Responding to anti-LGBTI forces: ILGA-Europe’s call for project proposals

We have launched a re-granting programme to strengthen the capacities of LGBTI organisations in Europe to achieve change in the current landscape of rising anti-LGBTI forces.

At ILGA-Europe, we believe that now is a crucial time to stay united, re-claim agency and pro-actively address growing anti-LGBTI and anti-gender rhetoric and state-led anti-LGBTI attacks. That’s why we have launched a scheme under which we will support efforts that enable work on communication, alliance building, and the movement’s cohesion and resilience.

The context

For years now, we have witnessed mounting anti-gender and anti-LGBTI rhetoric, and targeted attacks against LGBTI rights and the LGBTI movement. Populists, religious actors, the far-right, ultra-conservative organisations, but also increasingly government actors and civil society actors are working to curtail LGBTI rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Their tactics are diverse and include (but are not limited to) strategic litigation, lobbying discriminatory legislation and policy, campaigning on-line, publicly presenting signatures against progressive laws, antagonising and pitting pro-rights communities against each other, producing and spreading harmful misinformation.

Some of the concrete examples of ways in which actions by these forces have impacted LGBTI communities over the recent years include – but are not limited to: the ban on legal gender recognition in Hungary; LGBTI-free zones and Family Charters in Poland; the ban on gender studies and LGBTI phobic violence during local election campaigns in  Romania; violence during Plovdiv Pride and control over NGO funding in Bulgaria; the rise of anti-trans rhetoric in the UK; the increase in anti-LGBTI rhetoric in the media in Denmark; trials of Middle East Technical University’s Prides and scapegoating the LGBTI community for the withdrawal of Turkey from the Istanbul convention; and blaming the spread of COVID-19 on same-sex marriages by religious leaders in Ukraine.

Anti-LGBTI actors often use anti-equality, anti-democratic, anti-gender and anti-LGBTI rhetoric and tap into different fears and anxieties of specific national contexts. They aim to disrupt alliances, create divides, attack funding of LGBTI organisations and groups, and reduce or halt progressive laws. They also sow discontent and misinformation among the general public, scapegoat LGBTI communities to divert attention from the anti-democratic slide and socio-economic and political failures, deliberately instilling fear around topics of LGBTI rights, marriage equality, gender equality, adoption, inclusive sexual education, abortion rights, trans rights and gender studies.

In essence these are anti-rights actors who are present and active across Europe and who aim to undermine fundamental rights more broadly. Therefore, it is paramount that we pro-actively address these attacks aimed to undermine and disrupt our work and lives. We must stay united, strengthen our solidarity across the human rights sector, boost our capacities, be agile and well-organised, and work on larger progressive agendas with allied organisations in a broader human rights movement.  

Aim of the program

This programme aims to strengthen the capacities of LGBTI organisations to be(come) pro-active and to achieve change in the current context of growing populist anti-gender and anti-LGBTI rhetoric and state-led anti-LGBTI attacks.

Under this programme we aim to do this through:

  • Scaling-up skills, competences and capacities of the LGBTI movement in the areas of communication, alliance building, and sustaining a cohesive and resilient LGBTI movement;   
  • Developing new approaches and tactics for communication work, effective campaigning, alliance building and evidence-based advocacy on the rights and needs of LGBTI people in the context of rising anti-LGBTI forces.
Projects we are looking for

ILGA-Europe acknowledges that while a lot of funding has been made available by funders for advocacy purposes it’s been challenging to find financial and human resources, time and energy to do the necessary work in communication, alliance building and on the movement’s cohesion. This scheme shifts the focus and supports projects aimed at work on communication, trust building and alliance building outside and inside the movement. We believe that strengthening these aspects of work will in return create conditions under which our long-term advocacy goals are more likely to be met. Therefore, this scheme is not designed to support projects that solely address advocacy goals. However, we strongly believe the work in the three areas described below can and will feed back into existing advocacy and campaigning work of LGBTI organisations.

