Call for Application: Building a strong climate movement in Tunisia

We are seeking Tunisian networks and coalitions to join the Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) program, and more particularly, to help build a strong movement which advocates for climate rights, just action and climate agendas.

Are you (member of) an active movement operating in the field of climate action, part of a formal or informal coalition or network, youth-led or women-led network or organization that can mobilize local civil society organization, local communications and marginalized and vulnerable groups and people? Then please have a look:

Terms of Reference
Proposal template
Budget template

Scope of the call

Hivos has funding available for coalitions that are aligned with the goals of the VCA program. More details about the program’s strategic interventions and foreseen outcomes can be found in section 2 of the ToR.

We’re looking for networks and active, existing climate movements in Tunisia that want to conduct advocacy, see it at their mission to raise voices of the most marginalized groups and communities, and aim to build strong movements.

This is expected to happen in a number of ways. Examples include:

engaging stakeholders in climate action to influence climate finance flows
co-creating and promoting local climate solutions led by local communities
taking part in climate policy formulation by reviewing and monitoring at the local and national level, with a specific focus on underrepresented groups, urban poor, rural communities, people living with disabilities and other marginalized people

Hivos welcomes applications from local and national movements, coalitions, and networks to create strong platforms to fight for climate rights and influence climate agendas. We specifically aim to bring the most active Tunisian networks, movements and coalitions together. We are particularly interested in eco-feminist movements and youth-led organizations and groups. This program will not support any “hardware” or “Implementation” projects

Some of the activities related to this grant include (but not limited to):

Create and support coalitions and networks of local communities, groups and multi-stakeholders especially the most vulnerable.
Create and support new and existing networks and movements particularly at local level
Organise advocacy campaigns to influence decision making and contribute to raising voices of underrepresented groups
Develop digital tools and platforms for sensitizing wider public to climate rights and equity

Summary of the Call for Application

Themes: Climate action movements
Sectors of intervention: water, food sovereignty, renewable energy, access to natural resources, just transition, human rights and climate change, etc…
Countries of implementation: Tunisia
Available amount for financing: up to EUR 50, 000
Language Requirements: English
Application deadline: September 4, 2022
Starting date of projects: November 1, 2022
Required documents: full proposal and budget (please see the template attached in annex)
The Selection process:
- – Step 1: Complete the full proposal and budget
- – Step 2: Shortlisted applicants will be contacted for potential interviews
- – Step 3: Due diligence and documentation review
- – Step 4: Budget review
- – Step 5: Contracting process

Eligible applicants

The organization must have good knowledge and a proven track record working on climate justice and policy work at local, regional, and international levels.
National and local networks, movements, and coalitions, operating in Tunisia, formal and/or informal networks are eligible to apply. For informal networks: at least one registered organization can host the grant.
Formal and informal CSOs, CBOs, FBOs, grassroots organizations, local climate action champions established in Tunisia, individuals allied to existing networks
Women and/or youth-led movements, networks and coalitions are highly encouraged to apply, acting on human rights, social, environment and climate action
In case the alliance or network is not legally established, the lead applicant (s) must have been established for at least three fiscal years at the deadline for the submission of project proposals.

Not eligible applicants

International Organizations

Areas of support and eligible intervention

Applicants and partners must submit only one project proposal under this call.
Project activities must be implemented in Tunisia particularly in rural and urban poor and vulnerable areas (coastal, forest, oasis, etc…), and have strong linkages with specific groups mentioned in ‘scope of the call.’
The planned duration of the project must be 12 months.
Support can be provided to projects that will conduct activities in the environmental / social sectors, more specifically in access to environmental and climate rights, climate security, climate justice, actions and locally led solutions, climate litigation, advocacy campaigns and actions
Funding can be given to initiatives that work in the environmental and social sectors, more especially those that address access to environmental and climate rights, climate security, climate justice, local solutions, climate litigation, and advocacy campaigns and actions. Those campaigns aim for better access to finance and building capacities of CSOs, besides the transparency, accountability and monitoring of financial flows. a notable preference will be given to the projects that target local communities and the most marginalized groups.
Interventions and activities that targeting knowledge brokering and traditional knowledge scaling-up, co-creation and designing of local climate solutions, enabling spaces and influencing debates
Innovative movements and allies that can have a meaningful influence on climate agendas and narratives

General rules

Networks should be allied with legal registered organizations (CSOs, national NGO, other organization under the CSOs national law)
These proposals must be written in English language
All proposals submitted after the deadline will be automatically rejected

About Hivos

Hivos is an international development organization guided by humanist values. With citizens and their organizations, we aim to contribute towards just, inclusive and life sustaining societies where people have equal access to opportunities, rights and resources. We work in partnership with others in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America on three impact areas: Civic Rights in a Digital Age; Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Climate Justice. Our approach is solution driven, and we build wider movements for change by amplifying and connecting voices.

