Deadline: 22-Oct-22

The Niwano Peace Foundation (NPF) is seeking applications for its Activity Grants Programme.

Objectives

*Peace is the desire of all humanity.
*Many people in many nations are working tirelessly to make this happen. Despite this, there are still huge problems. The best way to deal with them is the task they face today.
*The causes of obstructions to peace are manifold, ranging from those involving the individual, the family, the local community and the nation, to problems involving nature and the environment. It is no exaggeration to say, however, that the way human beings themselves live is the root of these problems. In times like these, a religion that teaches peace and tolerance has an important role to play.
*Based on these considerations, the Niwano Peace Foundation promotes interfaith understanding and co-operation. It also endeavours to strengthen cooperation between people who make continuous efforts, in a religious spirit, to achieve a peaceful society.
*The Foundation does not support any specific religious group. Respecting the uniqueness of all religions and embracing the spirit of tolerance, it aims to build a world of peace and coexistence. The Foundation makes donations to actively encourage activities carried out in the spirit of well-founded religious principles and conducted in such a way as to invite broad social participation.

Financing information
The amount of the grant that an applicant can apply for will be up to 1,000,000 Japanese yen. (For foreign applicants, the amount of the grant that can be applied for will be up to US$ equivalent to 1,000,000 Japanese yen).

Fields eligible for support:
*Social activities based on the spirit of religious principles:
**Social activities based on the spirit of religious principles are defined as those carried out for individual and community well-being and peace, both physical and spiritual, based on the spirit of religious principles that emerge from reverence for God, Buddha or another universal spiritual reality.
**In particular, these include peacemaking activities related to education, voluntary work, development co-operation, environmental protection, human rights or the social problems of ageing societies, done in the spirit of religious principles that transcend religious boundaries.

Grassroots activities implemented in a local community:
**Activities to energise local communities through workshops and interdisciplinary meetings with particular emphasis on the collaboration of groups and individuals from various organisations and religious groups. It is hoped that local communities will come up with some new values with an independent mind.
**Examples would be workshops and outreach programmes to inspire people to think about how people living in distant countries are related to their own lives, or to encourage the development of local activities in which people "think globally and act locally".

Eligible Activities
**Practical activities, short or long term, directly related to peacebuilding.
**Activities that stimulate activities not only in the field itself, but also in other fields and can be creative and pioneering models for the realisation of peace.
*The NPF also pays attention to the following points:
**The activity must be specific and focused on serious issues in society.
**Activity that tackles the problem using innovative and effective methods.
**The result of the activity has sustainability and broad impact, and these functions are incorporated as a system in the activity.

Unqualified activities
**Activities carried out for the benefit of a specific religious group.
**Activities based on or for the advancement of a specific political ideology.
**Profit-making activities.
**Activities whose aim is to hold conferences only as such.
**Projects for which the applicant's main intention is to publish the results of the activities. (This does not apply to previous grant recipients.)
**Grants are not scholarships as such and should not be used as financial support to study abroad.

Issues of particular interest to the NPF this year
*This year, the NPF is particularly interested in activities that address the following issues while meeting the "focus areas".
**Migrants, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
**Gender disparity
**Child poverty
**Initiatives by religious organisations and believers to address social issues (including the use of religious facilities)
**Effective use of technology
*Of the total number of projects to be awarded, approximately half will be projects that address these issues.
*However, the projects to be awarded are not limited to activities that address these issues.

Eligibility criteria
*A request can be made by an individual or an organisation.
*Nationality is not an eligibility criterion.
*Any group that has existed continuously for a reasonable period of time is eligible to apply, whether or not it is legally constituted.

For more information, visit https://www.npf.or.jp/english/grant/guidelines_application_forms

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