Regulation
Hrant Dink Foundation
1.Hrant Dink Foundation established the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant in February 2014 with a view to increase direct contacts and to promote cooperation between the peoples of the two neighbouring countries within the framework of the programme Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process financed by the European Union. Thanks to the European Union funding, the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant issued 5 open calls from March 2014 to May 2015, received more than 850 applications and supported the travels of 210 individuals.
2.Turkey – Armenia Travel Grant continued to receive applications by announcing a 6th open call, jointly administered by the Hrant Dink Foundation and the Gyumri ‘‘Youth Initiative Centre’’ NGO (YIC) based in Gyumri, Armenia, with the joint financial assistance of the British Embassy Ankara and British Embassy Yerevan. In the 6th round, Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant received more than 160 applications and supported the travels of 26 individuals from July 2015 to September 2015.
3.In 2016-2017, Hrant Dink Foundation will administer the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant with the financial assistance of the European Union within the framework of the programme Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process Stage II, in collaboration with the Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) and Gyumri “Youth Initiative Centre” NGO (YIC) in Armenia.
4.Thanks to the European Union funding, the Travel Grant will finance the travels of at least 180 individuals from July 2016 to July 2017. In this timeframe, the Travel Grant aims to support 116 individuals travelling from Turkey to Armenia and 64 individuals travelling from Armenia to Turkey. In the meantime, Hrant Dink Foundation will continue to seek additional funding. In case additional funds are secured, the number of Travel Grant will beneficiaries will also increase.
Who Can Benefit From the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant?
5.Any individual holding citizenship of Armenia or Turkey, any individual legally residing in Armenia or Turkey, any non-profit group, initiative or organisation based/registered in Armenia or Turkey will be eligible to benefit from the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant. Groups and initiatives without legal entity can also benefit from the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant.Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant primarily targets to support youth initiatives, university students, university clubs, civil society organisations, professional organisations, high school students and teachers, academics, researchers, journalists, doctors, lawyers, , publishers, artists, sports clubs, sportsmen and sportswomen, businesses, local authorities, for their travels within the scope of eligible field and type of activities.
a.Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will support eligible actions in various thematic fields such as -but not limited to – civil society, youth and volunteering policies, human rights and democracy, education and training, environment, history, culture and arts, development, gender, medicine, law, technology, sports, regional cooperation and European integration.
b.Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will support travels of individuals and groups who are organising or attending various types of eligible activities such as partnership building and networking, feasibility visits, cross-border projects, project preparation meetings, exchange programmes, trainings, language learning, academic cooperation, research and dissertation, voluntary service in civil society organisations, joint artistic productions; as well as organizing or attending panels, seminars, conferences, workshops, exhibitions, concerts and similar activities in any of the thematic fields above.
6.There is no age limit for the applicants who would like to receive Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant support. Those who are under the age of 18 –the age of legal maturity in Armenia and Turkey-will be required to submit the approval of their parents, legal custodians or teachers along with their application and should be accompanied by an adult above 18.
Who Cannot Benefit from the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant?
7.Trips of profit-making organisations, commercial enterprises, and businesses for the purpose of selling their goods and services, trips by political parties, and touristic and personal visits, including visits for medical reasons will not be eligible.
8.Visits by the staff, members and boards members of the Hrant Dink Foundation as well as the collaborating organisations Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) and Gyumri ‘‘Youth Initiative Centre’’ NGO (YIC) or travels from/to the activities of the mentioned organisations will not be eligible.
9. Visits by the Consortium members implementing the programme Support to the Armenia- Turkey Normalisation Process Stage II or travels from/to the activities of the Consortium members will not be eligible.
10.Visits by fellows who received the support of the Hrant Dink Foundation’s Turkey-Armenia Fellowship Scheme in 2014-2015 will not be eligible.
11.Individuals who received the support of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant in the previous 6 rounds are not eligible. Individuals who received the Travel Grant support in the previous 6 rounds, yet could not realize their travels due to force majeure are eligible to apply by submitting the same or a different application form.
