Last week, our team and MRGE came together for the official capacity building training of MARIO 2023 grantees. Minorities, Accountability, Rights, Independence & Organizational Development (MARIO) is a new project that will build a supportive environment for grassroots CSOs representing minority groups engaged in the promotion and protection of EU values.
This three-days training in Budapest was an empowering moment to strengthen the understanding of 40 human rights defenders from multiple minority rights organizations across Europe on pro bono, project management, and key legal concepts around EU legislation and mechanisms while providing a basis to dive deeper.
PILnet’s team delivered its “Pro Bono 101” workshop to share the potential of pro bono support for minority rights organizations. The legal sessions, led by the excellent pro bono team at Latham & Watkins and White & Case, consisted of four interactive workshops that engaged the participants on European values and institutions, the EU legislative process as well as a closer look at EU mechanisms.
“I am excited to work with this first cohort of grantees which is rich in diversity from people with lived experience. From artists, to legal assistants and advocacy experts, this is a great representation of human rights defenders advocating for change”
Giulia Patane, Senior Legal Officer
Over the next three years, we will work to increase the resilience of grassroot CSOs through financial support and capacity building for CSOs across Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Czech, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia. Please keep an eye on our website for continued updates on this project.
