EAST - EAST PROGRAM

Goal: to support a cross-border partnership that promotes cooperation in identifying regional and global experiences, expertise and best practices in social innovation. The program supports openness, dialogue and neutral space for diverse views and seek s to discover and inspire new visions, energy and creativity to strengthen conditions of open society beyond borders.

Program description:
The East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders was created in 1991 and is implemented through the office of the Soros foundations network in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Mongolia. In 2002 in cooperation with the Southeast Asia Initiative/OSI New York, the Program expanded its mandate to offer support for international partnership to civil society institutions in Southeast Asia.

The East East Program: Partnership Beyond borders is a resource, which responds to needs from people in society most intensively on contact with local conditions, and takes a long-term perspective in empowering people to work beyond borders toward common goals of open society. Initiatives supported in the East East Program involve two or more countries.

Program Objectives:
· to expand people's vision for innovation through exposure to ideas, information and knowledge and to support practical actions based on knowledge networking; and,
· to consolidate the work of a critical mass of people promoting an open society agenda as a trans-national force for advocacy, impact, positive change and policy dialogue on issues relevant to the OSI mission

Civil society institutions and non-governmental organizations may use the resources of the program
· to exchange experiences, best practices, lessons learned and models of development
· to collaborate in finding innovative solutions to trans-national challenges
· to build and/or strengthen local capacity, resources and expertise
· to analyze comparative trends in social, economic and political development
· to identify alternative approaches in overcoming stereotypes, prejudice, isolation, exclusion
· to strengthen coalitions/alliances in influencing public policies and public policy dialogue
· to catalyze expertise, innovation and advocacy to affect positive change

Project criteria:
Priority is given to long-term initiatives with a clear vision and realistic potential for impact to affect change.

The East East Program addresses challenges facing contemporary societies globally, including but not limited to
· empowerment, mobility and diversity of civil society
· disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of society
· multicultural acceptance, diversity and interaction
· impact of economic and political change
· information divide/lack of access to information
· civic education, participation in and institutionalization of democratic processes

The East East program does not support:
· world congresses and international or annual conferences
· hard science or scientific conferences
· research projects
· arts and culture events, festivals, competitions, exhibitions or performances
· specialized and individualized training courses
· translation or publishing
· infrastructure development
· the same organizer organizing the same project year after year; the program wants to give many and diverse organizations opportunities to conduct projects
· the same participants attending a project organized by the same organizers year after year; the program encourages an organizer or a participant to develop projects which build on previous projects and expand topics of discussion and participation

Mongolian organizations and individuals can participate in the program in two ways:
1. Applying to participate in East East event in other countries:
Every quarter or so, the East East program updates a calendar of upcoming events throughout the region. Individuals may apply on a competitive basis to participate in event hosted by other countries. The East East program coordinator upon receiving the project calendar from the network distributes it through local NGOs network, Open Web center and resource centers at the MFOS, and place it at the MFOS web site.

How to apply:
The interested individuals and organizations may apply to the events related to their activities by sending an official letter from the organization, the CV of the intended participant to the Program Coordinator.

Deadline:
A month before the event.

Criteria for selecting participants:
· relation of the event to the applicant's professional field
· applicant's excellence and accomplishments in his/.her professional filed
· relationship of the event to the foundation's priority initiatives
· applicant's language ability and opportunity to participate actively in the event
· applicant's ability and commitments to share and disseminate knowledge, materials, and experience gained from the event upon return to Mongolia

Who makes decision:
Civil Society Expert Committee makes final selection of the participants.

1. Applying to develop and host East East event in Mongolia:
Mongolian non-government organizations and, in some cases, government institutions, can also cooperate with their counterparts in Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. To host an event in Mongolia they need to develop project proposals in the East East related fields.

Project criteria:
Key criteria of the Program projects are regional thinking and impact. The program gives priority to projects, which are organized by two or more organizations in two or more countries.
· clear defined and realistic short or long-term objectives and goals
· practical and attainable results anticipated, which promote ongoing work after the project itself and potential for impact locally and across national borders
· selection of participants
· contribution to public awareness of issues
· follow-up and/or long term benefit
· partnership in project development
· quality of organizers

APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Applicants are requested to provide complete project information according to the application form.
Please download and fill out the application form http://www.osi.hu/easteast/ApplicationForm.htm

How to apply:
The East East Program coordinator receives and evaluates project proposals. Then project proposals are submitted for consideration to the relevant Expert Committee meeting, and after this evaluation, proposals are submitted to the East East program management in the Open Society Institute in London

Deadlines:
Proposals must be received by the program management in Budapest at least six weeks before a project is planned to begin.

Financial support:
The East East Program should not be the only source of financial support for a project. Sources of financial support and/or in-kind contributions must be stated in the project application. For seminars, roundtables and exchange visits, financial support may be requested for accommodation; meals; in-country travel; translation; printing/publication of project results, and reasonable administrative expenses.
Reasonable administrative expenses may include communication (telephone, fax, postage) and preparation of project materials. The program does not support purchase or rental of equipment or office supplies to maintain equipment; fees for services provided by the organizer; organizer's staff salaries; general overhead costs.

Participation:
If this project is accepted, travel expenses of participants will be requested through sending Foundations. Network of National foundations have opportunities to identify and select participants to the event.