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Together, they will discuss policy overview & support mechanisms for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, plus opportunities for advancing actions that promote the Integration of Refugee and Localization of Humanitarian Assistance in Europe.
BOGDAN SIMION is the Executive Director of the SERA Romania Foundation and the President of FONPC (Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations for Children), two organizations that have decisively influenced the way vulnerable children in Romania are supported for a better life. His three decades of experience in child protection in Romania have brought about positive changes both in the strategy of child protection and in legislative modifications in the field. The activities of the organizations he oversees have contributed to improving living conditions for more than 200.000 children in vulnerable categories, including children with disabilities and mothers facing difficulties.
Working with Eurochild since 2019, Ciaran O’Donnell currently is Partnerships and Programmes Officer, and supports the organisation with the ideation and implementation of system-change enabling programmes to address key issues for children’s rights in Europe. He has over 10 years of experience working with and for children’s issues in Ireland, Sweden, and now at EU level in Belgium, and is passionate about addressing structural inequalities in our societies, and the power of networks and knowledge exchange.
Gabriela joined ICVA in April 2023 as Sr Policy Officer. Her work on Forced Migration focuses notably in supporting NGOs to collectively participate in and influence global processes and mechanisms to ensure these are inclusive, contextualised, and effective in supporting NGOs to meet the needs of those affected by crisis.
Over the past five she has worked with several NGOs and foundations in the development and humanitarian sectors in advocacy,coordination and external engagement. Prior to joining ICVA, she worked with World Vision International on Education in Emergencies on advocacy as well as on technical front through a deployment to support the Ukrainian crisis response.
Gabriela holds a bachelor’s degree in Multilingual Communication and a master’s degree in Standardization, Social Regulation and Sustainable Development from the University of Geneva.
FONPC is the main specialized interlocutor of the State in the elaboration and redefinition of public policies to ensure child welfare from a child rights perspective, using and developing in a coherent and comprehensive framework the experience and expertise of its members.
Founded in 1997, FONPC exists with and for its members, about 100 NGOs, for the benefit of children and the community, guided by its principles and statutory provisions and promoting the following values: identity/ autonomy of members, effectiveness in communication and action, democratic decision making, solidarity, openness, trust, mutual respect, equity, consistency/ continuity, partnership, transparency, participation and involvement. In order to achieve its objectives, FONPC works in close partnership with donors, funders, local and national authorities and non-governmental organisations, international organisations, European institutions, civil society, the community and other actors involved in promoting respect for children’s rights.
Anemari-Helen NIȚU graduated from the Faculty of Philology and specialised in political science. She holds a PhD (Consolidation and transition in post-communist Romania: articulating the dialogue between society civil dialogue and political actors) and a Master in Political Science, both obtained at the University of Bucharest.
Anemari has more than 20 years of experience in the non-governmental sector in Romania, more than 10 years in management positions, working in both international and Romanian organisations, in human rights, education, health, development cooperation, entrepreneurship, social and housing.
Dr Ally Dunhill joined Eurochild as Head of Advocacy in January 2021. She has over 30 years’ experience of working with and for children and their rights, globally. Ally is responsible for the coordination of Eurochild’s advocacy work with EU institutions. Advocating for the human rights and well-being of all children. As a membership organisation, she aims to ensure that the lived experiences of members and children are part of the decision-making process across the EU Institutions.
Zuzana Konradova has worked for Eurochild since 2018. Zuzana coordinated the Opening Doors for Europe’s Children Campaign (2013-2019) in its final phase. Currently, she is the EU Affairs Coordinator ensuring Eurochild engages in and influences relevant EU policy making processes according to agreed advocacy goals (child poverty, social inclusion, deinstitutionalisation, etc). She is responsible for building and maintaining relationships across the EU institutions and relevant partners, shaping Eurochild’s advocacy messages and supporting external representation. She also facilitates membership engagement in EU and national levels advocacy.
Corina Andrei is a sociologist, has a PHD in Political Sciences with experience over 15 years in implementing different projects in education, integration of vulnerable persons, human rights and active citizenship.
Corina has been part of the FONPC team for more than 3 years, being involved in conducting and elaborating the organisation studies and analysis. Now she is actively working in the Help to Help Ukraine project.
The Society for Children and Parents is a non-governmental organization founded in Timisoara in the year 1996 by psychologist Prof. Univ. Dr. Ana Muntean together with 27 other specialists active in the field of psychology, child and family protection.
