The programme was launched with the aim of ensuring that European Union funds earmarked for Roma integration reach the regions where Roma people live. We developed grant applications locally with Roma minority local authorities, civil society organisations and local communities that responded to our call for proposals. We supported our winning partners through mentoring and additional support.
A hundred proposals were submitted, of which forty were successful, totalling five million euros.
We launched this service as a complement to our ‘EU Funds for Roma Integration’ project development programme, with the aim of facilitating the successful implementation of projects submitted through it. The service consisted of two elements: mentoring support and – where necessary – supplementary support. We made access to the service conditional on meeting a total of eight criteria.
The Autonómia Foundation, in cooperation with the Ökotárs Foundation, the Foundation for the Development of Democratic Rights and the Carpathian Foundation-Hungary, managed the EEA/Norwegian Financial Mechanism Civil Society Support Fund, which supported Hungarian civil society organisations in four thematic areas: environmental protection; capacity building for civil society organisations; social cohesion, child and health protection; and cultural heritage.
As part of the project, independently operated community centres were established in seven localities, with the aim of providing services to the Roma population in disadvantaged localities that would contribute to achieving economic and social equality for the group concerned. The centres themselves identified local needs and organised community development and training programmes based on these.
Under the ‘My Own Kitchen Garden’ programme, disadvantaged families were given the opportunity to take up gardening by acquiring quality seeds and plant protection products. During implementation, some 2,890 families took part in the programme with the involvement of 62 organisations. With expert support, participants acquired up-to-date knowledge of gardening and plant protection, and in many cases were tending their gardens for the first time.
The primary aim of our grant programme, which ran until the end of the 1990s, was to strengthen the economic and social autonomy of local civil society organisations, particularly through the promotion of income-generating activities. The programme was based on the premise that initiatives built on collective, productive work contribute to reducing prejudice and fostering cooperation.
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