ThaiNGO

WeWorld-GVC Small Financial Support Scheme

call for proposals

WeWorld-GVC in partnership with its local counterparts in Cambodia, Legal Support for Children and Women (LSCW), and in Thailand, Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN) is seeking applications from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Social enterprises (SEs), communication agencies and other private companies to design and implement an outreach campaign to combat human trafficking and labour exploitation in Cambodia and Thailand.

Application Guidelines

The following guidelines provide an overview of the application process and procedures for interested applicants to the WeWorld-GVC Small Financial Support Scheme.

1. BACKGROUND

Despite its fast-expanding economy and a significant poverty reduction in the past decade, Cambodia remains one of the world’s poorest countries. 35% of Cambodians are still living in poverty, according to estimates from the 2018 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). Lack of job opportunities, debts and dependence on micro-finance institutions are some of the push factors that drive Cambodians to migrate within the country and outside its borders in order to find a better-paid job. More than 1.2 million of Khmer are working overseas. Due to a significant labour shortage, Thailand remains the main destination country for over 92%[1] of Cambodian workers, of which 73%[2] using irregular channels and without legal documents.

Despite the efforts made by Cambodian and Thai Governments, women and men migrant workers are still subjected to abuses and exploitation and, in most dramatic cases, they are victims of human trafficking.

Potential migrants are misinformed of the risks and dangers they may face abroad and they are not aware of their rights. Especially, in rural areas, where 80% of the population lives and where the literacy rate is lower than in cities, this lack of information creates unrealistic expectations about salary and working conditions.

This may lead to risky outcomes such as exploitation and human trafficking, particularly in the high exploitative industry, such as fishery, construction and agriculture. There are many reported cases of migrants locked inside Thai seafood and fish factories in dormitories built inside the factory area, obliged to live in slavery, in demeaning conditions without even the possibility to leave or go out and at risk of abuse by other migrants (especially for women and girls).

Since 2014, WeWorld-GVC has been working to raise awareness of potential migrants and country’s authorities on the risks of irregular migration and promote safe migration practices mainly from Cambodia to Thailand, which is the primary country of destination.

Through the MIG-RIGHT Project (EIDHR/2016/376-943), WeWorld-GVC pursues its efforts to prevent and eradicate human rights violations against migrants, raising awareness and giving visibility to human trafficking and exploitation cases at local, national and international level. This will be achieved by strengthening the capacities, the role and influence of CSOs in right-watching and migrant information, support the authorities’ capacity in improving and enforcing the law and by improving the access to justice.

In this context, WeWorld-GVC is looking for partnerships to support the advocacy and communication activities, for an efficient implementation of the MIG-RIGHT initiative, whose key messages are: “RIGHTS, RESPECT, DIGNITY”.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE CAMPAIGN

WeWorld-GVC seeks to build a communication campaign, which, based on real stories of migrants and left behind, enables the dissemination of information on safe migration to a wider public using innovative and cost-effective tools such as social media and other available online instruments.

The scope of the outreach campaign will be:

• To increase awareness among Cambodian migrant workers and potential ones, authorities in Cambodia and Thailand and general public about labour and migrants rights, human trafficking, promoting safe migration and strengthening the action against abuses and exploitation.

To that end, WeWorld-GVC wants to build the campaign around real cases tackling two separate issues:

1. Human trafficking in fishing boats, fishing and seafood industries (including the children working in this sector);
2. Integration into the society of migrants and access to justice (barrier of languages, discrimination, arbitrary detention in prisons, etc.).

Actions under this Call for Proposals should focus on the two above selected topics to promote and support activities and mechanisms, which raise the issues of human trafficking and unsafe migration in order to achieve a broader understanding amongst Cambodia, Thailand and ASEAN countries’ citizens.

3. TARGET AUDIENCE

The campaign should be designed and implemented to reach at least 750,000 people among the three target groups:

• Cambodian victims of human trafficking and labour exploitation, migrants, potential migrants and their families in Cambodia and in Thailand (including young people of 15-25 years old).

Cambodian migrants working in Thailand are extremely vulnerable to trafficking and many other forms of exploitations, which can start even from their own villages: fake representatives of recruitment agencies go house by house promising jobs and legal documents until they return back home. Men and women are vulnerable to trafficking due to their lack of protection, while many see migration as their best chance of obtaining work and escaping poverty. Due to the low education levels and misinformation, migrants often become dependent on their recruiter or broker, to whom they can become indebted. When they arrive in the destination country, they have no support system, assistance or knowledge about where to find help, and consequentially are exposed to manipulation and exploitation.

Cambodian migrants mainly work in agricultural activities, fishing and seafood industries and construction sites. Women that work in household services are extremely vulnerable because of isolation, dependence on employers for food and shelter, lack of control over their money, poor access to health services, curtailment of freedom of movement and association, ignorance over their rights, confiscation of important documents and risk of labour bondage, trafficking, or abuse. Migrants’ family members left behind, such as children and grandparents are concerned with an unclear living and working conditions of their family members in Thailand.

