430 grant applications from 340 NGOs and other civil society institutions were submitted for two grant competitions held by the Public Fund for Support of NGOs and Other Civil Society Institutions under Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan from April 20 to May 18.

These figures were announced at a regular meeting of the parliamentary commission, which was attended by officers of the public fund, representatives of big nongovernmental non-profit organizations, and journalists.

“The country has a national model of effective support of all civil society institutions that implies legal, economic, organizational and technical mechanisms,” Akmal Saidov, chairman of the parliamentary commission, said. “The mechanism of state support and particularly the state funding is an important motivation for the development of social activity of the ‘third sector’.”

The amount of funds allocated for social projects of NGOs and other civil society institutions in the form of state grant will make up more than 2.6 billion soums (official exchange rate 1 USD= 1874,85 UZS) this year. Five grant competitions will be held in 2012 to select the best projects; two of them have been already completed.

The first competition was aimed at the implementation of major state and regional programs for socio-economic development, including support for young families, youths and women, ensuring their legal and social protection, assistance in organizing the family business, private enterprise and home-based work, especially in remote rural areas of the country. 219 representatives of the ‘third sector’ came out for the competition with 264 projects. The number of applications grew by 21.1 percent against last year’s indicators.

The second competition is aimed at supporting the development of independent media, advancement of professional skills of journalists ensuring transparency and openness of reformation policy in the country, enhancement of legal culture, knowledge and sense of justice in the population. 166 grant applications were submitted from 121 independent mass media. The number of applications increased by 33.9 percent as compared to 2011 figures.

The parliamentary commission entrusted the working group on selection of social projects and social orders to identify the top socially and publicly significant projects by June 20. (Source: “Uzbekistan Today” newspaper)