Young Initiative Association Romania: About Us

Introduction

The Young Initiative Association is a Romanian educational non-governmental, non-profit organization that organizes and promotes projects in the fields of youth and education. We were founded at the end of 2009 and we strive to provide young people with development opportunities for a society that is becoming more and more competitive on a global scale.

Mission: Our mission is to contribute to young people`s personal and professional development and to their education, so they can shape a career matched to their true potential. More than 60 volunteers are currently contributing to this mission.

Target-groups: Our main focus groups are children and young adults, as they are the future leaders of our world and need to have a proper education, a proper status in society and the moral values they need to succeed in life. We work with both youth (high-school and university students) and children with fewer opportunities (abused, abandoned, neglected children).

Affiliations: We are currently members of YMCA Romania and the VOLUM Federation (one of the largest Romanian federations of non-profit organisations who are promoting volunteering in the country), as well as of the “Acting Responsibly!” CSR Social Network (a federation that groups NGO`s, companies and public bodies in order to promote CSR activities). In 2013 we became a founding member of FEDI (European Forum for Diversity and Interculturality), where we are also a Board Member.

Accredittation: Since the beginning of 2013 we are accreditted as a Sending, Hosting and Coordinating Organization in the European Voluntary Service. We are always open to sending volunteers abroad through our dedicated sending programme and as such we would be delighted to get involved in placement projects with other organizations which need volunteers.

Notice: This is the only page from our website which is in English. The rest of the website is in Romanian. This page was created especially for foreigners who want to know more about our organization, potential volunteers and interns, and of course for potential partners for international projects. 

Main active projects

1. Bridges to knowledge (2010 – present)

We founded a Reading and Non-formal Education Center for abused and abandoned children in Bucharest where our volunteers are organising socio-educational activities (literacy, reading, animation, IT). The center opened in 2010 with the financial help of the IREX Foundation. Over 20 volunteers are organising weekly activities in the Center, having done until the end of 2012 over 400 activities.

The main partner of the project is the General Directorate for Child Protection Sector 4 Bucharest.

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2. BiblioLounge (2012 – present)

BiblioLounge is a dynamic space for young people in Bucharest to spend their time in a creative way, with a unique concept of transforming a classic library space into a vibrant community full of opportunities. With the help of the local community and of our international partners we managed to radically transform an almost empty space into an attractive space for young people. The space is also offered for free to NGO’s and other non-profit institutions (schools, universities, public institutions) to organise events. Also, we offer the space to individual students who wish to organise their own events in The BiblioLounge, providing them with know-how and support. We also organize free educational workshops and trainings for young people here.

The project is funded by the European Commision through the Youth in Action Programme (as partners) and is part of the European Power On Network. The partners of the project are Olde Vechte Foundation (the Netherlands), Bucharest Metropolitan Library and local NGO’s.

Website: www.bibliolounge.ro

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3. HR Twinning (2012 – present)

35 participants from 6 countries met in Bucharest in November 2012 in order to share and improve good practices in the HR field of NGO`s. Afterwards we started working on an online European NGO HR good practices network and also a good practices guide for general use.

The project is funded by the European Commission through the Youth in Action Programme.

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4. Blogunteer.ro (2010 – present)

Blogunteer is one of the main websites dedicated to volunteering in Romania, promoting the idea of volunteering, volunteers as individuals (their stories) and organisations that have a great impact in the community. The national team consisting of over 10 editors from every region of Romania is publishing daily articles such as interviews, project presentations, volunteers’ stories, guest posts from important actors of the NGO sector etc.

The project is supported by over 20 partners on a national level.

5. Click&Know (2011-present)

We founded an IT center for the 40 abandoned children and youth placed in social apartments in Sector 4, Bucharest, who otherwise don’t have access to modern educational and digital tools. Our volunteers are also organising weekly educational activities, mainly focused on learning how to use the computer, but also on general learning activities.

The project was supported financially by the Atelieres sans Frontieres Romania (Workshops without Borders). The main partner is the General Directorate of Child Protection Sector 4 Bucharest.

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6. Knowledge Builders (2013-2014)

Knowledge Builders is a European Voluntary Service project funded by the European Commission, through which we are hosting 6 volunteers from Spain, Poland and Turkey for 8 months in Bucharest, Romania. All volunteers are contributing to the Association`s projects and also launch their own projects and activities.

The project is financed by the European Commission through the Youth in Action Programme 2007-2013.

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7. Children Relief Program (Since 2010)

We provide the framework and logistics for companies and individuals to donate goods or money for all children centers in Sector 4 Bucharest. Thus far, thousands of donations have reached the over 800 children in foster care.

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8. International Projects (starting with 2012)

Our Association is actively taking part in international projects funded by the European Commission through programs like Youth in Action, mainly on educational, active participation and citizenship, youth, non-formal education themes. Until Spring 2013 we were involved in 9 international projects.

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9. European Voluntary Service (starting with 2013)

We became an accredited Coordinating, Hosting and Sending Organization for the EVS Programme at the beginning of 2013 and a few months later we launched our sending programme for young people in Romania who want to go on an EVS Service abroad. We provide potential volunteers with full support and free consultancy and we also host volunteers in Bucharest, Romania.

10. Various trainings and workshops (continuous)

Contact us:

info@younginitiative.org