Children of migrants, youth migrants and child victims often lack formal education, and due to the abuse they have faced, they become at risk of becoming potential abusers or traffickers themselves. Particular attention will be put to the migrant children working in the fishing and seafood processing industry. Children are forced to work for peeling, carving and washing seafood in support of their parents, who usually work in the same factory. Child labour practice within this industry has started in the mid-1990s and most of them are around 15 years old.

• Politicians at national and ASEAN level, governmental institutions and representatives of the Royal Government of Cambodia and of the Kingdom of Thailand, including local authorities of the 5 targeted provinces.

Although anti-trafficking and migration labour policies and guidelines have been finalized and human rights treaties ratified, Governmental institutions of both countries, lawmakers at national and ASEAN level need to increase knowledge of the challenges and risk migrants face. Moreover, despite the efforts of both Cambodian and Thai governments to tackle irregular cross-border labour migration with MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) and domestic legislations, there is a need to improve public officials’ capacity to enforce the legislative framework and strengthen protection mechanisms for migrant workers.

• ASEAN and European citizens, stakeholders, decision-makers, CSOs and NGOs working in the field of human trafficking and migration.

This campaign seeks to reach different groups of people who are normally very difficult to reach with traditional project activities, such as Cambodian, Thai and ASEAN citizens who normally do not deal/work in the human rights/human trafficking field. It aims to reach European citizens and NGOs to increase the visibility of human trafficking and unsafe migration of Cambodian migrant in Thailand. CSOs and NGOs working in the field of human trafficking, migration and labour in Cambodia and Thailand are the main sources of information and assistance for migrants and their families and their role is crucial to support in raising awareness and disseminating information on the issues of human trafficking and labour exploitation. However, NGOs and CSOs often lack proper instruments and knowledge to recognize exploitation cases, create a conducive environment to prevent and inform migrants and promote their inclusion in the destination country, advocate at local, national and ASEAN level. Furthermore, actors operating at grass root level do not have national influence and those operating at national level have difficulties answering to the real needs of final beneficiaries.

This campaign aims also at strengthening the capacities, the role and influence of CSOs/NGOs in right-watching and migrant information, also improving the access to justice. Therefore, the awareness campaign is focused on risks and hazards related to irregular migration from Cambodia to Thailand. Exchange of information from local to a regional level and vice-versa and horizontal exchange towards participatory processes, involving different stakeholders, will be reinforced, increasing awareness.

4. CONTENT AND ACTIVITIES

The campaign will be set up starting from the personal stories of the Social Ambassadors and will communicate and spread information to a wider public using innovative and cost-effective tools such as social media and other available online instruments.

Thanks to previous experiences, it has been verified how effective the direct involvement of migrants in advocacy and awareness activities is. The dissemination of the Social Ambassadors’ stories through a media will give the opportunity to reach a wider audience both in Asia and in Europe. The recent attention from the European media and Institutions around the working conditions in Thai fishing and seafood industries – whose cheap products are exported in the European Market - brought up the fact that many European consumers are eating slave-made products. Thanks to specific awareness activities, civil society and the general public in Cambodia, Thailand, ASEAN countries and Europe will be more informed about this problem and give a contribution to push for changes in the ways Thai industries use labour force from its poorer neighbour countries.

This Call for Proposals is divided into two (2) lots based on the objective outlined above:

This list of activities is not exhaustive and is provided for indicative purposes only.

Not necessarily all have to be done and additional activities can be proposed.

The applicant(s) should submit a customized proposal (see Annex III and Annex IV) with clearly stated:

• Objectives
• Expected results
• Activities
• Means of communication
• Indicators
• Target group
• Timeframe
• Budget

Communication projects developed with a participative approach that facilitates an active learning and public engagement will be preferred.

Content and relevant project information will be made available by WeWorld-GVC and its partners to support the communication activities.

The means of communication to be considered for the dissemination of the campaign are the following:

• Online media (storytelling, social media campaign on various platforms);
• Broadcast media (radio, TV, mobile phones);
• Visual arts (theatre, music, dance and modern arts);
• Print media (international, national and local press) with the publication of press releases or feature articles.

The campaign will use and develop existing communication tools and media:

• Migra-info.org platform (www.migra-info.org)
• Migra-info Facebook page
• Project’s partners’ communication tools (websites and Facebook pages)

5. FINANCIAL ALLOCATION

The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is EUR 45,000.00 with the following breakdown of costs:

• LOT 1: maximum amount of EUR 22,500.00
• LOT 2: maximum amount of EUR 22,500.00

The amount allocated to each lot is intended for proposals which include activities in both countries (Cambodia and Thailand). If the activities proposed focus only on one country, the total amount allocated to the successful candidate will be decreased.

The budget repartition among the lots is indicative and remains flexible. Modifications between the two lots can occur to adapt better to the offers submitted by awarded applicants. Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals should range between EUR 10,000.00 and EUR 22,500.00 and can be financed up to the 100% of the total eligible costs of the action.

