For the first time, it was also possible to apply for grants to projects with the period of implementation of two years – 2022 and 2023. The total annual funding made available for the projects is EUR 924 410, which is almost four times higher than in 2021.
Support for Ukraine had been set as the main priority, and support was granted fully or in part to eight applications. For the first time in the competition, funding was also awarded to a project in Africa. Focus is still retained on the European Union’s Eastern Partnership countries, and the Foreign Ministry awarded grants to three projects in Moldova, one in Georgia, and to two regional scale schemes. Support is still essential for the Central Asian region, where funding has been allocated to four projects.
The Foreign Ministry has awarded a full grant to the following projects:
1. An education and entrepreneurship development project, “Girls and Women Empowerment through Entrepreneurship in Africa” by the Economic Cooperation and Investments for Latvia association;
2. “Strengthening the capacity of the Uzbek Agency for Technical Regulation in the fields of standardization and metrology in line with international practice” by the Latvian national standardisation body, Latvian Standard (LVS);
3. “Implementation of rehabilitation programs for patients after limb amputation in Ukrainian hospitals, exchange of experience with National Rehabilitation Centre "Vaivari", by the National Rehabilitation Centre “Vaivari”;
4. “Enhance public resilience to disinformation and strategic communication and cooperation to strengthen public society”, in Moldova, by Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital;
5. “Creation of a geographic information system for the management of water supply and sewerage of the pilot territory using the Latvian experience in the field of digitalization”, in Uzbekistan, by LLC “SunGIS”;
6. “Building the capacity of National Standardization Institutions of Georgia and Moldova to establish support tools for SMEs on conformity assessment in the EU single market”, by the Latvian national standardisation body, Latvian Standard (LVS);
7. “Female founders across borders”, in Uzbekistan, by “Riga TechGirls” association;
8. “Inclusive human rights education – a gateway to good governance and civic participation”, in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, by “Baltic Human Rights Society” association;
9. “Improving plant protection system and laboratory capacity to boost food exports in Uzbekistan”, by the State Plant Protection Service of Latvia;
Taking into account the total financing available, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded a partial grant to the following projects to be implemented in 2022:
10. “Shelter for Women and Girls – Victims of War Crime”, in Ukraine, by Association “MARTA Centre”;
11. “Support for strengthening the capacity of the national, regional and local development planning organizations for the sustainable, balanced and smart growth of rural and regional areas in Moldova” , by the “Latvian Rural Forum” association;
12. “Empowerment of Women’s Activism in Belarus and Ukraine. Facilitation of Women, Peace and Security policies”, in Belarus and Ukraine, by Association “MARTA Centre”;
13. “Librarians as promoters of local democracy, development and resilience”, in Moldova, by the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation LAPAS;
14. “Support for strengthening the capacity of the Supreme Court of Ukraine in the context of European integration”, by the National Courts Administration of Latvia;
15. “Improving the capacity of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine”, by the State Border Guard of Latvia;
16. “Employers organizations’ support to Ukraine recovery and growth”, by the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia;
17. “Social Entrepreneurs for Tourism”, in Georgia, by the Economic Cooperation and Investments for Latvia association;
18. “Capacity building for the electronic platform of the Ukrainian education system МойКласс”, by SIA Uzdevumi.lv;
19. “Web-based Support System for Educators to Reduce Children’s Anxiety in War-affected Areas”, in Ukraine, by Rēzekne Academy of Technologies.
37 projects were reviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this year’s grant competition.