SCOP is a founding member of the Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations for Children (FONPC).
The mission of the association is to increase the quality of life of children, women and families with the aim of preventing abuse of any kind against children in a society based on tolerance and respect.
For 27 years we have been developing educational programmes, social protection services and promoting children’s and women’s rights, gaining locally and nationally recognised expertise.
The Society for Children and Parents – SCOP has been a pioneer in securing rights for the most vulnerable. At the local level, it set up the first services, the first day centre for children with HIV/AIDS, the first “Refuge” for children with HIV/AIDS, the first victims of domestic violence, the first maternity centre, the first sheltered apartments for young people whothe first support services for child victims of sexual abuse or sexual abuse of children, human trafficking.
Currently, we run educational programs and projects in Timisoara and 4 disadvantaged localities in Timis county, serving over 300 children. Within the association there are two licensed day centres:
“Social Service Educational Centre for school integration and dropout prevention” and „Day Centre for children in families and/or children separated or at risk of separation from their parents”, as well as a Multifunctional Centre for assistance and support for refugee children and parents from Ukraine.
The Multifunctional Centre is part of the “ASIST” Project – implemented by SCOP as an emergency response to the crisis in Ukraine, funded by CARE International and coordinated and implemented at national level by SERA Romania Foundation with the support of CARE France and FONPC.
Valentina Mirza has over 12 years of professional experience working for various INGOs în natural disasters and conflict emergency contexts across Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Europe. She has held senior leadership and management roles at country and regional level, developing expertise in program design and implementation, quality assurance, fundraising and advocacy.
The integration of refugees and migrants in social services, education, health and labor markets in European countries – good practices and policy comparisons.
Localization in large refugee and migrant crisis in Europe – inclusive partnership models and the role of local and national NGOs.
Migrant and Refugee Children – protection and integration needs and good practices.
BOGDAN PAVEL has been working for over 20 years in the SERA ROMANIA Foundation team, during which time he has held various positions of coordination and project management. Over the years he has been involved in projects for the establishment or reorganization of dozens of day and rehabilitation centers, the establishment of family-type homes for institutionalized children or networks of foster carers, the evaluation of the adult protection system, as well as projects for the prevention of unintended pregnancy and the prevention of institutionalization of children. He has been involved from the beginning in the CARE/SERA project to help Ukrainian refugees and is currently Team Leader of the intervention team.
People in Need was established in 1992 by a group of Czech war correspondents who were no longer satisfied with merely relaying information about ongoing conflicts and began sending out aid. It gradually became established as a professional humanitarian organization and lately it has grown to include other topics, like human rigths and education on its agenda. Throughout the 30 years of its existence, People in Need has become one of the biggest non-profit organizations in Central Europe. In addition to humanitarian aid and human rights, it now also targets education and helps people living in social exclusion.
PIN believes that genuine civil society actors are mission and values-driven, engaged with and accountable to citizens, actively involved in policy dialogue and focused on bringing about real change and face challenges such as the Ukraine refugee crisis. By supporting and capacitating these actors, we enable them to take different paths in their development and reach their full potential. In Moldova, Romania and Georgia we have been working closely with our CSO partners and provided them necessary operational and financial support to cope with the crisis and actively represented their voice in local and national coordination mechanisms. An integral part of our projects are also provision of mental and psycho-social support (e.g. organization of retreats) to CSO workers.
Masha has worked in migration-focused projects and NGOs, based primarily on the Czech Republic, for over a decade. She has worked on aspects of communication of migration topics toward the public, advocacy, and most recently mental health of refugees and other migrants. She is currently a consultant with the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM), specifically its Ukraine Response Programme. Masha lives in Prague, Czech Republic and has a background in journalism and psychotherapy.
Founded in 2021 as an NGO in Italy, the Including Children Affected by Migration Network is
an association of 4 partner organisations from Italy, Spain, Romania and the UK who are
united by a dedication to uphold the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
with a focus on the improved whole school inclusion and access to quality learning and
teaching for all disadvantaged children.
In collaboration with Eurochild, the ICAMnet partners have developed and successfully
implemented the Including Children Affected by Migration Programme (ICAM). The ICAM
programme is endorsed and promoted by major agencies including UNHCR and has been
adopted by Terre des Hommes for implementation Europewide.
