In it’s first period as EEA and Norway Grants recipient, Cyprus is very well on track with planning and implementing its projects. On October 12th and 13th NGO project promoters and partners were gathered in Nicosia to get information that will guide them towards success.
- This is a very good opportunity for Cyprus. It is the first time that the Cyprus Government is managing itself a grant for NGOs from foreign countries, says Ms Voula Stylianou, Senior Coordination officer from the Planning Bureau at the National Focal Point, and adds that the aim is to perform this task in as transparent manner as possible.
Many good projects
An impressive number of 114 projects were submitted for the NGO funds and all were of high quality.
- The lowest of the approved proposals got a score of 82 per cent, says Stylianou.
Due to the limited funds available, only 33 projects could be approved. The state contributed with 10% of the total funds. Mr Ninos Savvides, Director of Coordination at the Planning Bureau, hopes for an increase in that amount for the next programming period. He also stated that the Government of Cyprus is currently considering the establishment of a bi-communal NGO Fund to enhance further the Civil Society development.
- At the moment there are only a few sizeable NGOs in Cyprus. Having in mind that Civil Society development and its involvement in various public benefit activities is a definite expression of participatory democracy of modern European societies, serving multiple goals since it promotes the complementarity between government and private action, the Cyprus Government has initiated the process of reform of the legal framework which regulates the establishment and operation of NGOs in Cyprus.
First Secretary Knut-Are Okstad was among the speakers at the workshop.
New law
- It has also promoted the drafting of a new Law for the creation of the Public Benefit Organization, a status which will be accredited to NGOs satisfying the terms and criteria to be determined by the new relevant legislation. The organizations that will fulfill the requirements set in Public Benefit Organisation Law, will receive tax exemptions and will be eligible for public funding. The whole legislation reform and modernization through a participatory process will contribute to the development of a climate of trust between the Government and the Civil Society and will ensure transparency and compliance with the rules of good governance, says Savvides.
He also says the EEA and Norway Grants are very welcome in Cyprus.
- There are two main benefits in participating and utilising the Grant: The grant help increase our NGO capacity and it also helps co-operation between the two communities in executing bi-communal activities on the Island. The fact that 49 per cent of the proposals selected relate to bi-communal projects shows the interest of the NGO Community to cooperate. This is well over the 20 per cent threshold we have set as a minimum for bi-communal projects.
- In addition our NGOs are getting the chance to work with foreign partners thus getting the knowledge and experience of big NGOs. This is very useful, says Savvides.
Forming alliances
- Given the challenges faced by the Republic as a new Member State which emanated from the obligations in the field of development assistance, CyprusAid, the Development Cooperation Service of the Republic, introduced a new element in the development assistance effort, which is the implementation of development projects in recipient countries through the method of “Delegated Cooperation”. This method entails that Cyprus forms alliances with other EU member States or International Organisations for the implementation of projects in countries of common interest, says Savvides.
He also noted that Cyprus is currently working towards the direction of creating its own implementation mechanisms in order to be able to provide direct assistance (bilateral) to partner countries. In order to achieve this goal it is necessary to engage the Cypriot civil society mainly through the involvement of NGDOs (Non-Governmental Development Organizations), who will assist in the project implementation field.
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PS: Funds for NGOs is one of two ways Cyprus is benefiting from EEA/Norway Grants. There are also 5 individual projects that recieve funding. You can read more about them here.