The Project “Your Opportunity “ABC”
28.12.2013


 

In October 2013, the society “Education and Innovation Development Centre” launched the project “Your Opportunity ABC” in the framework of the "NGO Project Measure", a sub-programme of the EEA Grants 2009-2014 programme "NGO Fund".

The main aim of “Your Opportunity “ABC”” is to build a cohesive civil society, promoting intercultural dialogue and integration of national minorities, strengthening human rights and democracy, encouraging innovative ways of learning the Latvian language, which will facilitate acquisition of citizenship.

The project is addressing and involving several target groups, about 10 000 representatives of minorities, 500 non-citizens, and 300 citizens. Implementation of the project activities will bring together a number of NGOs which represent rights and interests of the above-mentioned groups, among them 55 members and 10 employees of NGO, as well as 10 volunteers.

Society “Education and Innovation Development Centre” will be realizing the project in Latgale till January 2015 in cooperation with three partners, NGO “Kraslava district partnership”, NGO “Daugavpils and Ilukste district partnership “Neighbors”” and Agency of development ”Pieci”, representing inhabitants of Dagda, Kraslava, Aglona, Daugavpils, Ilūkste, and Jēkabpils districts, they promote sustainable social and economic development of Latgale region by involving regional governments, non-governmental organizations, and businesses in solving problems of inhabitants on the local level, and advance development of civil society and democracy.

In order to achieve the project aims, it is planned to develop, publish and distribute four issues of intercultural newspaper "Latgale Bridge" for youth in both electronic and printed format; develop and distribute the booklet “Your Opportunity “ABC””. The project comprises training seminars and courses for the involved in the project target group, project staff, employees of participating organizations and associations, project stakeholders, founders, and volunteer, exchange of experience, information and publicity activities.
It is expected that the project activities and its published materials will help achieve a range of results: the number of those people in Latvia who are striving, in their official work place and personally, for their own and their country’s wellbeing, will multiply and their social capital will increase. The true potential of NGOs in mobilizing social activity of people will be enhanced; charity and volunteering will further develop; cooperation between local authorities, NGOs and mass media in disseminating achievements of civil society and active participation of people in everything that concerns them will be activate; competency and social skills of secondary school students will extend; inhabitants who are liable to the risk of social exclusion, will more actively participate in the life of civil society. All the above will be achieved with of the help of project activities and published materials: four issues of intercultural newspaper "Latgale Bridge" for youth and the booklet “Your Opportunity “ABC””.

In its turn, development, publication and distribution of the “Your Opportunity “ABC”” brooklet is expected to make participation of individuals, informal groups, and social organizations in the political life on the local level more efficient. The booklet will give its readers methodology of active participation in the processes that are taking place in the country and provide good examples of it. It will also give an easy access to comprehensive information and provide a communication platform to representatives of ethnic minorities and noncitizens, which are crucial for effective participation of civil society in political life.

As an outcome of the project realization, the setting for sustainable and result-oriented activity of NGOs will have been established and strengthened. Efficiency and expertise of NGO workers will have increased; inhabitants will be more involved in the activities of NGOs; innovative non-governmental organizations will have been initiated, and their developments have received support. The overall project cost is LVL 32984.35 (EUR 46932.50).

Society “Education and Innovation Development Centre” (the acronym of the Society in Latvian is „IIAC”) was founded in 2008.The main goals of the Society are to improve the availability of educational resources and services to all social strata, but especially to people at risk of poverty and social exclusion; to advance development of education and innovation in the spheres of education, science, culture and health, and environmental protection in conformity with the uniform state policy and strategy; to promote development of lifelong learning.

Additional information:

  • Silva Kucina
  • Manager of the project “Your Opportunity “ABC””
  • Phone: 29547925, e-mail: info@iiac.lv

The project is financially supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and the Latvian State. It is funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Latvian State. Society “Education and Innovation Development Centre” is responsible for this publication.

EEA Grants website in Latvia: www.eeagrants.lv 
EEA Grants official website: www.eeagrants.orgwww.norwaygrants.org
Society Integration Foundation (SIF) website: www.sif.lv

 


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