Brussels: The European Commission has announced the opening of its first call for proposals aimed at empowering citizens and fortifying resilient democracies through community-building projects in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and Cyprus. This initiative is part of the European Democracy Shield, recently adopted by the Commission.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the new call for proposals will allocate £200,000 in funding to four media literacy projects. Each selected project, one from each participating country, will receive £50,000 for an eight-month duration. The focus of these projects is to foster local connections by bridging different age groups to effectively navigate the information space and foster dialogue. These efforts are intended to address social challenges such as fragmentation, digital isolation, and declining public trust.
The European Commission intends to evaluate the outcomes of these pilot projects to determine the feasibility of expanding them to other EU Member States. Interested parties can submit their applications until 6 February 2026, with the full call for proposals available online.