Strengthening the remembrance of the Holocaust, genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity to reinforce democracy in the EU

The CERV-2025-CITIZENS-REM-GENCRIME grant is part of the EU's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme for 2021-2027, specifically aimed at enhancing remembrance of 20th-century genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, with a focus on non-Jewish victims such as Roma and LGBTIQ individuals. The call encourages projects that emphasize education, research, and outreach activities to promote understanding and counter denial and distortion of these historical events.

The total budget for 2025 across several topics amounts to 18 million EUR, although specific allocations per project are not specified and will be determined using a lump sum calculator based on factors such as participant numbers and country involvement. The application process is open until October 1, 2025, with a deadline set at 17:00 CET, and is typically a single-stage submission process.

Eligible applicant types include non-profit organizations, civil society groups, educational institutions, research bodies, and public entities that align with the goals of promoting human rights and democracy. While partnerships between various entities are encouraged, they are not mandatory for application.

The geographical scope encompasses EU Member States, EEA countries, and EU candidate countries, with projects primarily benefitting communities within these regions. The nature of support is financial, provided as lump sum grants with no co-funding requirement mentioned. The overall focus of the projects may include educational tools, digital archives, outreach activities fostering intergenerational dialogue, and initiatives that engage newcomers and migrants in understanding Europe’s historical contexts.

While exact success rates are not available, historically, this thematic area has been competitive. The call reinforces the importance of collective memory in maintaining democratic values and safeguarding against re-emerging threats of hate, discrimination, and division. An information session will be held on June 30, 2025, to provide further guidance for potential applicants.

The CERV-2025-CITIZENS-REM-GENCRIME call, part of the European Remembrance program, aims to strengthen the remembrance of the Holocaust, genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity to reinforce democracy in the EU. This call specifically targets projects focusing on the non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including Roma and LGBTIQ people, as well as other genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity of the 20th century in Europe. Projects addressing the Holocaust against Jewish people are excluded, as they are covered by a separate topic.

The call emphasizes the importance of remembering these crimes to uphold the EU's founding principles of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law. Strengthening collective memory is seen as crucial for preventing recurrence, reinforcing democratic resilience, fostering civic engagement, and building a common European culture of remembrance. The call recognizes the need for continuous sharing, remembering, teaching, and research related to these crimes, with a focus on educating all generations, particularly young people, about safeguarding democracy and fundamental rights. It also highlights the importance of countering distortion, denial, and trivialization of historical facts.

Specific attention is given to the Roma Holocaust (Porajmos), which is often overlooked. Remembering this genocide is essential to honor victims and survivors and to address its lasting impact on the situation of Roma today. The call also acknowledges the persecution of LGBTIQ people during the Holocaust and the importance of preserving and recognizing their history and memory to build an inclusive European identity.

Projects under this topic could focus on several areas:

Addressing how genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity were organized, including the actors involved, methods of commission, and the roles of collaborators, perpetrators, and bystanders.

Finding new ways of remembering, educating, and teaching about these crimes to protect society against resurging threats of hatred, such as racism, xenophobia, antigypsyism, and LGBTIQ phobia. This includes artistic work and memory activism.

Countering historical falsification and memory competition related to the genocide of the Roma and other genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Countering denial, distortion, and trivialization, especially false comparisons.

Addressing divergent and opposite national historical narratives on a regional basis.

Promoting memory activism by supporting grassroot commemorative work.

Digitalizing historical material and testimonies of witnesses for education and training purposes.

Fostering intergenerational dialogue by involving young people and older generations in transmitting memory and understanding.

Engaging newcomers and migrants and teaching them about Europe’s history of genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Fostering awareness raising, mutual learning, and training activities that accurately reflect the persecution of Roma, LGBTIQ people, and other minorities during the Holocaust and other times in history.

The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is organizing an online info session on June 30, 2025, to provide more information about the call. Registration for the info session closes on June 27, 2024.

