Overview of Projects

There are 9 projects to be implemented under the Partnership Block Grant.
 

Project Title	Applicant	Partner(s)	Project Summary
Partnership for Social and Solidaryit Economy	Zelena mreža aktivističkih grupa (ZMAG)	Chambre de l'Economie Sociale et Solidaire; City of Ludbreg; City of Pregrada	The Chamber of Social and Solidarity Economy - Genève (SSE Chamber) as a well-established and experienced association (300 organizations and companies) will transfer its expertise and know-how for local social and economic development through promotion, advocacy work and practical support for social and solidarity economy (SSE) in Croatia. The Project will start with Applicant’s mapping and research activities in Croatian cities about main stakeholders and citizens needs and attitudes. Then in cooperation with Swiss partner there will be organized coherent and mutually supportive series of practical seminars and trainings about SSE, study visit and mentorship, public events and promotional activities. Through this partnership the partners will strengthen sustainable Local economic development (LED) and promote the implementation of sustainable development goals in two municipalities in Croatia, which will accept the localized version of SSE Chamber Geneva Charter of Values and Principles of SSE.
Sustainable safety of non-motorized transport in urban areas	ODRAZ - Održivi razvoj zajednice	Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, NGO "Sindikat biciklista", Pro Velo Švicarska	Urban environments and its residents, as well as those who travel daily for work or for other reasons to towns, are today burden by traffic due to increased need for mobility. The feature of today's world is that we need, want and can be on the go all day and as a result, we have a large number of people and vehicles that circulate. With the increasing importance of non-motorized traffic and the number of cyclists and pedestrians on the roads, the challenge is to plan the non-motorized traffic as a part of the whole transport system. With this project, the Applicant and its partners want to explore how to create safer routes for non-motorized traffic, and to make the most vulnerable groups equally important users of traffic system. The first part of the project is focused on research and modelling and the second part on educational and promotional activities for all stakeholders (decision-makers, experts, citizens) and on proposals for changing national regulations and guidelines in order to create spatial-traffic preconditions for equitable development of non-motorized traffic.
Take a brake!	RODA	CareCross for Health and Environment Švicarska, Sjever University, City of Koprivnica, City of Zaprešić, Municipality of Bale – Comune di Valle	Children are the most vulnerable group of people in road traffic - both as pedestrians and as passengers in their parents' cars. The Take a brake! (zakOČI) project's goal is to learn from experiences and best practices from Switzerland, bring together stakeholders in road traffic, policymaking, traffic experts, students, police, parents, teachers, the wider community and children - to work on safe traffic solutions. The lead partner is the CSO Roda, and partners are CareCross (Switzerland), Sjever University, the Cities of Koprivnica and Zaprešić and Municipality of Bale. During the implementation of the project (20 months) three models of traffic interventions at critical locations for children in these cities and towns (students will develop solutions for signalisation and traffic calming) will be developed, focus groups with citizens and key stakeholders organised, innovative tools for the active inclusion of children developed, parents and teachers educated and the Take a Brake Campaign implemented, whose goal is to increase drivers' awareness of pedestrians.
Partners for Nature	Zelena akcija / Friends of the Earth Croatia	Pro Natura/Friends of the Earth  Switzerland; Međimurska priroda – Public Institution for Nature Protection; Green Ring - Public institution for management of protected areas and other protected parts of nature of Zagrebačka county; Lastovo Archipelago Nature Park Public institution	Croatia is one of the richest european countries in biodiversity, which is also reflected in the fact that around a third of its surface is covered by protected and Natura 2000 areas. Running all of these areas in a sustainable way represents a challenge, and there is a need to raise the capacities of public institutions set up to manage them, as well as to encourage and facilitate communication among various stakeholders operating in these areas to avoid potential conflicts and ensure support for local conservation efforts. Through this project, in cooperation with our partners from 3 public institutions for management of protected areas of nature, and Swiss partner Pro Natura, we intend to explore various existing models of protected areas management and propose a model for sustainable, transparent and participatory management of these areas in Croatia. We will also tackle the specific problem of waste management in protected areas of nature and propose a sustainable solution.
