The Active Citizens Fund – ACF in Malta is established under the specific Programme Area for Civil Society part of the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, financial contribution from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltic.
ACF Malta has been awarded a budget of 700.000 Eur for the period 2019 – 2024, with the aim to foster an enabling environment for the civil society sector, strengthen its capacity and strengthen the support for human rights and social inclusion and increase citizen participation in civic activities.
‘Civil society and active citizenship strengthened, and vulnerable groups empowered‘ is the overall programme objective, which will be attained through projects and activities that cover four areas of support:
ACF Malta shall also contribute to the achievement of the objective of the EEA and Norway Grants, to reduce economic and social disparities, and to strengthen bilateral relations between Malta and the donor states. ACF Malta reflects the firm recognition of the sector’s role as a fundamental building block of democratic governance, human rights and social cohesion across Europe.
ACF Malta will also aim to improve outreach to under-served target groups and ensuring that the programme supports hard-to-reach target groups. This will be ensured through the use of online tools designed to be inclusive for small organisations and informal groups; continuous support to project promoters throughout their project implementation, with a special focus on financial management; a focus on advocating for the rights of under-served groups rather than providing services.
In order to achieve the objectives of the Active Citizens Fund (ACF) in Malta, the Fund Operator has established with the donor states a set of targets to be achieved, with guiding outcomes and outputs.
The programme includes five outcomes, to which the supported projects, a pre-defined project, bilateral and regional cooperation and a capacity building course should contribute:
The programme funds are distributed to NGOs that are registered and compliant with the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations. Projects are selected following a call for proposals and a selection process. A pre-defined project run by the Fund Operator is also funded by the programme.
All projects funded through ACF Malta are expected to contribute to the overall programme objectives.
Outcome 3 aims to enhance the capacity of civil society in Malta specifically through the implementation of an Online Capacity Building Course.
The programme includes a pre-defined project titled Active Citizens Lab that is implemented by the Fund Operator. The project focusses on building the capacity of CSOs and citizens in the fields of democratic culture and active citizenship.
The Active Citizens Lab project has an offline component offering educational/informational materials and training courses to develop citizen journalism and human rights awareness. There are plans to develope a civic action forum that will serve to strengthen the capacity of civic voices.
The Active Citizens Lab provides professional support and practical assistance through an Advisory Board of Experts.
The aim of Outcome 4 Bilateral Cooperation is to strengthen relations between voluntary organisations in Malta and in the donor states. The activities are facilitated by the Fund Operator and implemented either as part of the funded projects or as a stand-alone event.
ACF Malta also collaborates with other ACF programmes to enhance cross-border cooperation and exchange experiences and knowledge to strengthen the civil society sectors in the beneficiary countries.
The Active Citizens Fund seeks to enhance collaboration between Maltese voluntary organisations and entities from the donor states – Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein - through bilateral initiatives implemented by the Fund Operator and partnerships at project level.
The Active Citizens Fund in Malta, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Icelandic Human Rights Centre will facilitate contacts and cooperation between Maltese voluntary organisations and entities from the donor states.
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has created a partnership database in order to facilitate the search for potential partners.