The call is a single-stage submission process with a deadline of October 1, 2025, at 17:00 CET (Brussels time). The total budget for the call is 18,000,000 EUR.

Admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout, which are detailed in the Call document, with a 70-page limit for Part B of the Application Form. Eligibility conditions, financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria, submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, and the legal and financial setup of the grants are all described in the Call document.

The indicative timeline includes publication of the call on June 19, 2025, an evaluation period from October 2025 to March 2026, information to applicants in March 2026, and signature of the grant agreement from April to July 2026.

Applicants must use the standard application form (CERV) and the lump sum calculator, both available in the Funding & Tenders Portal. The European Remembrance call uses a lump sum funding model based on participation, number of countries, and type of events (in-situ or online). The budget calculated with the lump sum calculator must match the budget in Part A of the proposal.

Additional documents include CERV Work Programmes, CERV Regulation 2021/692, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement, and the DECISION authorising the use of lump sums for actions under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (2021-2027).

Applicants can search for partners to collaborate on this topic through the Funding & Tenders Portal. For help related to this call, applicants can contact the CERV National Contact Point of their country or email EACEA-CERV@ec.europa.eu, clearly indicating the call reference "CERV-2025-CITIZENS-REM" in the subject line.

In summary, this call aims to fund projects that promote the remembrance of non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including Roma and LGBTIQ people, and other victims of genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in 20th-century Europe. It seeks to strengthen democratic values, counter historical distortion, and foster a shared European culture of remembrance through education, research, and commemorative activities. The call utilizes a lump sum funding model, and applicants must adhere to specific eligibility and admissibility criteria outlined in the Call document. An online info session is scheduled to provide further guidance to potential applicants.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. The text refers to "LEARs, Account Administrators or self-registrants" who can publish partner requests, suggesting that a variety of organizations with legal entity validation may be eligible. Further details would be available in the Call document.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a "CERV Lump Sum Grant" (CERV-LS). The budget is calculated using a lump sum calculator based on participation, number of countries, and type of events (in-situ or online).

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required. However, the mention of "partner requests" and the lump sum calculation being based on the number of participating countries suggests that consortia are possible and perhaps encouraged. The Call document would provide more clarity.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is not explicitly stated in the provided text but is likely focused on entities within the European Union, given the context of EU funding and the program's objectives related to European history and values. The "Eligible Countries" section of the Call document would provide definitive information.

Target Sector: The target sector is remembrance, education, and research related to the Holocaust, genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in 20th century Europe, with a specific focus on non-Jewish victims, including Roma and LGBTIQ people. It also targets countering historical falsification, denial, distortion, and trivialization of these events.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on Europe and the European Union.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is not explicitly stated, but the focus on education, research, awareness raising, and preservation of historical materials suggests projects in the development, validation, or demonstration stages.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the call is EUR 18,000,000. The funding amount for individual projects is determined using a lump sum calculator, so the specific range is variable and depends on the project's scope, activities, and participating countries.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by "Open For Submission" and the availability of the submission session.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the European Remembrance program (CERV-2025-CITIZENS-REM), specifically targeting projects that strengthen the remembrance of the Holocaust, genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity to reinforce democracy in the EU. The call focuses on the non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including Roma and LGBTIQ people, as well as other genocides, war crimes, and crimes against humanity of the 20th century in Europe. The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is organizing an online info session on June 30, 2025. The call aims to support projects that promote education, research, awareness raising, and the preservation of historical materials related to these events. Projects should address how these crimes were organized, the actors involved, and the roles of collaborators, perpetrators, and bystanders. They should also find new ways of remembering, educating, and teaching about these crimes to protect society against resurging threats of hatred. The call encourages projects that counter historical falsification, denial, distortion, and trivialization, and that foster intergenerational dialogue and engage newcomers and migrants in learning about Europe's history of genocides. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, with the budget calculated based on participation, number of countries, and type of events. The call is open for submission with a deadline of October 1, 2025. Applicants should consult the Call document and related annexes for detailed information on eligibility criteria, application procedures, and evaluation criteria.