(ភាពចម្រុះ និង​បរិយាបន្នសង្គម) 

Nothing About Us Without Us! Awards for Cambodia 

In light of the principle of “NOthing about us Without Us”,  or NOW-Us! Voice in Cambodia wishes to recognise inspiring inclusive initiatives from Cambodia that promote diversity and inclusion, and trigger the self-empowerment of rightsholder groups and communities through the NOthing about us Without Us! (NOW-Us!) Awards.

For this reason, NOW-Us Cambodia! is looking to honour ONGOING initiatives that are led by and have been fully developed by the rightsholder groups and/or communities themselves to promote/demand their inclusion in society. In particular, such initiatives should be about the promotion of:

• Improved access to (productive) resources (finance, land and water) and employment
• Improved access to social services, health and education in particular
• Improved spaces for political participation and citizen engagement

These initiatives should be led by one or more of the following groups and/or communities:

• People with disabilities
• Women facing exploitation, abuse, and/or violence
• Vulnerable youth and elderly
• Indigenous groups and/or ethnic minorities
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people

Strong preference will be given to initiatives that are able to demonstrate credible instances of intersectionality with at least one or two other rightsholder groups, including youth/elderly and women as a cross-cutting component.

This is a localised version inspired by the global NOW–Us! Awards, a joint partnership between Voice and the Spindle. You can read more about it through this blog here https://voice.global/blog/the-now-us-awards-reflections/ and project details of one of the winning initiatives here https://voice.global/grantees/access-nigeria/#project for inspiration!

Who can apply? 

In order to be eligible for NOW-Us Cambodia!, you and your initiative must fit ALL of the following criteria:

• Your organisation (a not-for-profit organisation, community-based organisation, self-help group or social enterprise) is Cambodia–based and legally registered as a local organisation (with a working bank account in your local currency).
• If you are not a registered organisation, please list a host institution that can serve as the legal and financial host for your initiative.
• Your organisation is fully led by individuals (staffing, governance, design and implementation) that belong to the very same rightsholder group that it serves and benefits.
• You have a track record of being inclusive in your ways of working.
• Your initiative is innovative and has the potential for impact.

*Current Voice grantees with ongoing projects cannot apply for the NOW-Us Awards.

What do we mean by…?

Inclusion – It is related to attitude, communication, accessibility & participation. It can be understood as a set of linked,

1. unending processes to do with the participation of individuals: the creation of settings,
2. systems (procedures, policies, and laws) that encourage participation; and
3. by putting ‘inclusive’ values into action.

All three are about everyone rather than about a particular group. More on inclusion can be found here

Innovativeness – Innovative approaches are sought in all key components of Voice. Being innovative means not only creating new ways of working but also creating spaces for improvement in every step of your work, which can entail different steps in different contexts. This implies flexibility, to allow for the implementation of new ideas. For instance, reaching out to groups that have never been reached before requires creativity and flexibility to respond to new ideas.

What happens if selected? 

Only ten (10) shortlisted initiatives that meet the criteria above will be invited to attend a five (5) day innovation boot camp to be organised sometime towards the end of August 2021. The boot camp will be an opportunity to be bold and creative on what are the next steps for your initiative. This will be the time to imagine, design, and develop ways to expand, scale up or experiment. It will also give you an opportunity to work with other like-minded innovation professionals.

At the end of the week, you will be participating in a celebration of inclusion where all applicants will be given the chance to enter the final stage by presenting their “final pitch” -live- in front of a jury! In the presence of Voice grantees and selected civil society organisations, including development partners, the jury will announce the winner(s) of NOW-Us Cambodia!

First, second and third-ranked pitches win Voice Empowerment grants worth 25,000, 15,000, and 10,000 EUR respectively to take home lessons learned and implement the next steps for their initiatives.

The 3 Award winners will also have the opportunity to embark on a personal development coaching series focused on self-best, self-improvement and self-confidence. Furthermore, each winner will be invited to share their story on a NOW-US Award podcast and be featured in the NOW-US rightsholder group documentary.

Lastly, the first-ranked group will also be invited to join the Partos Innovation Festival in Amsterdam in October 2021 (A virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has restricted international travel). They will meet other NOW-Us winners from different countries, connect with other like-minded organisations, and make their voices heard in international development conversations on inclusion. Nothing About Us, Without Us! in action!

HOW TO APPLY

What’s to win? 

• The 10 shortlisted initiatives win a 5-day trip for 2 persons (which has to be a gender-balanced team) to participate in the Innovation Bootcamp (travel expenses and stay are covered by Voice). Location to be announced in the future.
• The 10 shortlisted initiatives will attend the awards ceremony, where their projects will be celebrated and they can connect with other like-minded organisations and make their voices heard in international development conversations on inclusion.
• The numbers 1, 2 and 3 winners will be offered a small Voice grant (worth € 25.000, € 15.000, and € 10.000, respectively) to take home the lessons learned from the innovation week and implement their proposed idea.
• The 3 Award Winners will receive a 6 weeks personal development coaching program.
• 1^st Winner will be invited to join the Partos Innovation Festival in Amsterdam on October 2021 (A virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has restricted for international travel).

This Call for Proposals is closed and no longer accepting applications. Come back here at a later stage to learn about the grantees that have been selected in this Call for Proposals.

The current open Calls for Proposals can be found here.