From the outset of the Ukraine war the ICAM programme for Ukraine was rapidly developed
to help schools meet the enormous challenge to include 5 million Ukrainian refugee children arriving in countries throughout Europe and to start repairing the social and emotional distress caused by their displacement. ICAM is the recommended programme for delivering a key element of the EU guidance on the inclusion of Ukrainian children in schools.
Unhappy or distressed children cannot learn and the ICAM learning and teaching materials,
for use in lessons and in the home, enable the restoration of children’s social and emotional
wellbeing so that they regain their capacity to learn and to benefit from a programme of
targeted lessons and activities. A feature of the programme is the enabling of school children
themselves and their parents or guardians to contribute fully to the wellbeing as key partners
in the school community.
Schools who embrace the ICAM programme soon find that every child and family in the
school benefits from the experience and consequently discover that including Children
Affected by Migration is not a problem it is a solution to improving education for all.
Please visit the ICAMnet website at www.icamproject.eu
ECRE is an alliance of 117 NGOs in 40 European countries that was established in 1974. ECRE’s mission is to protect and advance the rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and other forcibly displaced persons in Europe and in Europe’s external policies. Its diverse membership ranges from large INGOs with global presence to small organisations of dedicated activists. Members’ work covers the full circle of displacement from zones of conflict, to the dangerous routes and arrival in Europe, to long-term inclusion in European societies, with their activities including humanitarian relief, social service provision, legal assistance, litigation, monitoring policy and law, advocacy and campaigning. ECRE’s secretariat in Brussels informs, supports and works with the membership through joint events, the Annual General Conference, briefings to members and management of specialist working groups.
The National Congress of Ukrainians of Moldova was established to unite the Ukrainian community of Moldova under a single brand in 2021. NCUM includes ethnic Ukrainians, representatives of civil society, community leaders, cultural organizations, local authorities as well as women & youth. NCUM’s mission is preserving and developing the Ukrainians’ identity & livelihood in Moldova. NCUM is aimed at supporting Ukrainians via rights protection, facilitating effective participation in economic and social processes at all levels, and integration of Ukrainians into Moldovan society.
Within the crisis response in Moldova, NCUM has been engaged at the local, national and international level to facilitate the protection of refugees coming from Ukraine, support in social and economical inclusion via the implemented projects, bringing a refugee perspective to the conversation. Since the 24th of February 2022, during these unprecedented times, the NCUM team has launched and implemented 11 projects, including 7 focusing on Emergency Crisis Response and 4 aimed at supporting the livelihood of the Ukrainians of the Republic of Moldova. In total, NCUM has helped 35,000 Ukrainian refugees since February 2022.
World Vision is a global non-governmental organisation present in nearly 100 countries worldwide and dedicated to the well-being of children. We have been present in Romania for over 30 years, and work in vulnerable communities for the most vulnerable children. World Vision Romania is the largest organization in the country present in rural areas. In 2022-2023, thanks to our donors, we helped over 120,000 Romanian and Ukrainian children, reached over 100,000 adults, teachers, and parents. www.worldvision.ro
Our best practice on “localisation” in Rapid Response Emergency in Romania, it was guided by the Disaster Management team from World Vision International (wvi.org) using the approach “Grand Bargain” and the commitment to “engage with local and national responders in a spirit of partnership and aim to reinforce rather than replace local and national capacities”.
We focus on quality partnerships in support of the localization agenda for an effective humanitarian response. World Vision Romania assure the local infrastructure and staff expertise as human resource. Capacity building of partners it is an important part of WV’s partnership strategy and policy that is aligned with the best international practices in partnering.
For the partner capacity building process, we used a rapid organizational capacity assessment conducted before the partnership is established, as a mandatory step to determine the risk rating before signing with any organization and cover critical aspects.
Partners assessment includes the capacity evaluation to ensure a well-functioning. This process ensures that we engage only with partners showcasing an acceptable risk level. During the capacity building process, we collaborate with the partner to develop an individualized Capacity Building Action Plan, that ensuring accountability and efficient participation. We continue to train local partners on participatory approaches to engage local authorities and beneficiaries to ensure the proposed activities are aligned with the needs and desires of affected populations.
Terre des hommes, as the leading Swiss organisation for children’s aid, aspires to a world where the rights of children are always respected and where children can thrive in safe environments.
In 2022 our numbers show that worldwide 2.6 million children and members of their
communities were directly supported.
In Romania the Terre des hommes Foundation has been active continuously for the past 31 years, contributing to the improvement of the child protection system and to the reform of social assistance.