Budget & scope

ILGA-Europe can support 10 to 15 grants in the size of €12.500 to €17.500. Projects involving two or more organisations working in a partnership can increase their budget to €20.000 in total.

If the project involves more than one organisation it has to be developed in cooperation. Contact and other information about the applicants should include all partnered organisations. In the project and activities descriptions, there should be clear division of task and responsibilities indicated for each organisation. The budget also has to reflect clearly the distribution of the requested funds amongst partnered organisations. ILGA-Europe may contact the partner organisation(s) to verify that they commit to the project as described in the application.

The project should start between 1 and 30 September 2021, and should end by 30 September 2022. The final reporting will be due no later than 15 October 2022.

Deadline and timeline

Proposals should be submitted by 23 May, Sunday, 23:59 CEST. To find out more about the criteria and how to submit your proposal, click here.

Downloads

See also

News

Call for project proposals working with racialised LGBTI communities

Why we launch this call Last year, ILGA-Europe launched a new programme focused on work done by and for racialised LGBTI communities. With this call, […]
read more
News

Effective campaigns in support of LGBTI rights: How to avoid instrumentalisation and communicate without playing into polarisation?

All over Europe and Central Asia, LGBTI people are used by different political payers to gain the power. Our opponents create and feed harmful and […]
read more
News

Call for applications: Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2010)5 comprehensive review, 2024

The Council of Europe will, in 2024, conduct a third comprehensive review of the Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2010)5 (CM/Rec(2010)5). The CM/Rec(2010)5 was previously reviewed […]
read more
Report

Overview of ILGA-Europe’s Finances in 2022

In the financial year 2022 ILGA-Europe obtained and recognized 3 687 082 € in revenues, which is approx. an 11% (over 365 000 €) increase […]
read more
News

Bringing change in turbulent times: A call for applications for LGBTI groups in Poland

What is this programme about and why are we launching it? ILGA-Europe invites applications from LGBTI organisations and groups in Poland that see a concrete […]
read more
News

Call for project proposals: Addressing LGBTI homelessness in the EU

Why we are launching this programme In 2020, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) released a survey that estimates that one in five members of the […]
read more
Video

Our Latest Call for Project Applications: Video Explanations

What kinds of organisations can apply? What do we mean when we say ‘racialised’? What types of work can you apply for support for? What […]
read more
News

New Call for Applications for Projects Working with Racialised LGBTI Communities

Why we are launching this programme Currently, the LGBTI movement across Europe operates in an increasingly hostile environment that directly affects the lives of LGBTI […]
read more
News

New funding program for data-collection on violence in Europe and Central Asia

ILGA-Europe invites organisations and initiative groups from the region of Europe and Central Asia to join our program aimed to support the LGBTI movement in […]
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: Working Alongside Businesses to Shift Attitudes

We’re looking at this through the lens of one very successful partnership and campaign, between Mermaids, a UK organisation helping trans, nonbinary and gender diverse […]
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: How Businesses Can Support LGBTI Equality

In this, the second episode of our new mini-series exploring the opportunities and challenges that come with businesses supporting LGBTI equality, we’re taking a closer look […]
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: Making the Business Case for LGBTI Equality

Over the past few years, more and more companies have been engaging with LGBTI rights and equality, from putting inclusive employment policies in place, to […]
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: The Private Sector and LGBTI Equality – Mini-series Introduction

With the war in Ukraine and the Russian threat to democracy it has intensified, now more than ever we need to be working together across […]
read more
News

Call for proposals: Supporting strong communications by LGBTI organisations

Over the coming three years, ILGA-Europe will do this through different activities, including financial support and consultancy to build strong communications abilities, grants to support […]
read more
News

Anti-LGBT Hungarian Referendum is in Bad Faith, says ILGA-Europe

A referendum to be held this coming Sunday during the Hungarian general elections carefully designed to force voters into siding with the current ruling party, […]
read more
Blog

