Reminder! In just a few days, this Saturday, June 17 '23, there will be a big celebration of the ENGAGE project!

WHERE: Gdańsk, ul. Wita Stwosza 23

The final conference is organized by BISER - Project Leader

We meet at 10:00 am and at 11:00 am there will be a panel discussion on the transfer of ENGAGE experience!

If you are an organization that has benefited from the services of the Office of International Cooperation advice and participated in the meetings of the ENGAGE! project, where we talked about the problems of your organization and encouraged you to take action in partnership with the countries of the Baltic Sea - THIS event is for you! Come to Gdansk and you will meet there people who are socially active like you!

After the panel there will be a short break, during which those wishing to attend can participate in a discussion about cooperation between NGOs and local governments, there will also be time for networking and additional questions. At 1:30 p.m. the picnic and lunch begins, to which you are cordially invited, there will be hot, cold, salty, sweet, vege and meat options 🙂

After lunch there is a series of short, inspiring talks in the form of #prawieTEDex followed by our ENGAGE workshop from 3:30 pm! for which BISER has prepared brand new, up-to-date training materials. This will be an additional opportunity to discuss the latest project calls, upcoming Baltic cooperation events (and more), consult project ideas, etc.

The project is implemented with a grant from the Active Citizens - National Fund funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Funds _

Remember! Admission free!

Let's meet at the ENGAGE! project summary conference! Saturdaj, June 17 in Gdańsk

It has been a great adventure for many NGOs, as this project specifically included third sector entities, offering them to gain knowledge and tools to increase their level of cooperation and start activities in an international environment. During the last event, the results that were achieved during the event will be presented.

The project aimed to help NGOs internationalize, strengthen projects and processes, already undertaken, and create a friendly climate for broad cooperation among local NGOs, equipping them with relevant competencies. Organizations that expressed interest in participating in the project had the opportunity to learn how to establish lasting international relations.

The results of the project activities will be presented in detail at an upcoming conference.

The success of the project, in addition to the visits, has been the operation of the International Cooperation Advice Bureau, which is used on a daily basis by many people representing different stakeholder groups.

AGENDA:

SIGN UP HERE

During this time:

• we accomplished 8 workshops on international cooperation of NGOs,
• we made 4 international study visits (to Iceland, Norway, Finland and soon - to Belgium), to which we took a total of more than 15 NGOs,
• We held dozens of consultations with representatives of organizations that have decided to apply and embark on a joint international adventure in Programs such as: Erasmus+, EEA Grants, or Interreg;
• We have helped develop more than a dozen project applications (by suggesting partners from abroad, co-creating concepts with you and helping polish the application), which has resulted in several alreadygrants awarded and the start of new international projects in several NGOS that have not yet had this opportunity until now!
• We talked about the project and NGOs' international cooperation in the media, at NGO conferences, as well as at the Forum of the Baltic NGOs Network;
• We have published a bilingual Handbook of International Cooperation.
  NGOs ENGAGE!
  https://biser.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ENGAGE-Playbook-PL-DO-DRUKU.pdf
• but also: we developed our network and met
  fantastic community members from whom we ourselves have learned an
  an incredible amount!

It will soon be the end of the ENGAGE! project, which lasted 2.5 years. BISER - the leader of the project summarized the activities aimed at equipping Pomeranian and Warmia-Mazury NGOs with competencies to start and develop international cooperation in the area of their activities.

What happened:

• we carried out 8 workshops of international cooperation of NGOs,
• we made 4 international study visits (to Iceland, Norway, Finland and soon - to Belgium), to which we took more than 15 NGOs in total,
• we held dozens of consultations with representatives of organizations that decided to apply and adventure together internationally in Programs such as: Erasmus+, EEA Grants, or Interreg;
• we helped to develop more than a dozen project applications (suggesting foreign partners, co-creating concepts with you and helping to polish the application), which resulted in several grants already awarded and the start of new international projects in several NGOS that have not yet had this opportunity!
• we talked about the project and NGOs' international cooperation in the media, at NGO conferences, and at the Baltic NGO Network Forum;
• we published the bilingual NGOs ENGAGE International Cooperation Handbook!: https://biser.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ENGAGE-Playbook-PL-DO-DRUKU.pdf
• but also: we developed our cooperation network and met fantastic social scientists, from whom we learned an incredible amount ourselves!

June 17, the official closing of the project will take place in Gdansk. On behalf of the leader of the BISER Association, we cordially invite you! Therefore, we encourage representatives of NGOs from Warmia and Mazury, who are willing to take part in the celebrations, to apply to our Association. We want you to share with other participants your experiences of cooperation within the ENGAGE project!

Details of the program coming soon!

NGOs are encouraged to participate in the very interesting but above all useful events organised in the region.

One of them is: How it's done. Transnational cooperation of NGOs (Jak to się robi. Współpraca międzynarodowa organizacji pozarządowych)

WHEN: 19 April 2023. Olsztyn, Hotel Omega, 4a Sielska Street

The topics of the panels coincide with those of the recent ENGAGE! and will include practical examples of international cooperation. This is an opportunity to meet people who are implementing international projects, including through the use of the ENGAGE project's International Co-operation Advice Bureau. Among others, there will be a panel presenting the project entitled "Green Up - Youth for Green Change in Schools and Communities", which will be presented by Mateusz Dobkowski from WAMA-COOP - an association which all NGOs should be friends with 🙂 Panellists will also include other people who are improving their skills in international cooperation with the Euroregion - Izabela Narożniak-Jakubowska from Gothic Castles, as well as other people who are extremely active in their activities.