Co-financed Proposal is encouraged. The balance could be provided by the applicant own resources or resources raised from the community. In order to encourage cofounding, in-kind contributions are accepted.

6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Applicants, which may request a grant, are:

• For LOT 1 and2: priority will be given to officially registered Non-Profit Organization -NGOs and/or CSOs and/or Cultural Centers in Cambodia and/or Thailand, however the call for proposal will also be open to communication agencies, profit organizations/social enterprises and Web Application Development companies which demonstrate to have experience in communication campaigns activities on human rights and respect of the Cambodian and Thai Law on work and main international standard.

Applicants are encouraged to integrate creative, innovative and cost-effective solutions to their proposals. Multiple channels and IT-based platforms will contribute to reach a wider range of people in addition to the target groups as mentioned above (i.e. citizens who normally do not deal/work in the human rights/human trafficking field, politicians and national and ASEAN governmental institutions and networks, European citizens and NGOs) to increase the visibility of human trafficking and unsafe migration in Cambodia worldwide.

Each applicant can submit only one (1) proposal applying for one or both lots.

In order to be eligible for the sub-grant, applicants must prove that:

Only the applicants which satisfied the eligibility criteria will have access to continue the selection process.

7. ELIGIBILITY ACTIONS

• Duration of the Project: project activities have to be concluded not later than 31/07/2019.
• Location: Activities must take place in Cambodia in the provinces of Siem Reap, Battambang and Koh Kong and in Thailand in the provinces of Samut Prakarn and Trat. Activities with a nation-wide impact are desirable. As stated above, if the activities proposed focus only on one country, each lot’s total amount allocated to the successful candidate will be proportionally decreased.
• Visibility: The visibility of the initiative will be promoted in accordance with the provision of the Project MIG-RIGHT in order to guarantee the visibility of the EU financing. Therefore, in this framework, the Grant recipient must accept and follow specific indications provided by WeWorld-GVC.
• Eligible costs: The budget is both a cost estimate and a ceiling for "eligible costs". Recommendations to award a grant are always subject to the condition that the checking process, which precedes the signing of the contract, does not reveal problems requiring changes to the budget (for instance arithmetical errors, inaccuracies or unrealistic costs and other ineligible costs). The checks may give rise to requests for clarification and may lead to request modifications or reductions to address such mistakes or inaccuracies. The amount of the grant because of these corrections may not be increased.
• Costs must comply with realistic and cost-effective budget and the list of eligible cost as per Annex I.

8. HOW TO APPLY AND THE PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the following instructions:

• The Project Proposal (and annexed documents) must be elaborated in English using the format provided in Annex III and must contain the main elements that allow the commission to evaluate the proposal according to the evaluation grid as per chapter 9.
• Three reference contacts must be listed in the Project Proposal submitted by the Applicant within the proposal but in a separate envelope.
• The Project Proposal has to be signed by the legal representative of the organization and stamped.
• Each applicant cannot present more than one proposal. However, the same applicant can apply for both lot through the same proposal.
• Project Proposal must be submitted in hard and soft copies, in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private courier service or by hand delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) at the addresses below:

The deadline for the submission of Small Financial Support Scheme Project Proposal is Monday 13 January 2020 at 04:00 pm (local time) as evidenced by the signed and dated receipt. Any Proposal submitted after the deadline will automatically be rejected.

Extension to the deadline can be done by written corrigendum notice to this Call for Proposal.

Further information for this Call for Proposal can be requested to the WeWorld-GVC Project management at WeWorld-GVC office or at the following email address: kh.adm.sr@gvc.weworld.it and andrea.cefis@weworld.it

9. EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS

The Small Financial Support Scheme Call for Proposal mechanism follows the awarding criteria on a first come first served basis for each Project submitted and complying with the relevance to the Call.

Applications will be examined and evaluated by the Small Financial Support Scheme Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (SFSCMC), composed by 2 WeWorld-GVC representatives, 1 LSCW representative, 1 LPN representative, an international expert in communication.

After the submission of all applications, the Committee may contact applicants for further information and clarification.

Within 20 days after receiving the proposals, the Committee will proceed with:

• the administrative check of the official registration of the applicant to the official offices/registers in compliance with Cambodian and/or Thai law;
• the evaluation of the Project Proposal according to the following Evaluation Grid:

The evaluation criteria are divided into headings and sub-headings. Each sub-heading will be given a score between 0 and 5 in accordance with the following assessment categories: 0 = null; 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = adequate; 4 = good; 5 = very good. The maximum score from each evaluator is 100 points. The minimum score to access the following phase of selection is 50 points.

for submission of hard copies in Thailand please contact 085-934-0989 (Phutita)

Views attach file

ANNEX I – ELIGIBILITY COSTS

Applicant Info Sheet

Budget for the Action

Summary of the project

CALL FOR PROPOSALS