Hivos works for a world where people can realize their full potential, unleashing their ingenuity and creativity to build fair, just and life-sustaining societies for themselves and generations to come. Our mission is to amplify and connect voices that promote social and environmental justice and challenge power imbalances. We particularly empower marginalized rightsholders to raise their voice and demand freedom of choice.

Hivos supports the development of alternative solutions to deep-seated problems so that individuals and communities can make responsible and equitable choices within political and economic systems that serve their needs and preserve the planet. We connect people and organizations offering alternatives to those looking for solutions in their fight for social and environmental justice

About VCA

The Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) program is a lobby and advocacy program being implemented by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Netherlands, SouthSouthNorth (SSN), Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), Slum Dwellers International (SDI), Fundación Avina and Hivos under the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ five-year strategic partnership: “Power of Voices”.

The program aims to ensure that by 2025, local civil society and underrepresented groups will have taken on a central role as creators, facilitators and advocates of innovative and inclusive climate solutions. Their inclusion is crucial for effective and lasting climate responses. It is also crucial, and because the climate crisis is also a societal challenge with ethical and human rights aspects occurring alongside a number of inequalities based on gender, socioeconomic class, race, ethnicity, nationality, ability, sexual orientation, and age. The overall approach of the program is to work with civil society to build widespread societal support for locally shaped climate solutions through an inclusive and rights-based approach.

This includes building a broad-based climate alliance at country level, bridging divides (urban-rural, gender, youth) that amplify voices in unusual new ways. In addition, it will influence national and global policies and financial flows (e.g., climate finance, private sector investments) in support of these locally shaped solutions. Climate justice approach Climate change is essentially a human rights issue because of its devastating effect on human life – and rights. It exacerbates existing inequalities between the rich and poor, ethnicities, sexes, generations, and communities. It undermines democracy and threatens the economy and development at large. Likewise, by far the greatest burden falls on those already in poverty and on underrepresented groups such as Indigenous peoples, the rural and urban poor, women and youth, although they are the least responsible for climate change. Through a climate justice approach, the program intends to see an expanded civic space where civil society voices, in particular those of indigenous and/or marginalized people are heard on climate action.

Overall objective of the program

The program aims to ensure that by 2025, local civil society and underrepresented groups will have taken on a central role as creators, facilitators, and advocates of innovative and inclusive climate solutions.

Specific objectives

Mutual capacity strengthening for CSOs and entrepreneurs to co-create alternative climate solutions and connect.
Knowledge system strengthening enables inclusive and accessible agenda settings and climate action movements through amplified storytelling
Joint lobbying and advocacy provide an enabling environment for civic space

Key concepts

Movements: which connect the collaborative efforts of, and amplify, diverse civil society movements and local community-based initiatives working to tackle the climate crisis. The joint effort strengthens and achieves a just climate action.

Climate Justice: Climate justice addresses the unequal distribution of the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change on both human and non-human species. It frames the issue of the climate crisis as one that encompasses political and social issues, by inextricably linking environmental rights to human rights. As the most vulnerable populations who are affected by the crisis are the least responsible for the cause, climate justice further extends the responsibility of action toward rich polluting countries.

Key guiding questions

Collective action – Movement and local partners/solutions.

Impactful societal change – Addressing and positively changing the lives of those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Influencing political power or influence – Policy changes, accountability measures established, etc

Submission

Applications should be in English. The concept note must be no more than 12 pages with the following sections:

Applicant(s) information

Date of application
List of organizations (s) applying for the call and a summarized organizational profile for each organization
Name of the entity and representative that will sign the agreement if the grant is awarded
Name of the program

Narrative of program and budget

Your program approaches in mobilizing and engaging target groups and stakeholders, specifying clearly how you intend to achieve VCA programme pillars. Description of the activities that will be undertaken using this grant. Try to be as concrete as possible; detail which region you will be working in, what entity you will be targeting and how you will implement activities that will support the achievement of your goals within the confines of this programme.
Objectives or proposed outcomes of your activities, and the change you aim to achieve through your programme
Workplan that briefly outlines proposed activities, including a simple schedule, a time frame for activities for a period of 12 months (activity planned should be ended by October 2023), the budget should be attached as annex (indicate budget lines per activity and result area). Applicants should indicate which organizations are involved in which components and when it’s a join activity (give details)

Application deadline is September 4, 2022

Template: kindly complete your proposal and budget by using the template