Press release
Mihai Eminescu Trust – The first 10 months of the ŞURA project – The BARN: Experiential Laboratory for inclusive civic engagement
Sighișoara, Mureș County
October 18, 2021
During this period, the first months of the ȘURA project are successfully completed: The BARN: Experiential Laboratory for inclusive civic engagement , whose aim is focused on strengthening the community, creating the necessary infrastructure for civic involvement, organizing extracurricular activities and social inclusion. cultural development of vulnerable groups. The project runs for 36 months in Archita village, Vânători commune, Mureș county, and is developed by Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation, with the financial support of Active Citizens Fund Romania, a program funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through EEA Grants 2014- 2021. The slogan of the program is We work together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.
The total financing of the project is 270,804 Euro, of which the financing of EEA Grants is 240,804 Euro, to which is added a co-financing of 30,000 from the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation. The aim of the project is to cultivate social activism to increase social cohesion among community members in the village of Archita.
So far, with the help of the leadership of the General School in the commune, nine non-formal education workshops have been organized with the participation of 30 children and young people from grades I-IV and V-VIII. The workshops had different themes and were meant to encourage the small representatives of the community to join the Civic Activism Club “ȘURA”, whose activities will begin next year. The children were actively involved in artistic activities, sports, manual work, expression and involvement in the community, met folk craftsmen in the area, dance troupes and sports coaches, educational specialists and young models of involvement in community from other villages.
At the same time, the Foundation facilitated two useful community actions in order to empower and empower the civil society in Archita. The two practical workshops on civic initiative and the exercise of civil rights brought face to face, in an informal, relaxed setting, community representatives, members of the Local Association “Discover Archita” and representatives of the City Hall of Vînători Commune, Mureș County . The participants in the meeting presented their challenges to the City Hall, and the Foundation mediated the dialogue between the two parties. The next workshop we will organize with adults in the village will focus on drafting these complaints, with the help of the project team from the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation.
In addition to these participatory democracy workshops, the Foundation encouraged civic involvement in the community by organizing an action to green the village in April, which was attended by 50 people. The action was a success. The local volunteers were happily joined by the employees of a private enterprise from Sighișoara, as a sign of local solidarity.
Another important milestone reached in the project is the beginning, in September, of the restoration, repair and re partitioning works of the large barn that will be transformed into a community space for extracurricular educational activities and cultural events. Șura will host community actions, in a welcoming space, which the community will perceive as a place it holds in common. Work in September focused on roof repairs.
Finally, in September, the first event of the series entitled “MET & Friends” took place in Mălâncrav village, Laslea commune, Sibiu county, which materialized with a working session with the partners of the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation and the NGOs in the area. The event was attended by 9 associations from the area. During this event, in addition to discussions and networking actions, the Foundation shared practical information from its team’s over 20 years of experience in revitalizing Transylvanian communities and details on MET’s approach and intervention strategy for the sustainable development of multi-ethnic communities.
The activities carried out so far within the project were joined by 35 volunteers from the Sighișoara area and from the locality, but also from other cities, such as Bucharest and Brașov. The project was promoted at local, regional and national level, it being presented during the Haferland Week event, held between July 30 – August 1, 2021 in several villages in Transylvania.
***
The BARN: Experiential Laboratory for inclusive civic engagement is intended to be a model that can be replicated in the future in other villages in the area and which transposes the conviction of the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation that a society is much stronger when its citizens are actively involved in development their communities to become active actors of change.
The Active Citizens Fund Romania program is financed by the EEA Grants 2014-2021. The overall objective of the Grants is to reduce economic and social disparities and to strengthen bilateral relations between the 15 beneficiary states and the donor states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway). The program is administered by the consortium composed of the Foundation for Civil Society Development, the Partnership Foundation, the Resource Center for Roma Communities, the PACT Foundation and Frivillighet Norge, which acts as a Fund Operator designated by the FMO – Grants Financial Mechanism Office EEA and Norway. Active Citizens Fund Romania aims to strengthen civil society and active citizenship and increase the capacity of vulnerable groups. With a total allocation of EUR 46,000,000, the program aims to develop the long-term sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector, intensifying its role in promoting democratic participation, active citizenship and human rights while strengthening bilateral relations with donor states Iceland. , Liechtenstein and Norway. For more information about Active Citizens Fund in Romania, please visit www.activecitizensfund.ro For more information about EEA and Norwegian Grants, visit www.eeagrants.ro
The Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation has its headquarters in the Cojocarilor Tower in Sighișoara. Mihai Eminescu Trust has over 20 years of experience in revitalizing and invigorating communities, Transylvanian cultural and natural heritage and has implemented so far over 1300 restoration projects, community development, afforestation, non-formal education for children and courses vocational training for adults.
Communication Manager Michaela Türk, Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation
mtuerk@mihaieminescutrust.org