Description
The Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Tirana, Albania, pending the availability of funds, announces a notification of funding opportunity (NOFO) to support as exchange/training program in the U.S. for Albanian officials and civil society actors involved in CVE efforts in Albania. We are seeking for proposals for the development and implementation of a three-week exchange/training program in the U.S. for 8 Albanian government officials and civil society leaders, which will provide the participants with the opportunity to explore US experience on preventing radicalization and violent extremism, as well as tailored capacity-building training in this field. The program should help further develop the capacity of the governmental officials/civil society leaders to design, implement, and evaluate multi-agency, community-based CVE policies, programs and projects, in cooperation with civil society, private sector, and representatives of religious communities, with the ultimate result of a successful implementation of the CVE Strategy and Action Plan of the government of Albania. The program should examine the US experience on a broad range of national policies, operational strategies, and cooperative efforts among government, private sector institutions and civil society to prevent extremism. It should include visits to U.S. government agencies that partner with local communities in key areas such as law enforcement, education, religion, job training, and programs for disadvantaged youth to learn best practices in curbing political, religious, and gender-based violence at the federal, state, and local levels. The participants should have the opportunity to talk with community, business and government leaders about local and community CVE initiatives and examine models for engaging key influencers such as interfaith leaders, women, community activists, etc., in changing the narrative of violence. Additionally the program should provide tailored capacity-building opportunities for CVE policy makers, practitioners, and civil society actors with regard to: designing national CVE strategies and action plans; evidence in the design and evaluation of CVE policies and projects; multi-agency, community-based CVE responses - managing radicalization at the local level; and strategic communication and counter-messaging The program should be planned to take place during FY 2018. The program should provide interpretation from Albanian to English during the visits, meetings, and training workshops. The international travel of the participants should also be part of the program