The European Commission has opened its first call for proposals to empower citizens and promote strong and resilient democracies through several community-building projects, as announced in the recently adopted European Democracy Shield. An envelope of €200,000 in funding will be granted to four media literacy projects that aim to strengthen local connections in rural areas and towns in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Cyprus.
The selected projects will bring together different age groups to explore how to navigate the information space and foster dialogue. The grant-holders should design meaningful joint activities with the aim of addressing growing challenges from social fragmentation to digital isolation and declining citizens’ trust.
Based on the lessons learnt from the pilot projects in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Cyprus, the Commission will consider whether such projects can be expanded to other Member States.
Open for application until 6 February 2026, the call will support one project in each country with €50,000 for a duration of eight months. The call for proposals is available online.
