational, community outreach and large-scale communication campaigns. To identify key messages, Ludmila conducted desk research and drafted a policy brief on youth voter participation in the Republic of Moldova. Following this, she developed educational videos and the e-learning course: Learn Elections with the Online Election Courses explaining the specifics of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local elections. Then, Ludmila launched a social media campaign: My First Vote and encouraged electoral participation through the Facebook and Instagram platforms.  In the last stage of the project, she engaged the members of the National Network for Legal Education comprised of the Judges, Prosecutors, Lawyers, Anti-Corruption Officers and Civil Society Leaders to create the concept of the Democracy Classes containing 8 thematic webinars on the political engagement targeted on the high school students aged 17-18.

The Action produced a policy brief: Why You Should Vote along with 10 visual designs, promoting electoral participation among the young people in Moldova. Through the e-learning course and its 5 educational videos, the project engaged 200 users and raised their awareness of the national electoral systems. Also, the extensive advocacy campaign: My First Vote generated 32 Facebook/Instagram posts reaching and encouraging more than 76,000 young people to vote. On top of that, the Democracy Classes involved the field experts and educated 277 participants via the 5 live streams on the CIPM Facebook page. 

Online Course: Learn Elections with the Online Election Courses

Atributiile presedintelui / Duties of the President:

7 motive pentru care sa votezi / 7 reasons to vote:

Publication “My first vote”

Country Moldova
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