CA23149 – Young Researcher and Innovator Conference Grants: Call for Applications (Deadline June 7, 2026)

Calls of the 2nd funding period of
CA23149 - Democratization at stake? Comparing Anti-Gender Politics in CEE and NME countries

CA23149 calls proposals via the e-cost website

Since the 1990s, Central Eastern Europe (CEE) and its Near and Middle Eastern (NME) neighbors have experienced major social and political shifts. Gender equality and anti-discrimination norms became key symbols of democracy, though their impact varied. For 15 years, these values—especially gender and sexual equality—have faced opposition from religious fundamentalism, homophobia, and neo-traditionalist ideologies. The network has established four working groups that aim to analyze anti-gender politics in these regions, linking them to democratic decline: Revealing the historical, social-political and economic background conditions, Deciphering the triangle of state, civil society and anti-gender actors, Rethinking activism and forms of oppositions with a focus on unexpected allies, and Dissemination and outreach activities.

Although membership is not mandatory, we encourage all grant applicants to join our COST Action Network and to become active members of one of the working groups. More information about our aims and scientific purpose can be found here: https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA23149/
In addition to regular reporting and acknowledgment of the COST Action in all activities (e.g. in posters, presentations), grantees agree to publish the aims and results of their grant period in a format suitable for the COST Action’s social media channels.

Young Researcher and Innovator Conference Grant

We are pleased to invite young scholars (up to 40 years of age) to apply for the Young Researcher and Innovator Conference Grant. This grant enables researchers at an early stage of their careers to take part in high-impact conferences outside their country of residency.

The grantee is required to deliver an oral presentation (talk, poster presentation) on a topic within the scope of the action.
This call is open to researchers and other professionals working in civic education. With their active participation, the grant should help establish a strong network to increase the grantee’s visibility in the respective professional field and the visibility of the COST Action.

Please note that applications for the ECPR and ECPG are not eligible in this round.

Submission deadline: June 7, 2026

Application details

• All applications are made via the portal e-cost https://e-services.cost.eu/ In your personal account you find the page to apply via the menu on the left: Cost Actions>My Grant Applications: https://e-services.cost.eu/activity/grants
• The support will be paid as a lump sum: to EU/UK: 900 €; to East-coast US/Canada: 1.800 €; to Westcoast US/Canada and rest of the world: 2.200 €; to non-European Mediterranean Bassin: 900 €
• Copy of the abstract of the accepted oral or poster presentation
• Acceptance (or invitation) letter from the conference organisers
• Statement regarding the expected outcome and how the project aligns with the aims of the Cost Action
• A detailed user guide for the application platform can be found here: https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2025/01/COST-Grant-Awarding-user-guide.pdf

Applications in which there is reason to believe that content has been substantially generated by AI beyond simple language refinement may not be considered in the selection process.

Applicants will receive a preliminary notification of acceptance within two weeks after the deadline, subject to a positive decision by the MC. For further inquiries, please contact
Elisa-Maria Hiemer: e.hiemer@fu-berlin.de
Andrea Pető: petoa@ceu.edu