Daphne Programme 2000-2003: action relating to violence against children, young persons and women
PURPOSE : to present the final report from the Commission on the Daphne Programme 2000-2003.
CONTENT : this report presents the progress made by the Daphne Programme since its approval in January 2000 and a summary of its main achievements. During their seven years of existence (1997-2003), the Daphne Initiative and the subsequent Programme met with a response far greater than could have been expected. More than 2200 proposals were received requesting around EUR 195 million. This overwhelming response shows that the Programme clearly meets a deeply felt need within the voluntary sector. A total of 303 projects were funded during the same period for a total EC budget of EUR 31 million.
The long list of project activities, including innovative methods for prevention, co-operation, exchanges, networking, developing new models and sharing best practice, have already started to have multiplier effects on NGO and institutional activities in Europe. As a consequence, the Daphne Programme can be seen as successful in continuing the mobilisation of the NGO sector at all levels, resulting in many new partnerships and alliances that are working together for more comprehensive European policies on violence.
The report highlights some of the most interesting findings : there is a reasonable balance in the funded projects between the various categories of beneficiaries: children, young people and women; the 220 projects analysed in detail produced 700 tangible outputs (e.g. studies, good practice guides, training manuals, CD-ROM, TV or radio spots); in 65% of the projects under the Daphne Programme, the objective is the exchange of good practice. In terms of results, 34% of outputs produced contributed to the achievement of this objective. This illustrates the added value of Daphne, which reinforced the dissemination of a number of good practices at the level of the European Union. In addition, 1 project in 2 produced results that are directly applicable, such as field actions or training modules. With regard to the impact of these results on the project partners, 66% of the projects have now adopted new practices in their current work. 80% of the partners recognise that their expertise, know-how and involvement in transnational networks/partnerships have improved. In terms of the impact on the end beneficiaries (children, young people and women), in more than half of the projects, these populations benefited from better access to assistance and improved their capacity to face the situations by themselves. This result is of primary importance, because it goes beyond the concept of assistance to victims towards the concept of rehabilitation and empowerment. The last finding that is worth mentioning is that 12% of the projects had an impact on legislation and/or led to policy change. Given the fact that the primary aim of Daphne is not to propose legislative measures or to change policies, this is a side-effect due to the strong commitment and dedication of some organisations. This can be seen as a plus.