Nine successful applicants, who stood out among a strong competition of 130 project proposals and advanced to the final round of the highest-rated submissions under the Call “Strengthening the Contribution of Civil Society Organisations to Education for Sustainable Development,” can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The process of administrative verification and qualitative evaluation of project proposals was successfully completed at the beginning of this year, and a formal contract award ceremony for contracts with a total value of €2,120,952.41 was held on April 21, 2026, in the atrium of the Croatian Natural History Museum in Zagreb.
This event is important for the entire Civic Engagement Programme, for which the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs acts as the Programme Operator, as it marks the end of the initial phase following programme design and the launch of the call, and the beginning of the contracting and implementation of projects. This is the first of a total of four calls, with CHF 7.6 million secured under the Swiss-Croatian Cooperation Programme aimed at strengthening civil society, with contracting planned for this year.
Her Excellency Ms. Beatrice Schaer, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to the Republic of Croatia, thanked all partners involved in implementing the Programme, especially the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs and the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, highlighting their key role. She emphasized that through the Civic Engagement Programme, Switzerland aims to strengthen the role of civil society in development by encouraging citizen participation and social change. She also stressed the importance of building the capacities of civil society organisations for active participation in democratic processes and reducing social inequalities, with a special focus on education for sustainable development and empowering young people.
Helena Beus, Acting Director of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs, thanked partners for their cooperation in preparing the Programme and pointed out that the awarding of contracts represents a continuation of successful cooperation from the first Swiss Contribution, under which 52 projects were funded. She highlighted that these projects encouraged the development of volunteering, service-learning, and cooperation within local communities, involving 94 Croatian associations and 10 organizations from Switzerland. The formal contract award ceremony was also attended by representatives of the National Coordination Unit of the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, the Swiss Contribution Office of the Embassy of Switzerland, representatives of the Council for the Development of Civil Society, and many others.
On this day, the successful applicants officially became Beneficiaries of funds and over the next 36 months, they will implement various educational programmes for children and young people, all centered around transferring knowledge on sustainable development, using, among other innovative methods, practical examples and play.