Terre des hommes are particularly known for the complex projects improving the lives of children affected by Migration, as well as for projects for youth in contact with the law.
In all our projects we are constantly:
Promoting the concept of (child) safeguarding and developing related procedures and guidance;
Strengthening the capacity of child protection, education and justice professionals through new resources, trainings, and exchanges;
Encouraging child and youth participation, including by embedding child-led initiatives in
almost all our projects.
We are committed to making significant and lasting changes in the lives of children and young people, especially those most at risk. In Romania our work focuses on communities in Dolj, Olt, Gorj, Valcea, Brasov, Constanta, and Bacau counties and in Bucharest, where most of our development team is based. We develop child-friendly practices and specific methodologies, with an emphasis on the mental balance and resilience, and we help children overcome the cycle of poverty through education.
In 2022 and 2023, Terre des hommes in Romania has been supported by UNHCR, the UN
Refugee Agency and other institutional donors, enabling the intervention for Ukrainian families (adults and children) to reach approx 11,000 people (10% of the Ukrainians who found refuge in Romania). Our teams offered Ukrainian families the chance to connect with the Romanian community, while also providing them with the means to deal with practical problems and alleviate the suffering caused by war and uprooting. At the same time, we created and supported several educational options for Ukrainian children, in Bucharest, Brasov and Constanta, and we set up hubs that include a 3D laboratories, but also workshops that develop talents of children and teens.
Marianna is an Expert on Inclusion, Disability and Social Policy in Ukraine. She is an economist by her education, but being a mother of 4 children, one of whom has disability, since 2013 Marianna works in the field of child’s and persons with disabilities’ rights protection. In 2017 she headed the National Deinstitutionalization Office and after it was closed in 2018 together with her colleagues she established NGO “Social Synergy” to continue their activities. In 2020 she also headed NGO “Family for persons with disabilities”, that provides services for persons with disabilities and their families. After a full scale invasion she moved to Europe with her family to receive temporary protection.
Gareth is an individual member of Eurochild with over twenty years’ experience in the United Kingdom of supporting the education of children in alternative care including asylum seekers and refugees.
In England there is a statutory requirement for every local authority to appoint a person for the purpose of discharging the authority’s legal duty to promote the education of children in alternative care. All refugee unaccompanied asylum seeking children automatically come into alternative care on arrival in the UK. Those appointed to these roles lead teams which ensure that these vulnerable children are in school and are being educated well. This entails organizing English language tuition, speedy attendance at a suitable school and advising school staff on the specific needs of migrant children, many of whom will have experienced trauma and loss. Additionally, other activities are arranged to assist with wider social integration and the progress of each young person is monitored through a Personal Education Plan in partnership with social services and carers. The presentation will explore how services have transformed access to appropriate education for refugee children and young people and significantly improved their attendance and engagement.
„We all know and talk about children in the streets that don’t smile. They don’t smile
because they don’t have money, no toys, they don’t have any food and, some, don’t even
have parents. So, start thinking and stop talking empty words, let’s all unite and give what
we can to the poor ones; Albanian children, white and black, they are all just children and deserve to smile. This organization shall be called “The Smile of the Child”. So, let’s all help, united we can make it.” (From Andreas Yannopoulos’ journal, November 1995)
It’s been 28 years now that the voluntary organization for children “The Smile of the Child”
has been active for. It all began as the vision of the 10-year old Andreas Yannopoulos, who,
shortly before losing his own battle for life, documented this dream of his in his journal.
“The Smile of the Child” empowered by committed professionals and the support of
hundreds of volunteers, implements 24/7 throughout the year, all kinds of programs.
The Smile of the Child, through its actions is:
• near to every child victim of violence (e.g. helplines, therapy, prevention programs at
schools etc),
• near to every missing child (e.g. national hotline, European helplines, rescue team
‘Thanasis Makris’, etc)
• near to every child with a health problem (e.g. ambulances, pediatric home treatment,
social polyclinic, social services , etc)
• near to every child victim of poverty (e.g. Daycare home, support centers for children and
families)
In order to support every child holistically, a good practice that we use, is the interconnection between National and International Services Organizations. More specifically the interaction among public services and departments, hospitals, volunteers and sponsors is fundamental.
The organization is funded exclusively by monetary donations from the public, and
donations (both in money and kind) by corporations, who contribute by covering the
numerous needs the children face.
