We connect energy to wisdom to build vibrant communities
Change Romania
This project is proposed by The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation in partnership with Partners Foundation for Local Development. Two Romanian foundations join forces and a cumulated experience of more than 35 years to create a project that will change Romania from the community level up. Purpose To stimulate the development of social and economical life of small communities in a durable and integrated manner in order to create healthy communities that are a perfect environment for active businesses and to replicate the model at a national level. Why? Because villages and small cities in Romania lost their sense of community in the communist era and suffer from lack of initiative, poor local management and no sense of perspective for development. This kind of environment is bad for business and offers no chance for development even in the communities which have a strong potential (tourism, traditions infrastructure, vicinity to big towns etc). Objectives To develop the capacity of local communities to enable and stimulate the economic and social development through: - Development and implementation of local strategies with community support based on local potential and conditions - Access to European funds - Care for social and educational needs - Strengthening of local authorities and local administration - The development of networks and partnerships Approach The implementation of a participatory process to: - enable and consolidate the ability to act of local actors and authorities - develop a strategic plan for the economical and social development of the area - facilitate the implementation of the activities proposed for the first 12 months - build sustainable social services in an intergenerational manner
We connect energy to wisdom to build vibrant communities
Who is targeted? How will we make the selection? We are aiming for small towns or communes with less than 30 000 inhabitants, taken alone or with the surrounding villages. We want to find places with a rural economy that are underdeveloped but present an important potential for development: - they have a cultural heritage or patrimony that is not valued (monuments, traditions etc) - they are in the vicinity of a neglected natural patrimony or in danger of degradation - they are in the vicinity of a major touristic attraction - they are in the vicinity of a major developing city and have a potential to develop important economical activities Other criteria for selection: - the willingness to participate in the process - the possibility to offer a space dedicated to the development of social, educational and cultural activities for the community - the understanding that this process will offer knowledge, consultancy, support and not a lot of money - the capacity to mobilize an important part of the community Major Activities - Training for local actors/stakeholders: officials, public employees, representatives from the socio-economical level - A diagnostic regarding the potential for local development data collecting with the help of local actors and analysis by the experts with the help of local stakeholders - Strategic planning Workshops with the involvement of local actors, to create the strategy for socio-economic development - Assistance in the implementation of local development strategies: - how to write a project and apply for funds - small grants to co finance the best projects - technical support and monitoring for the implementation - Assistance in the development of efficient and durable social services - Experience exchange activities, partnership development and promotion
We connect energy to wisdom to build vibrant communities
Impact Economical level - Entrepreneurship - A decrease of unemployment - More reliable and powerful local authorities and an increase of the local budget Social level - Youth implicated in the development of their community - Social services adapted to local needs and implemented in and intergenerational manner Budget estimated at 250 000-300 000 Euros for two years Sources of funding: - private companies - international foundations - European funds
Identified problems of the targeted beneficiaries: Economy Rural cities based on subsistence agriculture Major unemployment rate Small local budget Powerless local authorities and chaos in local administration Limited access to information Grey economy
Social Poverty Important vulnerable and underprivileged groups Workforce and young people migration towards bigger cities or other countries Aging population and low birth rate
Limited access to - European funds - Development opportunities - Experience exchange and partnerships
