Civistarter

Landecker Democracy Fellow Florin recognized the need for resources to empower citizens to create actionable change in Romania. This is how the project Civistarter began — a series of events where representatives of the youth could learn how to be more civically involved.

Florin’s Aspirations

Florin identified a few issues and actions Romanian society needs the most right now: combating corruption and instilling transparency in public institutions. He envisions creating practical workshops that will teach good citizenship through tangible skills to participants, who can in turn apply these lessons and frameworks to their daily lives.

The project is scalable to support more permanently by helping to build communities and creating a digital platform that serves as a civic involvement starter kit and a networking hub between individuals and non-governmental organizations.

Project Development

The project will take place in three stages over a one year period:

• The first stage involves the organization and implementation of Civistarter events in four different cities: Bucharest, Cluj, Iasi, and Timisoara. Each workshop aims to have 100 participants each. Of these, a minimum of five persons will become community leaders in their respective cities.
• In the next stage, the teams will conduct research, create content, and communicate with NGOs to create the digital platform.
• In the final stage, the platform will be promoted, launched and maintained, and the impact will be tracked and analyzed.

The project strives to bring civic thought into action through vital information, community building and networking resources. Partnerships with individuals and NGOs like Fridays for Future, Greenpeace, and Declic, will enable the 400 participants to equip themselves with the tools to apply to their respective social justice causes and movements.

The platform will help close the gap between individuals, NGOs, and public administration — empowering young people to get and remain involved in civic projects.

Updated December 2021.