The Agency for Private Initiative Development (ARPI) and the CSO Network for Support of Communities with Heritage GoHeritage! announce the launch of a program to support youth initiatives for the development of cultural heritage of small communities in Ukraine

Youth CSOs and initiative groups from small communities of Ukraine are invited to participate in the support program.

The objectives of the program are

• Creation and promotion of a youth team of experts in planning the interpretation of the heritage of small communities of Ukraine, a network of CSOs for supporting communities with heritage
• Promotion of creative youth initiatives that provide for specific measures to involve residents in the use/interpretation of the cultural heritage of their communities for the purposes of local development
• Provision of subgrants for selected initiatives and their implementation

Initiatives must be implemented in territorial communities of villages, towns, cities with a population of up to 50 thousand inhabitants of any regions of Ukraine (except for the occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions) in accordance with the plans for the interpretation of local heritage. It is planned to support no more than one initiative per community.

The program includes three stages: 1) submission of initiative concepts by youth CSOs/initiative groups operating in small communities; 2) a course on interpretation planning and mentoring of youth teams in creating heritage interpretation plans for selected communities and finalizing initiatives for the declared communities; 3) implementation and grant support for selected initiatives that are consistent with the developed interpretation plans or propose measures for their implementation.

Stage 1. Submission of the initiative concept

The project concept must be submitted by May 7, 2021, by filling out the application at this link https://forms.gle/LaJRd8eny2YfYmsUA.

For viewing and ease of filling out - the application in word format is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jBVSLMrbPeh94tKN69UqNC49YoIv87lG/view?usp=sharing.

The application must include:

· a cover letter from the civil society organization/initiative group regarding the intention to participate in this program;

· a letter from the local government of the relevant territorial community regarding support for the initiative.

Based on the evaluation results, 20 initiative concepts will be selected.

The selection results will be announced on May 20, 2021.

Stage 2. Interpretation planning course and mentoring support for youth teams

After the specified date, 20 team leaders/representatives, authors of the selected concepts, will be invited to a free heritage interpretation planning course from leading experts from the national CSO Network for Support of Heritage Communities GoHeritage.

The course will cover 4 days of intensive training. The estimated time of implementation is June 2021. The exact dates of the course will be announced after the completion of stage 1 of the program.

Based on the experience and knowledge gained during the course and mentoring support from experts in the field of economics and heritage potential management, program participants, with the participation of community residents, primarily youth, will develop / refine their communities' heritage interpretation plans and their initiatives.

Stage 3. Grant support and implementation of selected initiatives

20 CSOs/initiative groups, whose representatives have completed a training course on heritage interpretation planning and have prepared heritage interpretation plans for their communities, will be able to prepare and submit revised project proposals for their initiatives for sub-grants.

The announcement of the submission of a project proposal will be published in June 2020 after the training. The estimated date of submission of a full project proposal is July 1, 2021. The exact date of submission of the proposal will be announced after the completion of the activities of stage 2 of the program.

Based on the results of the evaluation of the submitted project proposals, the participants who scored the highest number of points will be provided with sub-grants to implement the relevant initiatives (one sub-grant per 1 community). The maximum size of the sub-grant is UAH 55 thousand. In total, 5 sub-grants are planned to be provided within the framework of this program.

Sub-grant projects must be implemented by October 31, 2021.

Sub-grants may, in particular, but not exclusively, support activities such as:

· organization of public events, such as public talks, festivals, educational events, etc.;

· crowdfunding campaigns (creation of videos, production of promotional materials, publications, etc.);

· creation of means of interpretation with the participation of creative groups of local residents and other interested parties (development / production of stands, thematic benches, photo zones, costumes for amateur theaters and performances, guide uniforms, etc.);

· performative events (theatrical performances, thematic camps, mini-reconstructions of eras).

The following cannot be financed:

· projects of a political nature (activities of political parties, individual people's deputies of Ukraine, village, settlement, city mayors, deputies of local councils) or election campaigns;

· commercial projects aimed at making a profit;

· salaries/payment for services of representatives of the project implementing organization;

· activities/expenses carried out by CSOs before receiving the subgrant or after the end of the project implementation period;

· covering administrative expenses of CSOs and their expenses for paying for utility services;

· payment of penalties (penalties), administrative fines, compensation for damage (losses).

In case of questions, do not hesitate to write a personal message to the Facebook page of the Agency for the Development of Private Initiative or contact the email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The program is implemented within the framework of the project "Legacy for Development-II: Increasing the Management Capacity of Small Communities of Ukraine through Youth Involvement" with co-financing from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The project is a continuation of the previous ARPI initiative supported by NED “Heritage for Development: Increasing Public Participation in the Preservation and Use of the Heritage Potential of Local Communities” and aims to attract the potential of youth and provide young community leaders with the skills to wisely manage the potential of heritage in the interests of local development, as well as create opportunities for them to implement their own creative initiatives in their communities. More information about the project is available here https://cutt.ly/ax5yqOs.