Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme 2020 (Deadline Extended)

Organisations across Ireland working on issues of human rights and equality are invited to apply to the Human Rights and Equality Grant Scheme 2020.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (“the Commission”) will award small grants of up to €6,000 and general grants of up to €20,000 to support activities in Ireland that promote access to justice for people who face the greatest barriers to accessing their rights.

Now in its fifth year, grants are open to civil society organisations, rights-holder and community led groups, and trade unions from across the country, who can bring forward proposals on empowering people to understand and claim their rights. This includes people at risk of discrimination protected under the nine grounds of Ireland’s equality legislation: gender, civil status, family status, age, sexual orientation, disability, race, religion, and membership of the Traveller community and people at risk of poverty and social exclusion.

Activities that promote participation of people in decisions that affect them are eligible to apply for grant support including:

• Participatory education and training activities
• Projects focused on engaging people in shaping policy and legislation reform
• Conferences, seminars and workshops
• Tools and campaigns, including digital, which give voice to rights holders’ experience and which promote their human rights and equality
• Participatory research and policy analysis
• Monitoring compliance of public bodies with human rights and equality standards

Since its grant scheme was established in 2016, the Commission has supported over 100 human rights and equality projects across Ireland, including research programmes, training or resource activities, conferences or events and cultural initiatives.

The deadline for receipt of applications has now been extended to Tuesday, 19 May at 4pm.

Full details of the grant scheme are available here on the Commission’s website.

Professor Caroline Fennell, Acting Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission stated:

“The Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme 2020-21 will support civil society organisations, rights-holders and community-led groups, and trade unions to build the capacity of people who are at risk of discrimination or human rights abuses to understand and more effectively claim their rights and organise themselves to advance their human rights and equality.

“Through this grant scheme focused on people’s access to justice, the Commission looks to empower people in claiming their rights, and shaping the decisions that impact on their human rights and the achievement of equality.”