Call for Projects on the Arms Industry

in Belgium, France, Italy and Spain and arms exports by these countries

Nov 27th, 2019

The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung is a German political foundation that operates both nationally and internationally. In keeping with its namesake, it is committed to the ideas and actions of the socialist Rosa Luxemburg. We are committed to working within the traditions of the global workers’, feminist, anti-fascist, and anti-war movements and uphold the ideas of democratic socialism.

We work on two levels:

  • To strengthen left-wing actors in movements, political parties and unions.
  • To develop emancipatory and critical positions and concepts.

Background and objectives

Arms manufacturers in Western Europe drive and profit from the growing international arms trade. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2019, the EU is the world's second largest arms supplier, behind the USA, but ahead of Russia. While the volume of international trade in major arms reached its highest level since the end of the Cold War in 2018, six of the world's top 10 arms suppliers over the period 2014–18 were Western EU member states.

At the same time, there is mounting debate about a common European military policy and expenditure on common European defence. The proposed European Defence Fund (EDF) would divert unprecedented EU funds away from peaceful priorities to the arms industry.

However, many Western EU member states lack effective, restrictive arms export policies, public awareness, scrutiny and strong opposition to the arms industry. We aim to reach out to local and regional anti-war and peace movements which have a crucial role to play in bringing about change and promoting peace in a creative, emancipatory fashion.

We're looking for projects that raise awareness about or analyse the arms industry in Belgium, France, Italy or Spain and arms exports by these countries. Projects may cover the production of studies, educational material, video or audio contributions, or the organisation of public events, targeted workshops or network-building meetings. Applicants must be based in Belgium, France, Italy or Spain.

Budget

Projects should have an overall budget of between €3,000 and €10,000, excluding VAT.

Submission of proposals

After downloading and filling in the Letter of Intent template (see below) in English, please e-mail it to Axel Ruppert, Project Manager (axel.ruppert(at)rosalux(dot)org) mentioning "Project Application 2020" in the subject line. The deadline for submissions is 20 January 2020, by 13:00 CET at the latest.

Applicants whose Letters of Intent are accepted will be contacted by 3 February 2020 with instructions on how to draft a full project proposal.