FOREST
Fostering CSOs’ Resilience to Shrinking Spaces and Strengthening their Capacities through Individual Mentoring and Value Mainstreaming in Hungary and SlovakiaIn Hungary and Slovakia, civil society organizations (CSOs) face increasing pressure in a climate where fundamental rights and EU values are being challenged. Restrictive legislation, limited funding opportunities, and public stigmatization contribute to a shrinking civic space and create a chilling effect on activism.
The project FOREST – Fostering CSOs’ Resilience to Shrinking Spaces and Strengthening their Capacities through Individual Mentoring and Value Mainstreaming in Hungary and Slovakia aims to empower civil society in the face of growing democratic challenges and strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding EU values.
Led by the Transatlantic Foundation, the European arm of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in partnership with Alternative Communities Association (AKE) in Hungary and Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia (PDCS), FOREST focuses on building resilience in five key areas:
- Legal compliance and institutional resilience
- Digital security
- Psychological resilience
- Communication and advocacy
- Fundraising
Special emphasis is placed on supporting small and medium-sized organizations in rural and peripheral regions, which are often disproportionately affected by restrictions on civic space. The project also prioritizes the inclusion and support of women-led organizations and CSOs representing vulnerable communities, including the LGBTQ+ population.
FOREST is co-funded by the European Commission through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme and will run from August 2025 to July 2026.
“Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”
Call for applications
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Implementation Partners
Expand AllPartners for Democratic Change
Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia (PDCS) is a CSO providing education, capacity-building and facilitation services, consultancy, and counselling in the fields of conflict resolution, support for social dialogue, civic participation, and the development of civil society in Slovakia and abroad. PDCS’s mission is to educate people and activists to foster public participation. Since its founding in 1991, PDCS has focused on civil society development through training programs for CSOs and community leaders, contributing to civic actors’ strategic development, sustainability, self-financing, and fundraising.
Alternative Communities Association
The Alternative Communities Association (AKE) was founded in 1998 in Debrecen, a city in eastern Hungary. Its mission is to support community development in the region, to provide creative space and infrastructural support for civic activism, and to foster public participation while protecting democratic values. AKE primarily conducts fieldwork with local civic communities, supports youth and public participation, and provides capacity-strengthening for small-to-medium-sized CSOs. AKE manages the Baross16 community space in Debrecen, where approximately ten informal groups meet regularly.
In 2021, AKE became one of the founding members of the Aspect Group, the largest civil society coalition in Hungary, uniting CSOs from outside the capital, Budapest.