12.An idividual can benefit from the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant only once. However, in case not awarded in the specific selection round, the same individual can apply more than once by submitting the same or a different application form.
13.The application has to be submitted by individuals. In case of group travels, all members of the group should submit individual applications by specifying the details of the group in the relevant part of the application form.
What Are The Costs Covered By The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant?
14.The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will finance eligible transportation costs that can be documented (plane, train, bus tickets). The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will only cover economy class tickets and means of public transport.
15.The costs arising from the eligible domestic and international means of transport that will be used during the travel will be directly paid to the relevant airline company or travel agency by the Hrant Dink Foundation. Grantees’ tickets will be delivered by the Hrant Dink Foundation.
16.In cases where it is not possible for the Hrant Dink Foundation to directly book and pay for tickets, in particular for inter-city transportation such as Yerevan-Gyumri and Yerevan-Tbilisi travels, the Travel Grant beneficiary may need to pay for these expenditures himself/herself. In such cases, the Travel Grant beneficiary may request reimbursement from the Hrant Dink Foundation. The reimbursement requests may be approved by the Hrant Dink Foundation provided that they fulfil the following criteria:
a.The inter-city travel is made in economy class and by means of public transport.
b.All the legal documents, receipts, invoices certifying the inter-city transportation as well as the Travel Grant Activity Report are submitted by the Travel Grant Beneficiary to the Hrant Dink Foundation the latest within ten days after return to the home country.
17.The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will not finance the ineligible costs including visa costs, exit fees and duties, travel insurance or any other visit-related cost including as accommodation, food, e Such costs will be covered by the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant beneficiaries and/or the inviting persons or organisations.
18.Those who will be travelling to Armenia or to Turkey with the support of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant are strongly recommended to arrange personal travel health insurance that will cover the entire duration of their stay. The sole responsibility to arrange the travel health insurance will lie with the grantee. Hrant Dink FoundationGyumri ‘‘Youth Initiative Centre’’ NGO (YIC), the Consortium members implementing the programme Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process Stage II and the European Union shall be by no means held responsible in case of any incident that may occur during the visit.
Selection Criteria
19.Contribution to the following overall objective will be the main selection criterion:
“to support civil society efforts towards the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia and towards an open border by enhancing people-to-people contacts, expanding economic and business links, promoting cultural and educational activities and facilitating access to balanced information in both societies”
Selection Priorities
20.In addition to the selection criterion, applications that comply with the following qualities will be given priority.
a.Support for First Time Goers: Priority will be given to individuals who will be travelling to the neighbouring country for the first time.
b.Support for Local and Regional Activities: The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant aims to mobilize individuals and organisations from major provinces as much as local area Local actions and travels from/to cities other than Istanbul and Yerevan will be given priority.
c.Diversity: Diversity of beneficiaries will be ensured in terms of gender, age, geographical area, thematic area, and type of activities.
d.Support for Youth: The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will be open to all age groups; however young people including high school and university students as well as youth groups will be given priority.
e.Support for New Initiatives: The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will support both registered civil society organisations that are experienced in certain fields as well as civic initiatives, which do not have legal entity. Civic initiatives and individuals with innovative ideas will be given priority.
f.Sustainability and Multiplier Effect: Travels that can reach out to more people, that can have greater impact in the long run, and that can contribute to the initiation of concrete partnership projects between Armenia and Turkey will be given priority.
Selection Process
21.All incoming applications for the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant are assessed by a Selection Committee in line with the selection criterion and priorities. The Selection Committee is made up of 6 members, 3 from Turkey and 3 from Armenia, out of independent, neutral and competent names. The members of the Committee are identified by the Hrant Dink Foundation. Selection Committee composition pays attention to gender equality. Selection Committee members will perform their functions voluntarily.
