THE T-MOBILE FUND DISTRIBUTES NEARLY CZK 3 MILLION

The “MLUVME SPOLU” call for grant applications will support 34 projects
Grant recipients will receive a total of CZK 2,865,116
The seven-member evaluation committee chose the winning projects in the second round from 114 applications  

Prague, 15 August 2013 – The T-Mobile fund has announced the results of the “MLUVME SPOLU” (“LET’S TALK TO EACH OTHER”) call for grant applications published at the beginning of April this year. Grants were applied for by 339 projects, whose objective was to establish or improve communication within a certain community. The applications included projects aimed at starting a public debate on community, environmental or cultural issues. Out of the 114 applications that advanced to the second round, the seven-member evaluation committee selected 34 projects, which will receive support in the total amount of CZK 2,865,116 from the T-Mobile fund. 

“Seven hours of evaluation was really hard, not only because of the length but also because of the difficulty of making a decision. Only a few projects were accepted without any major comments. With most of the projects, the jury discussed passionately the sustainability of a particular project’s contribution, quality of preparation, creativity and whether the budget was realistic,” says committee member Martina Kemrová, Senior Head of Corporate Communication at T-Mobile. 

Though T-Mobile originally envisaged distributing CZK 3.5 million, the jury decided not to grant funds in that amount. “We were not convinced about the quality of any more projects,” explains Kemrová, adding:  “We will use the remaining amount for other publicly beneficial projects planned within the T-Mobile Fund, such as those supporting volunteering and small donors.“   

The largest number of project applications that advanced to the second round were submitted by applicants from Prague (36%), followed by the South Moravia region (15%) and the Central Bohemia region (8%). More than three fourths of applicants were non-governmental organisations; some applications were also submitted by concerned individuals who want to change something in their communities. Aid was provided both to projects with a national impact and to very locally focused projects. Grants were awarded, for example, to the Post Bellum association (with a project involving educational gatherings of participants of the 20^th Century Stories competition), the Jako doma (“Like at home”) association (homeless cooks), Brnění with the environmental project “Dejchej Brno” (“Breath Brno”), 8jinak! (“8 Times in a Different Way”) with Palmovka jinak, (“Different Palmovka District”), as well as to two projects with the aim of safeguarding architectural gems in the towns of Pardubice and Česká lípa – Mlýny městu (“Mill Houses to the City”) from Offcity o.s. and the discussion platform “Uran v České líp씓 (“Uranium in Česká Lípa”) from Helena Doudová and the volunteer fire brigade in Kouřim that intends to open a small café for senior citizens. Some of the winning projects are very ambitious, as they strive to involve citizens in the state administration, e.g. Alternativa Zdola (“Bottom-Up Alternative”) with a participative budget project in Prague and the Ekologický právní servis (“Environmental Legal Services”) organisation with an initiative called Rekonstrukce státu: Mluv se svým poslancem (“Reconstruction of the State: Talk to your MP”). 

The evaluation committee was composed of the following members: Petra Guasti (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic), Daniela Göttelová (deputy mayor of the town of Černošice), Jan Holík (director of Mibcon), Martina Kemrová (senior head of Corporate Communication and spokesperson at T-Mobile), Martin Kontra (editor of Respekt magazine and founder of the Bajkazyl citizens association), Michal Tošovský (project manager at the Otevřená společnost [“Open Society”] organisation) and Hana Vosmíková (program manager at the VIA Foundation). 

The T-Mobile Fund’s “MLUVME SPOLU” call for applications is implemented through the VIA Foundation. Its objective is to strengthen trust among people and their mutual communication in dealing with social issues. 

The T-Mobile Fund will support grant recipients not only financially but it will also offer them other forms of assistance via a training programme, which includes very successful workshops that T-Mobile has for the fourth time organised for the non-profit sector and newly also a long-term educational project of the T-Mobile Fund Academy. 

The complete list of supported projects is available in the article at www.prosvetkolemnas.cz.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.