IMPACT.org: Amplifying the impact of civil society in Transylvania

On June 1st, ACTEDO launched the project "IMPACT.org: Amplifying the impact of civil society in Transylvania", implemented in partnership with the Francophone Business Club Cluj Association (CFAC).

The shrinking civic space and a certain volatility of civil society in Romania leads to a low level of trust in NGOs and a poor understanding of their role and activity. Moreover, the Transylvanian population is not familiar with the work of many impactful local and regional NGOs, and business and academia are not sufficiently connected to them.

The IMPACT.org project aims to contribute to alleviating these problems by increasing the visibility of local and regional NGOs in Transylvania that have a real impact in the communities where they operate, and to bring the general public closer to them. Through the project, ACTEDO also aims to support the financial sustainability of some NGOs by linking them with companies and businesses in the region and, last but not least, encouraging volunteering and internships of students among regional NGOs.

The project is mainly addressed to the general public, more specifically to people in Transylvania who will be informed about the role and activity of NGOs in the region. At the same time, the target group of the project also consists of activists from Transylvania, NGO representatives, companies from Cluj county and students from Cluj-Napoca.

Coordinator: Equality and Human Rights Action Centre (ACTEDO)

Partner: Association of Francophone Business Club (CFAC)

Funder: Active Citizens Fund Romania part of EEA and Norwegian Grants 2014-2021

Budget: 76.981,00 Euro, of which 74.986,00 grant funding

Start date: 01.06.2023

End date: 31.03.2024

Duration: 10 months

Project goal

To strengthen the impact of civil society in Transylvania and to promote active citizenship among academia, business and the general public in the region.

Main activities:

• Awareness campaign aimed at increasing visibility and enhancing the impact of local and regional civil society: interviews, videos, podcasts
• Creation of a tool, the Civic Compass, which will allow anyone to assess their civic profile.
• Carry out research (opinion poll and focus group with experts) to support a campaign to deconstruct false perceptions of NGOs.
• Campaign to discover Transylvanian activism with the aim of facilitating direct contact between NGOs and the general public.
  • Living Library Event
  • Exhibition on Transylvanian activism in the last decade
• Match-making programme between NGOs and business in Cluj-Napoca.
• Programme to develop civic spirit and encourage active citizenship among students in Cluj-Napoca as well as by facilitating volunteering and internships of students from the county in NGOs.

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The project is carried out by the Equality and Human Rights Action Centre (ACTEDO) in partnership with the Association Clubul Francophone de Affaires (CFAC) and benefits from a grant of 74.986,00 Euro through the Active Citizens Fund Romania programme, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through EEA Grants 2014-2021. The content of this website does not necessarily represent the official position of the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021; for more information please visit www.eeagrants.org. Information about Active Citizens Fund Romania is available at www.activecitizensfund.ro.

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