Description
The project V.G.L. – Volunteering, Green, Life: Volunteering Programme for Youth and Adults in Turda is implemented by the Rațiu Democracy Center in Turda, in partnership with the Communitary Association for supporting education: GAUDEAMUS (The Republic of Moldova) and with the Turda City Hall. The project team aims at promoting initiative and motivation to get involved in volunteering activities to benefit the community, by facilitating the personal development and the achieving of competences in ecology, urban landscapes and sustainable development for 25 youth and adults in Turda through a series of workshops and through supporting local initiatives. It also focuses on increasing the Ratiu Center’s ability to support local volunteering programs for all group ages by developing the Community Center Free time factory. The project has a total budget of 47,659 euro, with which it helps organising community activities to preserve and beautify recreation areas and play gorunds in Turda throughout 2014, by using recicled materials and means of urban gardening.
Summary of project results
Turda is a town in Romania in which the spirit of volunteerism was underdeveloped. It could be found in a few small circles of high school students, but within the adult population it was almost entirely missing. This project was needed in order to draw the attention of the community on the need to assume this behavior, and in order to practice it the Project Promoter proposed the enlargement and protection of the green spaces - an area in which Turda was well below the European average. The goal of the project was to involve at least 25 volunteers (youth and adults) in community based activities. It was achieved both in the short term by forming a group of 25 volunteers that constantly participated in the activities of the project (along with other volunteers whose participation was not continuous), and in the long term by creating a positive example of common involvement of adults and teenagers in activities based on volunteering. The number of youngsters and adults that wish to volunteer has risen, this strengthens the belief the in the long run volunteering will be an innate phenomenon in Turda. 17 personal development sessions and workshops were held. Also the project envisaged several public events for publicity (debates, round tables, launching events etc) and a campaign for the selective collection and recycling of the waste. 6 community initiatives regarding setting up / maintaining of green spaces were organised. Through the project, a public park of approximately 3000 sqm. and a beach volley court were set up. The volunteers, through their involvement in project activities, got a better understanding of the relationship between a citizen and his/her community. If in October 2014 only six of the volunteers could link volunteerism to community development, at the end of the project all of the 25 volunteers that constantly participated in the project activities understood this connection and could convincingly explain it to other citizens.
Summary of bilateral results