Are you ready to tackle global challenges and create change across continents?

The Cooperation Grants empower youth organisations to engage in policy-making and cross-continental collaboration between Africa and Europe. Grants of 50,000 EURO are available for consortiums of youth-led organisations, with at least one African organisation and one European organisation.

Call for Proposals

What do we mean with cooperation?

Young people around the world often face similar challenges. Some, like climate change and inequality, require global solutions; others, such as lack of education or economic opportunities, demand more localised solutions. Cooperation grants aim to help African and European youth organisations share resources, knowledge and strategies, and to leverage the added value of collaboration, creating a stronger response across continents.

Youth-led organisations from the AU and EU must apply together, with at least two organisations as part of the consortium. Applications must be submitted jointly; independent submissions from a single organisation will not be accepted.

Each consortium must dedicate their proposal to tackling one solution, with work taking place in both continents. We believe that by cooperation, our actions become stronger!

What can you expect when you receive a grant?

Cooperation Grants aim to:

  • Enable young people to become effective advocates for their rights and their priorities, by giving them the financial resources required to dedicate efforts to policy-work on local, national and international stages.
  • Provide training and resources to help youth understand how to engage with government institutions and influence policy as active citizens.
  • Facilitate connections between youth organisations across Africa and Europe to promote intercultural dialogue and collaborative initiatives.

Is your organisation eligible to apply?

  • Your organisation must be a non-profit, operating as a Trust, Community Based Organisation (CBO) or as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)/Civil Society Organisation (CSO) with a clear social mission.
  • Apply as a consortium of two to four organisations: including one established in one of the 12 eligible African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and one established in the European Union. Independent applications are not allowed.
  • Your organisation must be youth-led: young people (aged 18-35) represent the organisation’s governance and have primary decision-making power over the organisation’s direction and programmes (100% is aged 18-35) and are directly involved in designing and carrying out activities (>80% is aged 18-35).
  • Your project must be youth-led: all staff (100%) working on implementing the project should be young people (aged 18-35).
  • Your organisation is formal: you are legally registered in your country, have an organisation bank account and a clear governance structure.
  • The coordinator organisation must have experience working on collaborative projects with at least one partner organisation.

What kind of activities can you propose?

The Cooperation Grants support the joint advocacy work of youth organisations. By advocacy, we mean speaking up for a cause, hold power to account, and/or to create change. Your initiative can take many forms and include a wide range of activities. There is no fixed formula: you are free to design activities in the way that best fits your project, as long as you show clearly how they contribute to meaningful policy and advocacy impact.

How to apply

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED, WE WILL INFORM SELECTED GRANTEES SHORTLY

Consortium partners:

FAQ

Need help on how to submit your application? View our guide here.

Applicants are invited to first refer to the Funding Manuals for each grant type and carefully read the Call for Proposal Text and any related documents published on the Youth Lab website. Questions, likely to be relevant to all applicants, can be found in this regularly updated document, classified by themes.

FAQs for Cooperation Grants

All Youth Action Lab grant types are created by youth and for youth. They aim to nurture organisations’ stability, financial security and organisational capacity.

Cooperation Grants provide financial support as well as training and resources to help you understand how to effectively engage with government institutions and influence policy. This grant will also allow you to develop new cross-continental partnerships and meet grantees from the three other grant types at the annual link & learn events through the Power2Voices online platform (accessible beyond the grant period)!

Some more good news? Our application and reporting mechanisms are designed in a way that make sense to youth initiatives. Read the [funding manual] for more information.

To apply for a Cooperation Grant, your organisation must meet the following requirements:

  • Consortium only: Applications must come from 2–4 organisations. At least one must be based in an eligible African country (Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and at least one in the European Union. Individual organisations cannot apply alone.
  • Organisation type: Must be a non-profit (Trust, CBO, NGO/CSO) with a clear social mission.
  • Youth-led organisation: Young people (18–35) must control governance and decision-making (100%) and be directly involved in activities (>80%).
  • Youth-led project: All staff implementing the project must be aged 18–35.
  • Formal organisation: Must be legally registered, have a bank account, and a clear governance structure.
  • Experience required: The coordinating organisation must have experience working on collaborative projects with at least one partner.

To form a consortium, you must partner with at least one organisation from an eligible country on the other continent: So, if your youth organisation is based in one of the eligible African countries, you need a partner from a European Union member state. If your organisation is in the European Union, you need a partner from the participating 12 African countries. A consortium must include at least two organisations and maximum four. It doesn’t matter how many organisations come from Europe and how many from Africa, as long as the two continents are represented.  Unfortunately, organisations that are registered in countries other than the 27 EU Member States and the 12 African counties listed above are not eligible to apply for this grant, even as part of a bigger consortium.

Don’t worry, many organizations are in the same situation! This is why we created for you to fill out and get access to a database of potential partner organizations interested in this grant.

Yes, of course! The information sessions are organised to help you with your application but are not mandatory.

No, all Cooperation Grants are 50,000 EUR per consortium. It is up to you to decide how to split the money between the consortium partners. Keep in mind that the coordinating organisation usually handles more administrative tasks, which may require a larger share, depending on your consortium’s plan and division of roles.

The coordinating organisation needs to have experience working on at least one collaborative project. For the rest, it’s up to you to decide who will lead. However, keep in mind that the coordinating organisation will have more responsibilities and slightly more work. Therefore, make sure the coordinator has capacity to lead on this!

You are free to choose any topic you want to work on as long as it aligns with the four focus areas of Cooperation Grants, namely:

  • Policy and advocacy: your project needs to focus on advocacy and policy influence and be aligned with one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Cross-continental collaboration: your project needs to promote collaboration between African and European youth and address shared challenges. You will need to demonstrate a clear common goal and explain how this cooperation is beneficial for both.
  • Marginalised youth: make sure your project has a strong emphasis on benefitting marginalised groups while reflecting on how your organisation is suited to work with these groups.
  • Sustainability: you will have to explain the continuity of your project after the end of the grant period. In other words, how you foresee your activities to continue or for the results of your activities to create change after the project period ends.

Please read the [funding manual] for more information.

Your project will be funded for 12 months maximum, from May 2026 to April 2026.

All applications are due on the stated date 12 February 2026 – 13.00 CET.

Applications received later than the stated date and time will not be considered.

It is expected that the assessment process of applications will take about eight to ten weeks. Therefore, you can expect to hear from us during April or May 2026. An announcement will also be made on the Power2Voices platform for you to check your emails.

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This website has been prepared with the financial assistance of the European Commission. The views expressed herein are those of the consultants and therefore in no way reflects the official opinion of the European Commission.

Newsletter

Sign up to know about the programme’s opportunities and events.

Stay connected

Follow us and get involved!

This website has been prepared with the financial assistance of the European Commission. The views expressed herein are those of the consultants and therefore in no way reflects the official opinion of the European Commission.

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