Under the PLATO (Protecting democracy, human rights and the rule of law through an open civic space), co-funded by the EU through the Citizens, Equality, Rights, and Values (CERV) programme, and by the Bodossaki Foundation (Greece) and NGO Support Centre (Cyprus), the “Call 1: Empower civil society to promote the rule of law, participative democracy, and good governance, and to defend civic space and media freedom”, has opened for the submission of proposals.

Specifically, the 1st Open Call focuses on the following 3 key priorities/outcomes:

• Promotion of the rule of law
  Civil society has an important role to play in contributing to the checks and balances that uphold the rule of law. Projects under this priority will support CSOs in promoting the rule of law, advocating judicial independence, tackling corruption, and increasing public awareness of the importance of a fair legal system. Initiatives may include legal monitoring, strategic litigation, and policy advocacy to enhance institutional accountability and transparency.
• Promotion of participatory and deliberative democracy and good governance
  Ensuring inclusive and participatory governance is vital for a healthy democracy. Projects under this priority will promote dialogue between civil society and authorities and the involvement of civil society in decision-making, to contribute to inclusive, participatory and deliberative democratic and policy-making processes, transparency and good governance.
  • Promotion of an open civic space, media freedom and media pluralism
  An open civil space that supports an enabling environment for civil society actors and media freedom are both essential to protect EU rights and values. Under this priority, CSOs will be supported to implement projects aimed at promoting the civic space for civil society actors to operate, and/or to safeguard media pluralism and media freedom.

Each organisation can submit only 1 application for only 1 out of the 2 calls, choosing 1 out of the 3 priority areas, either as a lead applicant or as a partner (in the case of large grants). Comprehensive details on the application process can be found in the ‘Application Guidelines.’ (also can be download from the open call project website).

All project activities must take place in Greece for applications from Greece and in the Republic of Cyprus for applications from the Republic of Cyprus, with the exception of activities that support learning and exchange with CSOs in other EU counties which may also take place in other EU Member States.
During the 3 years of its implementation, running from January 2025 to January 2028, PLATO, through the 2 open calls, will fund approximately 40 projects in Greece and 10 projects in the Republic of Cyprus, that will promote the rule of law and participative democracy as well as empower vulnerable groups through the promotion of human rights and equality.

More information about the workshops and training, as well as registration details, is available on the programme webpage.

Applications for large grants may be submitted by either a single lead applicant alone or a lead applicant with one partner organisation. Applications for small grant projects must be implemented by a single small organisation without a partner.

Grants for the selected projects will be issued as lump sums, in accordance with the European Commission’s procedures and guidelines.

Direct costs that can be included in the project budget are the following:

• Personnel Costs (cost for employees and costs for natural persons)
• Purchase costs (travel costs of project staff and other expenses).

For small grant projects, the implementation period must be between 10 and 12 months. An extension of up to 2 months for approved projects may be granted only in exceptional circumstances, subject to approval by the Project Management Team. This extension will not increase the grant amount awarded.

For large grant projects, the implementation period must be between 12 and 14 months. An extension of up to 1 month for approved projects may be granted only in exceptional circumstances, subject to approval by the Project Management Team. This extension will not increase the grant amount awarded.

The project duration, including start and end dates, will be specified in the grant agreement for each project. Projects are expected to commence between January – February 2026.