Call for proposals for the support to projects of local media outlets and civil society organisations (CSO) in Western Balkans within the priject MEdIA – Lit

Centre for Civic Education (CCE/CGO) and partners

within the project

MEdIA – Lit (Media Enhancement and Information Literacy for Democratic Engagement)

opens

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

for the support to projects of local media outlets and civil society organisations (CSO) in Western Balkans

Project proposals should contribute to enhanced professional capacity of journalists, media outlets and media institutions to exercise the right to freedom of expression and access to information and to promote media pluralism, as well as to empower local media outlets and CSOs to produce solution-based and constructive stories at the local level.

Project proposal shall be submitted no later than 2 February 2026, until 12h00.

In order to be eligible for a grant, CSOs must fulfil criteria as follows:

• be a legal person;
• be non-profit-making;
• have media sector in their statute and legal association documents;
• be nationals of the five WB countries (Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia)
• be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the project.

Applications must be submitted with filled: Annex 1 Application form, Annex 2 Budget proposal and Annex 3 Logical Framework Matrix. Please read carefully detailed Guidelines prior to filling these forms.

Online info sessions will be organised for potential applicants who can apply for session on media@cgo-cce.org. A comprehensive capacity-building programme will be provided to supported CSOs and local media outlets through monitoring and mentoring.

Applications, along with the accompanying technical documentation, shall be sent to e-mail media@cgo-cce.org, with subject “CfP for local media outlets and CSOs in WB – MEdIA – Lit”. If needed, further information can be obtained by sending the question to media@cgo-cce.org, no later than 20 January 2026.

A total of EUR 400,000 will be allocated to CSOs through this call. The amount of funds that can be allocated for an individual project under this Call will range from a minimum of EUR 15,000 to a maximum of EUR 20,000.

The requested amount of funds within this call will cover a maximum of 100% of eligible costs. The difference between the total cost of the action and the approved amount within this call, if not 100% supported, must come from funds that are the budget of the EU.

The project MEdIA – Lit is implementing the Centre for Civic Education (CCE/CGO), in partnership with Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHRS), Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in North Macedonia (MHC), Tirana Centre for Journalistic Excellence in Albania (TCJE), Atlantic Initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (AI). The project is financed by the European Union and cofinanced by the Ministry of Regional and Investment Development and Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations of the Government of Montenegro.