We warmly encourage you to attend and engage in discussions with the panellists!

Another event is the Workshop for Smart Specialisation Leaders "Water Economy".

We encourage you to attend this event because it is about a specific speciality - water - which is particularly important these days. You will find out more about this at the meeting.

LINK FOR REGISTRATION

And if you are willing to collaborate at a higher level on water issues, we encourage you to read and complete the DECLARATION OF COOPERATION

Today saw the final workshop of the ENGAGE! addressed to non-governmental organisations from the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship. This activity was one of 8 realised in the project, 4 for Pomerania and 4 for Warmia and Mazury. Their aim was to raise awareness of undertaking international activities and knowledge of possible sources of funding for local initiatives, improve skills in developing cross-border cooperation, acquire practical knowledge related to the creation of project concepts and partnerships, and familiarise themselves with innovative tools enabling them to work more creatively.

Participants had the opportunity to:

- gain inspiration and share their ideas for implementing international activities;
- connect with regional and international stakeholders in the Polish-Norwegian network initiated as part of the ENGAGE!;
- expand their activities with new and improved cooperation opportunities during our matchmaking session and in our partner market;
- turn common adversities into opportunities and possibilities for co-operation within various programmes and competitions

The workshop was attended by new organisations that had not previously benefited from ENGAGE!

The essence of the meeting was the practical part aimed at pooling potentials. Projects that require the inclusion of further partners were presented so that the representatives present could find a suitable topic for their organisations.

In addition to the knowledge imparted to the participants, we involved everyone in a lively discussion about their needs, expectations and project experiences. We had the opportunity to present the opportunities offered by the project and encourage international cooperation on the basis of European funds. Together, we went through the most important points contained in the applications for aid programmes.

The power always lies in learning together!

We also hosted organisations that had benefited from the assistance of the International Cooperation Advice Bureau working on the ENGAGE project! These organisations were included in project consortia and are today implementing their first projects with foreign partners.

By working with us, NGOs also have the opportunity to meet foreign partners working in a wide range of thematic areas.

We encourage you to contact us!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Representatives of Non-Governmental Organisations from Warmia and Mazury,

The Association of Municipalities of the Republic of Poland Euroregion Bałtyk is pleased to invite you to the last of a series of workshop trainings, which is aimed at NGOs from the Warmia and Mazury Region. This activity is one of many activities of the international project ENGAGE! dedicated to NGOs to develop international cooperation.

We will meet on 30 March at the headquarters of the Association of Polish Municipalities Euroregion Baltic in Elbląg, ul. Stary Rynek 25, room 300 (3rd floor).

The event aims to:

• raise awareness of undertaking international activities
• improve professional skills in developing international cooperation
• be inspired to mobilise your strengths to work more effectively in project teams
• get to know innovative tools to work more creatively

Format of the workshop:

World Cafe workshops conducted using an innovative method

Trainers:

Experienced trainers, working with innovative tools

Leader of the ENGAGE! project:

Baltic Institute for European and Regional Affairs (BISER) from Gdynia

Partners:

Association of Polish Municipalities Euroregion Baltic

Agder Fylkeskommune

Registration accepted until 17 March this year at 15:00

LINK FOR REGISTRATION

DETAILED PROGRAMME WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON!

Young organizations interested in developing their entities are encouraged to take advantage of the Active Citizens - Regional Fund Program. The program has launched a call for applications for micro-grants and its goal is "to provide optimal conditions for the development and proper functioning of organizations that are just starting out, or those that have not yet managed to establish internal rules and procedures, develop a work culture or ways to effectively reach their audiences".

The goal of the program is at the same time a hint to those interested in what activities can be carried out under the project.

Perhaps for some organizations this is the first step directed at the internationalization of the unit, which is encouraged by the ongoing ENGAGE! project, in which our Association is a partner while BISER is the leader of the entire project.

The call for applications runs from March 1, 2023 until May 8, 2023 at 12:00 pm

Minimum grant amount: 10 000 EUR

Maximum grant amount: 12 000 EUR

Lead time: 6 to 8 months

ATTENTION! Own contribution is not mandatory!

Call for proposals - here

More information, including but not limited to: application details, form, application, instructions, link to generator, etc. - here

Get to it!

Thanks to the close cooperation of NGOs with the International Cooperation Counseling Office operating within the ENGAGE! project, interesting projects with foreign partners have been built and we happily led to the submission of 4 projects to the INTERREG South Baltic 2021-2027 program!

The ENGAGE! project is an endeavor that provides NGOs with a range of information about competitions that give them a chance to develop international projects.

We would like to inform all interested parties about the new call for proposals - as of today, i.e. February 15, the competition for the Council of Baltic Sea States program has started! We encourage you to submit projects for cooperation with foreign partners. The call for applications will last until March 31, 2023!

Informations about the call

Eligible partners must be from, e.g., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden.

The Project Support Facility was established by the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in 2012 to co-finance projects in the Baltic Sea region to promote sustainable partnerships in relation to the CBSS' three long-term priority areas. The first PSF Call was held in 2013.

The CBSS, through its Project Facility, invites all eligible entities in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) to apply for grants to implement small-scale, community-based or profession/expert-based projects.