CROCHET	IPE - Institut za političku ekologiju	NetHood Association Pravo na grad / Right to the City Zelena akcija/Friends of the Earth Croatia Savez udruga Operacija grad / Alliance Operation City	CROCHET is a project that brings social innovation in the center of ambition to transform governance models and increase citizens’ participation for the benefit of fair and sustainable local development. Based on the multi-layered exchange between actors from two most developed cities in Croatia and Switzerland (Zagreb and Zürich), it creates a set of ideas to use social innovation for the purpose of creating better quality of public services and more social cohesion. Focusing on three different areas vital for urban life (municipal utilities, community centres and housing) it creates space for learning and exchange in order to develop hybrid forms of institutions and organisations that often include cooperation of civic actors with public authorities (through public civic partnerships). Ultimately, based on a bottom-up approach and strong relevant grassroot experiences of local groups, and with focus on sustainable development goals, the structured exchange of experiences through this project leads to enhanced capacities of Croatian partners to employ social innovation within local institutional framework into improvement of governance models, higher social cohesion and innovation based initiatives that improve life conditions in local communities.
TOGETHER	Udruga za rad s mladima Breza	BEO Heimgarten, Verein Berghof Stärenegg, Center for Social Welfare Vukovar	The main goal of the project is to improve the development of differentiated, sustainable social services for children and young people in risk and behavioral problems in the local community through active learning through good practice rotations.
Teach them for their future: support and empowerment of teachers and principals for building sustainable and democratic schools	Forum za slobodu odgoja	Center for Peace Studies - CPS, GONG, Verein MUNTERwegs - VMW, Krapina-Zagorje County, City of Rijeka	The project aims to contribute to the sustainable development of local communities and to the improvement of the quality of life through exchange of knowledge and experience. By building capacities and developing the competences of teachers and principals, we build quality education and invest in the local community. Through cooperation of three Croatian, one Swiss civil society organization and two local and regional self-government units several educational programs will be implemented to support and empower teachers and principals in building a sustainable and democratic school where students develop social and civic competencies and contribute to the local community. The project will support existing initiatives of local and regional self-government in the area of introduction and implementation of civic education. The project will be implemented in Krapina-Zagorje County and Rijeka.
CROSS WORK - Global citizenship education partnership	Udruga za promicanje IKS	Stiftung Kinderdorf Pestalozzi / Pestalozzi Children's Foundation	"CROSS WORK - Global citizenship education partnership" aims to contribute to sustainable local development and peaceful coexistence through empowering partnerships of Croatian and Swiss civil society organisations: Association IKS, Petrinja and Pestalozzi Children's Foundation, Trogen. Children and Youth from the Sisak-Moslavina County, an underdeveloped region in Croatia, will have the opportunity to participate in intercultural activities with peers from five other countries. Through transference of best practice models from the Swiss partner, we will develop capacities of educational institutions, civil society organisations and communities. Working around the world for over seven decades, the Pestalozzi Children's Foundation will transfer their best practice models to a Croatian organisation for the first time, through the activities of this project. The best practice models will enable our communities to grow and develop and contribute to sustainable local development.
Digital libraries for local development*	Institut za razvoj I inovativnost mladih (IRIM) / Croatian Makers	INNOVABRIDGE Foundation	Fast digital and economic growth represent a challenge for citizens and local communities. They must deal with new and continuous challenges for their development. STEM skills, like critical thinking and orientation towards problem solving are essential for individuals and for solving problems of modern societies on all levels. The best places for creating new knowledge in local communities are libraries, which are facing the need to redefine their role and to answer the educational needs of their citizens. The project DL4LD uses innovative way and synergy of partner’s work, by combining STEM skills and concept of Citizen Science. It builds partner’s capacities, libraries and librarians and citizens, and it puts in focus the sustainable local development of communities. It promotes informal lifelong learning, simplicity of usage of new technologies, raises the ecological awareness of citizens and encourages active participation of citizens in life of their communities and science.

 
* Yet to be contracted, project from the reserve list approved by the Steering Committee.