22.Members of the Selection Committee will assess all incoming applications from Armenia and Turkey through scoring. The scoring is done for both countries and not separately for Armenia and Turkey.
23.Members of the Selection Committee will have the right to veto.
24.Members of the Selection Committee will assess the incoming applications received for each period specified in the Selection Timeline within 7 days.
Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant Selection Timeline
25.Individuals who want to benefit from the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant between July 2016 to July 2017 can submit applications any time for any selection round specified in the below Selection Timeline. The Selection Committee shall make its decisions on Beneficiaries in four rounds on the specific dates mentioned in the below Selection Timeline.
|
Rounds |
Deadline For Applications | Announcement of Selected Grantees | Selection Targets |
| 7th | 24 June 2016 | 5 July 2016 | 45 grantees, 29 from Turkey, 16 from Armenia |
| 8th | 24 August 2016 | 10 September 2016 | 45 grantees 29 from Turkey, 16 from Armenia |
| 9th | 24 November 2016 | 10 December 2016 | 45 grantees 29 from Turkey, 16 from Armenia |
| 10th | 24 February 2017 | 10 March 2017 |
45 grantees |
26.However, applicants must arrange their travel dates in accordance with the Eligible Travel Timeframes below. Therefore, while filling in/submitting their application form, the applicants must choose/mark the eligible travel timeframe that corresponds to/covers their actual/planned travel dates.
|
Eligible Timeframes for Travels |
|
July 10 – September 30, 2016 |
|
September 15 – December 31, 2016 |
|
December 15, 2016- March 31, 2017 |
|
March 15 – July 15, 2017 |
27.The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will only support the travels that take place starting from July 10th, 2016 until July 15th, 2017. Travels taking place later than July 15th, 2017 will not be eligible.
Application Process
28.Any applicant who would like to benefit from the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant should fill in the online application form on the website www.armtr-beyondborders.org and submit it. Application forms should be submitted in English language. Competency in English is not a selection criterion. The purpose is to prevent possible disagreements about translation and to facilitate the work of the Selection Committee. In case, applicants need support with translation from Armenian/Turkish into English, they are welcome to contact the Hrant Dink Foundation project team members for advice.
29.Hrant Dink Foundation project team members will compile all incoming applications, do a technical assessment to check if the application forms are complete. When necessary, the project team members will also contact the contact/reference persons mentioned in the applications. Afterwards the project team members will share the compiled list of applications with the Selection Committee.
30.Once the assessment of Selection Committee is completed, all applicants from Armenia and Turkey are listed from the highest to the lowest score. Applicants with the highest score who fall within the Selection Target quotas specified in the Selection Timeline are identified as the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant Beneficiaries.
31.The project team of the Hrant Dink Foundation in Turkey and Armenia will contact the applicants and their contact/reference persons in the neighbouring country for double-checking prior to notification of Selection Committee decisions.
32.Grantees will be publicly announced on the official website of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant www.armtr-beyondborders.org within 15 days following the deadline for each round. The travels should only start after the announcement of the beneficiaries in accordance with the Eligible Travel Timeframes specified above. The applicants who were not awarded are informed by the Hrant Dink Foundation by e-mail.
33.The beneficiaries of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will be obliged to first confirm their dates of travel and travel route with the project team, undersign the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant Agreement with the Hrant Dink Foundation, provide the Hrant Dink Foundation with a copy of the Grant Agreement. Only afterwards the Hrant Dink Foundation will make the necessary bookings and deliver the travel documents and tickets to the Beneficiaries.
34.In case the individuals who were selected as the beneficiaries of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant and who undersigned the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant Agreement fail to realise their travels to the neighbouring country and fail to notify the Hrant Dink Foundation prior to their travel dates, the Hrant Dink Foundation will take necessary action to reclaim the funds spent for travel expenditures in accordance with the relevant articles of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant Agreement.
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http://www.armtr-beyondborders.org/en/travel-grant/regulation/