CIVITAS FOUNDATION – FOR CIVIL SOCIETY
“Transylvanian Moviepreneurs” is a cultural project realized by the partners of the Foundation Civitas – for Civil Society, 23 FILM and PROJECTS – Iceland in the framework of the European programme RO-Culture funding programme, period September 2020 – March 2021. The project “Transylvanian Moviepreneurs” is financed by EEA funds, launched through the Ministry of Culture and Management Unit through the RO-Cultura programme.
Civitas Foundation – for Civil Society runs programmes and projects in the field of regional development and builds innovative, sustainable intervention models, with impact in society, having 4 subfields of activity developed further. Historically, the Civitas Foundation was founded in 1992, focusing on the need for professionalization and performance of public administration in Romania, in the difficult context of the early 90s – the foundation will focus on this sector for a period of time.
Subsequently, the foundation will focus its attention on projects and programmes aimed at and supporting multiculturalism, local development, information and counselling principles, social entrepreneurship, training young people to use online resources for the promotion and development of small businesses – all developed within projects such as PHARE, “Developing community based enterprises”, “NEETs”, “Solidart Changemakers Festival” etc.
So, in terms of local and regional development objectives and models of intervention models with a direct impact on society, the Foundation’s 4 subfields of activity are as follows:
a. Community development and good governance – this sub-area aims to create a dialogue between public authorities and citizens to design and implement initiatives that generate prosperity;
b. Entrepreneurship and social economy – Civitas is the promoter of entrepreneurship and social economy in Romania by developing sustainable social economy structures, structures that can successfully keep pace with market challenges;
c. Strengthening civil society – transfer of good practices and partnerships in the civil society and initiatives supporting active citizenship and the involvement of young people in community life are aspects that Civitas directly encourages;
d. Rural economic development – Civitas supports local development and supports local initiatives, precisely so that community members are aware of and use responsibly, available resources.
Civitas Foundation – for Civil Society aims to increase the development capacity of communities by generating successful models that bring well-being. The Foundation therefore focuses on the needs of people in local communities and how they can improve their daily lives by engaging in innovative, sustainable and impactful programmes directly on society. So the foundation’s vision focuses on community strength, civic engagement and creating a direct dialogue between authorities and citizens precisely to turn initiatives into projects, plans into realities and opportunities for proper development.
The foundation’s values are centred on trust and loyalty (strong relationships with partners and based on commitment), professionalism and self-development, dedication and vocation, integrity and success (respect for the values and choices of those partners who also put them into practice), innovation and creativity and last but not least, partnership and associativity (success due to partnerships, teamwork, pooling of resources and knowledge to bring value added value in communities that need it).
The Civitas Foundation for Civil Society is governed by a board of five members and a president and is organised in two offices, one in Cluj-Napoca and one in Odorheiu Secuiesc. Our partners include – the Centre for Public Policy Center), Foundation for Civil Society Development, Pact Foundation, World Vision Romania, Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Local Council, Aliz Kosza (The Business Mentor), Eco Ruralis and many others.
Three of the important projects supported by the Civitas Foundation are the following:
Vote4Europe, YOUCooperATE, CoopNet 2.0.
1. Vote4Europe: is a project funded by the European Commission in partnership with organisations in Belgium, France, Poland, Spain and aims to encourage young people aged 18-35 to vote in the European elections in May 2019. The project ran from October 2018 to March 2020. Another valuable addition to the project is the opportunity for 3 young people to visit the European Parliament in Brussels and talk directly to MEPs. Last but not least, in the framework of the project the Foundation aimed to develop dialogue between young people and representatives of the European institutions.
2. YOUCooperATE: YOUCooperATE (Youth Cooperation for Agricultural Renewal through Education), running from March 2020 to August 2021, has as its main focus the main objective of strengthening the knowledge and skills of young people aged 15-17, involved in agricultural vocational training programmes (T-VET) in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia and Italy. Using modern teaching techniques, including e-learning, young people from the countries involved în project will develop their knowledge of cooperative values and business models. The final goal of the project being the development of the agricultural sector by the next generation of farmers in the project countries.
3. CoopNet 2.0: “Learning and growing together”: project running from January 2020 – January 2022, aims to educate and develop a community of leaders leading already established agricultural cooperatives (executive managers and presidents) so that they can ensure the necessary resources to carry out their work. CoopNet 2.0, a continuation of the project CoopNet, initiated 2 years ago, is a project through which the foundation has succeeded in growing a community of experts in the field of setting up and running agricultural cooperatives, supporting the association and collaboration between farmers in Romania and also contributing to the creation of associative structures.
With this new project, the foundation aims to grow the community of leaders through mentoring, international study visits, a training programme for cooperative executives research and advocacy activities. CoopNet 2.0 priorities include the organisation of events and bringing together key players – trade partners, authorities, NGOs, NGOs, the authorities, local authorities, cooperative members and the community.
4. Transylvanian Moviepreneurs – the recent cultural programme by partners Civitas Foundation – for Civil Society, 23 FILM and PROJECTS – Iceland in the framework of the European funding programme RO-Cultura, period September 2020 – March 2021, is a project funded by EEA funds, initiated through the Ministry of Culture and the Management Unit through through the RO-Culture programme. This recently implemented entrepreneurial education project, is aimed at young professionals working in the cultural and creative industries, and the objective is to create connections between top specialists and entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative industries. with a focus on business models in the entrepreneurial environment.
So, with 28 years of activity in which the Civitas Foundation has completed hundreds of and contributed to the development of communities in rural areas and beyond, the Foundation has an extensive process of modernising its organisational structure and image. The Civitas Foundation for Civil Society is therefore a complex partner with experience integrating the values and knowledge acquired in this new entrepreneurial education programme, entitled “Transylvanian Moviepreneurs”. The expertise and experience of the Civitas Foundation is an essential pillar in the smooth running of the project, whose main objective is to strengthen the cultural-creative ecosystem by developing the knowledge of professionals in the field of cultural entrepreneurship and cooperation cultural cooperation.
