HRANT DINK FOUNDATION

TURKEY-ARMENIA TRAVEL GRANT REGULATION

  1. Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant, implemented by the Hrant Dink Foundation in partnership with Gyumri “Youth Initiative Centre” NGO (YIC), will continue to support at least 150 individuals and non-profit civic initiatives from Armenia and Turkey, thanks to the financial assistance of the UK Government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund between November 2017 and February 2019, to travel to the neighbouring country for their activities and studies in various thematic fields, by covering their international travel and inter-city transportation  costs.

Background

  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. The 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 administered 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. Thanks to the European Union funding, from July 2016 to September 2017, the Travel Grant issued 6 open calls (7th-12th rounds), received approximately 600 applications and supported the travels of approximately 250individuals.

Who Can Benefit From the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant?

  1. 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.
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
  2.  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 during their travels to the neighbouring country they should be accompanied by an adult above 18.

Who Cannot Benefit from the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant?

  1. 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.
  2. Visits by the current and former staff, members and boards members of the Hrant Dink Foundation as well as the partner organisation Gyumri ‘‘Youth Initiative Centre’’ NGO (YIC) and associate organisation Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) and/or travels from/to the activities of the mentioned organisations will not be eligible.
  3. Visits by fellows who received the support of the Hrant Dink Foundation’s Turkey-Armenia Fellowship Scheme will not be eligible.
  4. 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.
  5. Individuals who received the support of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant in the previous rounds are not eligible. Individuals who received the Travel Grant support in the previous rounds, yet could not realize their travels due to force majeure are eligible to apply by submitting the same or a different application form.
  6. An individual 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.
  7. 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?

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:
    1. The inter-city travel is made in economy class and by means of public transport.
    2. 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.
  4. 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, etc. Such costs will be covered by the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant beneficiaries and/or the inviting persons or organisations.
  5. 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 Foundation, the partner organisation Gyumri ‘‘Youth Initiative Centre’’ NGO (YIC) and associate organisation Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) shall be by no means held responsible in case of any incident that may occur during the visit.

Selection Criteria

  1. 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

  1. In addition to the main selection criterion, applications that comply with the following qualities will be given priority.
    1. Support for First Time Goers: Priority will be given to individuals who will be travelling to the neighbouring country for the first time.
    2. Support for Local and Regional Activities: The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant aims to mobilize individuals and organisations from major provinces as much as local areas. Local actions and travels from/to cities other than Istanbul and Yerevan will be given priority.
    3. Diversity: Diversity of beneficiaries will be ensured in terms of gender, age, geographical area, thematic area, and type of activity.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Members of the Selection Committee will have the right to veto.
  4. Members of the Selection Committee will assess the incoming applications received for each period specified in the Selection Timeline within 8 days.

Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant Selection Timeline

  1. Individuals who want to benefit from the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant between October 2017 to March 2019 can submit applications at any time. Their applications will be assessed after the nearest deadline, as specified in the below Selection Timeline. The Selection Committee shall make its decisions on Beneficiaries in five rounds on the specific dates mentioned in the below Selection Timeline.
  2. Applicants must arrange their travel dates in accordance with the Eligible Travel Timeframes below and apply for the corresponding round. Therefore, while filling in/submitting their application form, the applicants can only choose travel dates that correspond to the eligible timeframe for the given round. The travels can also last longer than the given timeframe, in case of long-term stays or in cases duly justified.

Selection timeline

Rounds Deadline For Applications Announcement of Selected Grantees Selection Targets Eligible Timeframe for Travels
13th 01 October 2017 20 October 2017 30 grantees,

20 from Turkey, 10 from Armenia

 1 November 2017 –  28 February 2018
14th 1 February 2018 20 February 2018 30 grantees,

20 from Turkey, 10 from Armenia

 1 March 2018 –

31 May 2018
15th 1 May 2018 20 May 2018 30 grantees,

20 from Turkey, 10 from Armenia

 1 June 2018 –

31 August 2018
16th 1 August 2018 20 August 2018 30 grantees,

20 from Turkey, 10 from Armenia

 1 September 2018 –

30 November 2018
17th 1 November 2018 20 November 2018 30 grantees,

20 from Turkey, 10 from Armenia

 1 December 2018 –

28 February 2019
  1. The Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant will only support the travels that take place starting from 1 November, 2017 until 28 February, 2019. Travels taking place later than 28 February, 2019 will not be eligible.

Application Process

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Grantees will be publicly announced on the official website of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant www.armtr-beyondborders.org within 20 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.
  6. 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 at least 10 days prior to the travel. Only afterwards the Hrant Dink Foundation will make the necessary bookings and deliver the travel documents and tickets to the Beneficiaries. If the beneficiaries fail to confirm their travel dates and travel route within the eligible timeframe for the given round, the project team reserves the right to withdraw their travel grant.
    1. The beneficiaries of the Turkey-Armenia Travel Grant holding special passports or other types of travel documents requiring special permits to enter the neighbouring country will be obliged to 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 at least 30 days prior to the travel.
  1. 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.
  2. In cases when the project team of the Hrant Dink Foundation detects any information provided by the applicants being false and/or incomplete, the Foundation has the right to disqualify the application at all stages of the Selection Process, including the cases when the applicant has already been officially announced as a grantee.