The project «The Unsung Hero Dialogues – Promoting Solidarity and Diversity through Awareness and Policy Reform» aims to increase awareness among the European public of the importance of civic engagement in social and political discourse, as well as to increase the competence of NGOs, to do so. To achieve these objectives, the project focuses on: 1) increasing attention on the economically unstable position of activists working in small-sized NGOs, 2) empowering activists to advocate for their rights through collective action by creating local and international networks among small freelancers, volunteers, and NGOs within Europe as well as building direct dialogues with policy makers, 3) increasing awareness of the importance of civil society by making an international campaign promoting the importance of civic education to a wider public.
The overall project consists of 46 activities, including the European Survey about Work in Civil Society Organizations (that we kindly ask you fill out if you haven’t yet), the Autumn School, as well as 7 local events in each of the partnership countries.

The Autumn School

During the Autumn School, 50 participants from the EU 28 will work together to develop the competences and strategies how to better promote the [financial] value of civil society and civic education in Europe and their local communities. The Autumn School will consist of two phases, the first focusing on the background and methods for promoting Civil Society/Civic Education, and the second on developing strategies and materials to specifically target: a) the policy level and, b) the broader public.

Participation fee is 25 EUR. Travel costs, food and accommodation are covered.