A strong and vibrant civil society is an essential prerequisite for pluralist liberal democracy and the enjoyment of fundamental rights. Dynamics of democratic demise, social polarization and political illiberalism may undermine the functioning and vitality of civil society organisations (CSOs) across the EU and result in ‘shrinking space’ for civil society.
The overall aim of PROTEUS is to protect, promote and raise awareness to European values and fundamental rights as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union– first and foremost democracy, the rule of law, human rights, the equality of men and women and the non-discrimination of persons belonging to minorities.
The PROTEUS project, supported by the EU funded CERV programme, spans the period from January 2023 to December 2025. It is coordinated by the Transatlantic Foundation and implemented by a consortium of 8 CSOs. It will provide action grants and tailor-made capacity-building to more than 300 other CSOs located in 8 EU Member States with the aim to increase their fundraising, management and advocacy capacities and with a strong focus on CSOs in peripheral and rural areas.
After one year of implementation, PROTEUS has mainly organised activities on the following topics:
- Enhance online and offline forms of citizen participation in public deliberation and democratic processes;
- Enhance the participation of young people, women and vulnerable groups in political and policy processes through awareness-raising, advocacy and participation based approaches;
- Support civil society organizations’ resilience in shrinking spaces;
- Strengthen human rights and anti-corruption watchdogs activities in peripheral and rural areas;
In this framework, the supported CSOs and their projects are very diverse:
- ‘The right of women to a life without violence (Croatia): to reduce the number of women victims of domestic violence, introducing femicide into the legislative framework of Croatia and informing citizens.
- ‘Voice of Nature. Involvement in decision-making processes regarding investments in environmentally valuable areas of Lublin and Lublin Polesie’ (Poland): to enhance public participation and informed dialogue in natural resource management.
- ‘The strong voice of single parents’ (Slovakia): to strengthen public participation of single parents.
- ‘First steps to active citizenship!’ (Slovenia): to foster youth political participation and civic activism targeting first time voters ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election.
- ‘School of Public Life Foundation’ (Hungary): to support CSOs’ sustainable operations in shrinking spaces through strategy and resilience building and organizational development.
- ‘Resistance through resilience for LGBTI civil society’ (Romania): to strengthen organizational resilience and the ability of human rights activists from LGBTI organizations and local groups to respond to the challenges that are faced in the context of shrinking space for civil society, growing wave of hate speech, and fake news phenomenon.
- ‘Czechia and the world: discussions in the regions’ (Czechia) to increase public participation in the peripheries.
- ‘100 Sofia Voices: Deliberating Inclusiveness (Bulgaria): to organise a deliberative public discussion on urban policies for inclusion with citizens.
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