What is V4 Gen Mini-Grants?

The main purpose of the V4 Gen Mini-Grants is to provide financial contribution to short-term cross-border youth mobility in the V4 region and its immediate neighborhood. Any legal entity registered in V4 countries and in Ukraine can apply for support. Each project must involve at least two entities from eligible countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine) but can also include partners entities from countries that directly neighbor two V4 countries (i.e., Austria, Germany, and Ukraine).

Objectives

The themes are presented merely as illustrations of areas of interest, not as distinct thematic categories and may be amended or changed based on future priorities.

• SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE: Raising awareness regarding climate change and sustainable development, loss of biodiversity; boosting climate resilience, exchanging know-how, concrete community-based ecological projects, etc.
• HERITAGE AND REMEMBRANCE: Common histories and common future incl. teaching/learning common history, collecting witness accounts, and launching oral-history projects, presenting local history in regional context, promotion of (common) anniversaries or interesting sights (EU accession, anniversaries of 1956/1968…).
• HEALTH AND ACTIVE LIFESTYLE: Sports and other activities contributing to active lifestyle, promotion of healthy diet and activities focusing on personal well-being and both physical and mental health.
• ARTS & CULTURE: Creating new performances together, facilitating cultural exchanges in the field of theatre, film, music, literature, traditional crafts, etc. (any productions and dissemination of visual, literary and performance arts, joint visits to cultural institutions).
• DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND CIVIC VIRTUES: Boosting interest and participation in democratic processes, dedication to common welfare, facilitating dialog on human rights, debate competitions, student parliaments, community engagement and volunteering.
• PRACTICAL COMPETENCES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Fostering practical exchanges among vocational schools, NGOs, and between schools and businesses, and enabling short-term internship and training opportunities while fostering entrepreneurial spirit and improving concrete skills. 

We support any meaningful joint activities of the youth in the region, but the following underlying principles should be present in each project:

• Inclusiveness—Exchange perspectives with people who are from diverse groups and share your own diverse experiences and viewpoints with them (outreach towards the socially, economically, or geographically disadvantaged groups and/or disabled people, students with special education needs, inter-generational dialog, inter-religious dialog, gender balance)
• Teaching and learning—Support learners in the acquisition of competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes) with a view to improving their personal development (non-formal, informal as well as formal learning and training, projects contributing to improved information literacy and digital competences, learning languages, and improving communication skills)
• Cross-border cooperation and good neighborhood—Encourage networking amongst the youth across the Visegrad region with the purpose of regional and cross-border cooperation (regional value added)

Conditions

1. Each project must involve mobility of young people (12–30-year-old) from at least two V4 countries and Ukraine, i.e., cross-border visits. At least two countries among Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine must be involved to participate in a project. In addition to this, direct neighbors of two V4 countries can also participate (Austria, Germany, and/or Ukraine). The applying institution must be officially registered in the V4 region and/or Ukraine.
2. Neither physical distance from the border, nor a shared border are decisive factors. Bilateral visits between entities, e.g., in Ostrava and Miskolc, or Gdańsk and Pécs are possible.
3. Every project must carry out at least one joint event with both/all sides participating.
4. Every project must have at least one joint physical presentation for the public or local community combined with creative forms of mediated outreach. Be it offline—e.g., posters, essays, performances—and on-line—e.g., blogs, video spots, social media. This “presentation event” can be combined with the joint event described in point 3.
5. Any V4 and Ukrainian legal entity relevant in working with youth can partake as the eligible applicant, e.g., schools, leisure-time clubs, sports associations, youth civil society organizations, etc.
6. Draft project ideas (in English) must be registered in the on-line system (no later than 2 weeks before each deadline by midday) and subsequently submitted through a full on-line application form.
7. Maximum requested budget per project is €10,000. The budget gets calculated as a lump sum covering person/days (max. €50 for each participant and/or chaperone per day or €60 for each participant and/or chaperone per day in case more than two different V4 countries are involved). It can be utilized to cover any kinds of costs directly associated with the project (accommodation, travel, entrance fees, honoraria, etc.). Additional co-financing is encouraged.
8. Maximum time frame for project implementation is 7 months; the program is, however, intended to support single or multiple short-term visits/exchanges (max. 7 days).