A Marathon, not a sprint: how we’re responding to the invasion of Ukraine

In the past week, since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the global response has been massive, alongside a great number of organisations working with […]
read more
News

Support for LGBTI People in Ukraine

As is the world, at ILGA-Europe we are continually assessing the rapidly developing situation in Ukraine and the region, and in particular for LGBTI people.  […]
read more
Press Release

Behind the smokescreen of anti-LGBTI rhetoric in Europe, there’s a groundswell of allied determination to tackle hatred, report finds

A report from the leading LGBTI organisation in Europe finds that amid a rise in official anti-LGBTI rhetoric fuelling a wave of hate crime in every country in Europe, there is a growing institutional resolve to tackle hatred and exclusion.
read more
Blog

As often well-funded right-wing forces rise, one in three LGBTI organisations operate on less than 55 euro a day

ILGA-Europe’s latest report shows that one in three LGBTI organisations in Europe and Central Asia are working with a budget under 20,000 euro per year ­– that’s just under 55 euro a day — all the while facing and responding to the rise of often well-funded anti-LGBTI forces and their effect on people’s daily lives. And that’s just a small part of the bigger picture.
read more
Press Release

Rising challenges for LGBTI organisations in Europe and Central Asia, new report finds

A survey of LGBTI organisations across Europe and Central Asia finds they face significant challenges in the face of growing anti-LGBTI forces, and the ongoing […]
read more
Report

Overview of ILGA-Europe’s finances in 2021

In the financial year 2021 ILGA-Europe obtained and recognised €3,322,339 in revenues, which is approximately a 6% increase from the 2020 revenues. The share of […]
read more
Report

Funding to Meet Changing Realities: LGBTI Organisations on the State of Funding in Europe and Central Asia

read more
Blog

Alarming new research shows how LGBTI people are affected every day by inequality

Recent data shows that LGBTI young people perceive the labour market with fear and that most of LGBTI youth living with their families have experienced violence in different parts of Europe. These are among the alarming facts related to the impact of inequality and oppression in LGBTI communities, as identified through ILGA-Europe’s No One Left Behind initiative.
read more
Press Release

EU Holds Firm in Face of Hungary’s Blatant Lies Surrounding Anti-LGBTI Law

As the European Commission takes the second step in its infringement procedure against Hungary, Europe’s leading LGBTI organisation welcomes its clarified commitment to the equal […]
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: Being an LGBTI Activist Today

Joining us to talk about the reality of queer activism in the current context, the good sides and bad, are ILGA-Europe’s Programmes Director, Bjorn van […]
read more
Report

Poland Anti-LGBTI Hate Timeline

Over the past number of years, LGBTI people have come under increasing attack from ruling politicians, religious leaders and other public figures in Poland. This […]
read more
Blog

How LGBTI rights are being used for political manipulation in Europe, and why that’s something everyone should be worried about

Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic has issued a powerful comment, clarifying that LGBTI people are being used as a political pawns by ultra-conservative leaders in more and more European countries, and that in turn the human rights and freedom of everyone are being undermined. Here’s what she had to say.
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: Elif Shafak and the Power of Our Stories

The author of 18 books of fiction and non-fiction, including The Bastard of Istanbul,Honour, and Three Daughters of Eve, Elif has come under fire from the Turkish authorities […]
read more
Report

Funding for LGBTI activism in Europe and Central Asia

Priorities and access to resources ILGA-Europe wanted to learn more about the LGBTI movements’ priorities in the rapidly-changing political, social and cultural environment we all […]
read more
Blog

Three crucial ways to resist anti-LGBTI forces

As ILGA-Europe launches a re-granting programme to strengthen the capacities of European and Central Asian LGBTI organisations in the current landscape of rising anti-LGBTI forces, we share three core tactics to develop in the face of groups who strategically attack our rights and lives.
read more