Programs
Project “Non-profits & Media advocating for good!”
Τhe project “Non-profits & Media advocating for good!” aims to strengthen civil society advocacy and watchdog role in Greece. To achieve that, the project offers a framework of experiential training and collaboration, benefitting 32 media representatives and 32 non-profits’ staff in 4 cities of Greece, selected based on that fact that they have both vibrant NPO communities and media as well as significant social issues, in order to co-create and implement together advocacy activities.
The project «Non-profits & Media advocating for good!» is being implemented under the Active citizens fund in Greece by HIGGS (Project Promoter) and its partners, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Open Knowledge Foundation Greece and Journalism Initiative.
The Active citizens fund in Greece is supported through a € 12m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The program aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active citizens fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow.
Please find more information about the project in the following link: https://advocatingforgood.gr/en/
Please find more information about the program in the following link: www.activecitizensfund.gr/en/
The innovative and ambitious project Thales II: Evaluation of Greek Non-profit Organisations aims at studying the NPO ecosystem in Greece and more importantly to map and evaluate the Greek NPOs.
The project “Thales II: Mapping and evaluating Greek NGOs” is a continuation of the Thales I Project. It has a duration of two (2) years and is implemented by the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the University of the Peloponnese in collaboration with the Non-profit Organization HIGGS.
Thales II is being funded by five (5) charitable foundations: TIMA Charitable Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Athanassios K. Laskaridis Foundation, Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation, John S Latsis Public Benefit Foundation
Please find more information about the program in the following link: www.greekngosnavigator.org
AMIF Action Grant
ArtsTogether "Integrating migrant children at schools through artistic expression"
Project Duration: 2018- 2020
Project Description: The main objective of the ArtsTogether Project is to create specific measures that target migrant children in early childhood and primary education, aiming to contribute to the elimination of the educational disadvantage and cultural barriers they experience.
It aims also at developing and testing a curriculum based on artistic activities and collaborative approaches that will be used in order to equip teachers for dealing with diversity, fostering mutual understanding and respect among their students and improve the educational performance of migrant students.
Project Consortium
Greece: University of the Peloponnese (Leader), HIGGS, ARSIS, Four Elements
Italy: University of Bologna, Centro Sviluppo Creativo Danilo Dolci, Centro Studi Villa Montesca
Austria: Kindervilla
Belgium: Mediter
United Kingdom: Bath Spa University
Website: https://www.artstogether.eu/home
Erasmus+ Key Action 2
DiGi YOUTH
Project Duration: 2020-2021
Project Description: The “DiGi YOUTH” project aims to promote quality youth work through open and innovative practices in the digital era. Youth workers and youth organizations’ staff who lack digital competences or skills will be fully benefited and further educated from the intellectual outputs and the useful material developed by this project, delivering high quality youth work and further engaging with disadvantaged youth through the use of digital tools.
Project Consortium
Slovakia: European Dialogue (Leader)
Bulgaria: The Future Now Association
Greece: HIGGS
Turkey: Yasar Universitesi
Website: Under construction
Virtual Intercultural Reality Active Learning for local communities (VIRAL)
Project Duration: 2018-2021
Project Description: The VIRAL project intends to provide anyone working in the adult education sector (training and language schools, public bodies and public administration, first reception centers, cultural associations and libraries) with a useful tool to help refugees’/migrants’ integration and local communities’ mutual knowledge through the use of VR technology.
The final output will be what has been called as “Cross Cultural Toolbox”, a digital platform, absolutely free and accessible to everyone. Entering the TOOLBOX you will be able to download any instructions and material needed to introduce VR in cultural projects. Indicatively, the following material will be included: educational material, pilot learning units, the VR videos produced by all partners and an instruction manual on how to develop your own VR videos.
Project Consortium
Italy: Nkey srl (Leader), University for Foreigners of Perugia
Greece: HIGGS
Poland: CEBS
Romania: ASPES
Website: https://viral.nkey.it/el/
European youth Network for dIversity and TolerancE (E-UNITE)
Project Duration: 2018-2019
Project Description: The E-UNITE project aims to promote community-led initiatives in the fields of tolerance, inclusivity and diversity. The main output of the project – the E-UNITE Online Hub allows for the convergence of young minds and exchange of ideas, as well as supports such initiatives; likewise, the Online Hub is a base for exchange of know-how and good practices of youth workers, which are interested in working on those community-led initiatives or alternatively – youth workers, who wish to develop youth networks of their own. The Online Hub serves as a platform where youth workers and youth from around Europe will have the opportunity to converge, exchange ideas and help each other achieve community and network goals.
Project Consortium
Cyprus: University of Nicosia (Leader)
Bulgaria: Law and Internet Foundation
Greece: HIGGS
Romania: CENTRUL ROMAN DE POLITICI EUROPENE
Slovenia: Celje Youth Center
Kosovo: Institute for Economic, Political, and Social studies (IEPS)
Website: http://e-unite.eu/#/el/
Advancing the Third Sector through Innovation and Variation (ATSIV)
Project Duration: 2016-2019
Project Description: The ATSIV project aims to shape and enhance the skills of adult NGO workers through an open access virtual learning environment (VLE) and an online game. In particular, it aims not only to enhance NGO worker’s skills, but also to promote active citizenship and further develop the Third Sector at EU level.
Project Consortium
Greece: University of the Peloponnese (Leader), HIGGS, South East European Research Centre (SEERC)
Poland: Fundacja Wspierania Organizacji Pozarzadowych «UMBRELLA»
Romania: National School of Political Studies and Public Administration
Website: http://ngotraining.eu/
HIGGS & HUMAN RIGHTS 360 organized the ‘Green Ideas Greece 2020’ competition for the first time in Greece with the support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, in the context of the ‘Balkan Green Ideas’ competition, a project of the Balkan Green Foundation.
It aims to stimulate and encourage innovation for green ideas while engaging local communities to generate green initiatives that utilize local resources and community-based markets. By supporting innovative, local sustainable economic development initiatives, Green Ideas aims to substantively contribute to building a peaceful, competitive, and prosperous Balkans.
Ten ideas will compete in the local competition. An independent jury will select three ideas, which will receive a cash a prize and capacity-building support. The three winning ideas will participate in the Balkan competition, where five ideas from the region will receive cash prizes. Three $10,000 and two $5,000, depending on the category they’re competing in.
Local competition-winning ideas:
Category (a) New ideas:
‘Green School Days’ – by the Green Community of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with Commons in Residency
Category (b) Early stage initiatives:
‘Mediterranean Cleanup: Chalkida’ – by Enaleia
‘The Barn Owl Project’ – by TYTO
Please find more information about the project in the following link: https://greenideasgreece.org/
The 1st TechCamp Athens 2018 was implemented for the first time in Greece on the 22nd -23rd of January by HIGGS with the support of the Cultural Attaché of the U.S. Embassy in Athens. The TechCamp is a training that is implemented in several countries around the world and aims at bringing together Nonprofit Organizations with distinguished experts at digital tools and marketing.
During the 2-day seminar, 42 NPOs from 5 countries (Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, and Romania) had the opportunity to engage with leading experts in the areas of Communication, Marketing, Social Media, Crisis Management, Fundraising, and Crowdfunding, to generate hypothetical challenges for their organizations and create digital material.
