The MARIO project hosted its final central training in Budapest, equipping the last batch of grassroots Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across the European Union with the tools to champion minority rights and amplify underrepresented voices in their local, national, and EU contexts.
Over the past three years, we have worked with 90 minority rights organizations to build their resilience and legal capacity through specialized training in EU law, sharing legal resources (such as the MARIO Manual), mapping and addressing their legal needs, and facilitating legal support through our vast network of pro bono lawyers.
This year, the training brought together 30 organizations from a diverse cohort of grantees alongside representatives from MRGE and legal experts from PILnet, and safeguarding experts from Hintalovon. The grantee representatives came from Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. During the three-day event, participants received legal training on European values and institutions, the EU legislative process, and a lecture on EU legal mechanisms and the court system.
The organizations also had the opportunity to participate in a safeguarding workshop conducted by the esteemed Hungarian children’s rights organization, Hintalovon, where the fundamental concepts and importance of organizational safeguarding policies were introduced. This May, PILnet and Hintalovon will publish a series of tools and guidelines to support organisations in developing their own Safeguarding Policies.
Participants also had the chance to visit two crucial areas of Budapest: a Jewish and a Roma neighbourhood. Additionally, the grantees identified network building as one of the most vital aspects of grassroots resilience; therefore, the training incorporated brainstorming sessions and open-space discussions around shared themes or issues these nonprofits are facing in their local contexts. During these discussions, the organizations had the chance to engage in knowledge and best practice sharing across EU jurisdictions.
Looking back on the last three years
The MARIO project has been a crucial initiative for both PILnet and the grassroots organizations in cross-sharing knowledge and expertise. While MARIO allowed organizations to receive training on the legal and advocacy aspects of their everyday work, PILnet benefited from this project by mapping out the legal pro bono landscape and establishing networks in Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Estonia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. Additionally, an important lesson learned for PILnet includes evaluating the legal needs across the EU 11 countries for grassroots organizations, allowing us to see the needs systematically, helping us provide more tailored legal assistance, and creating much-needed legal resources for the organizations. For more complex legal needs, PILnet activated the so-called “Legal Shield,” engaging specialized consultants or lawyers on targeted legal needs, which enabled us to expand our knowledge database and have readily available advice for legal requests similar to those coming from grassroots organizations in the future.
Call to action
The current climate presents significant hurdles for grassroots organizations, with uncertain funding and increasingly restricted civic space. Pro bono support is now more essential than ever. By subscribing to our Clearinghouse, you can directly contribute to this essential lifeline.
You can also join the minority rights legal network if you are a legal professional and want to help.