ASSOC, NGO established in 1995, has approximately 10 years of experience in implementing projects that focus on migrants/refugees with the main goal of INTEGRATION, funded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs through the GENERAL INSPECTOR FOR IMMIGRATION (IGI) – funded through the National Programme, Asylum, Migration and Integration etc. We are in Maramureș county, Baia Mare, close to the Ukrainian border, so from the first days of the war we were at the Sighetu Marmației border to help the people from Ukraine who fled the war.
We continue to represent a landmark institution for displaced persons from Ukraine and for the authorities. From March 2022, until this moment, we are implementing projects for displaced people.
We also remind you of the good collaboration we had with the Maramureș County Council. As a model of good practice, we present MARAMUREȘ FOR UKRAINE PROJECT – SUPPORT AND INTEGRATION FOR UKRAINIAN WAR REFUGEES IN MARAMUREȘ aproject which is in the 3rd round of implementation, financed by CARE International, through CARE France, SERA and FONPC. It focused on providing quality services: social services, psychological counseling, non-formal educational services, etc.
Our aim is integration, supporting adults in obtaining and maintaining a job, and regarding the children, we focus on supporting them in educational activities, outside and within the state education system, also providing non-formal educational services. The project consists of two major activities, aimed at integrating and supporting Ukrainian refugees in Maramureș County (Baia Mare, Sighetu Marmației and neighboring areas):
A1: The mobile first response team – offers social, vocational/employment, psychological and school dropout prevention services in Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmației.
A2: Educational, recreational and multicultural activities in Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmatiei.
Since the beginning of the project (April 2022 – November 2023) we have supported 2392 people from Ukraine and Romania.
The STAR OF HOPE ROMANIA Foundation is a Romanian non-governmental organization with legal status since 1998. It is a partner of the Star of Hope International organization in Sweden, Star of Hope Norway,
and Star of Hope USA.
The vision of the STAR OF HOPE ROMANIA Foundation is: Children in responsible
families, with equal access to play, education, and community development.
The STAR OF HOPE ROMANIA Foundation is an active member in several networks and operates in the areas of Iași, Suceava, Valea Seacă (Bacău county), Huși, Bârlad (Vaslui county), Botoșani, Dorohoi, Dimacheni (Botoșani county). The organization promotes the Community-Based Rehabilitation strategy and received the National Order Steaua României; (The Star of Romania) in the Knight grade twice in 2000 and
2012 from the President of Romania for humanitarian initiatives and the significant role played in assisting people with disabilities in our country.
The STAR OF HOPE ROMANIA Foundation currently offers the following services:
– Specialised social services for children with disabilities: socio-psycho-educational assistance, support, recovery & rehabilitation for children with disabilities, facilitating integration into kindergartens and schools for children with special educational needs (CES) within the Day Center for Children with Disabilities
in Iași, the Day Center for Children with Disabilities in Dorohoi (and surrounding areas).
– Specialised social services for children in difficulty, including children of Roma ethnicity: socio-psycho- educational assistance for children in difficulty within the Day Centers for Children in Huși, Botoșani,
Valea Seacă, Murgeni, Dimăcheni.
– Specialised social services for young people in difficulty, including those with disabilities: youth club in Iași, Murgeni, Dorohoi.
– Support group services for adults going through a crisis (counseling, guidance, training, community integration facilitation).
Since the beginning of the war, the STAR OF HOPE Foundation, along with other partners such as Star of Hope International, UNICEF, SERA, CARE, FONPC, has been involved in supporting and assisting refugees from Ukraine at the borders: Siret, Sculeni, Huși/Albița, helping over 60,000 beneficiaries. The support and intervention in the refugee centers in Ukraine in the Iași, Dorohoi, and Suceava/Moara areas aimed at integrated services, including therapy services for children with disabilities.
At the Siret border, our intervention has significantly evolved since the start of the project with CARE. We made sustained efforts to provide not only material assistance but also complex integrated services. We implemented extensive therapy programs to address the emotional and psychological aspects of the refugees, focusing on supporting mothers and children affected by the traumas of war.
As the project consolidated, we expanded our presence at the Moara center. Here, we created optimal living conditions, provided food, hygiene products, and educational materials. In addition to our previous initiatives, we intensified therapy services to support individuals affected psychologically by the war, including those with disabilities, with the support of our specialists. Our achievements in providing therapy are remarkable and consistent, and the affected refugees have managed to overcome the challenges they faced, thus paving the way for healing and rediscovery.
This expansion of our actions didn’t only target the refugees at the Moara center but extended to the communities in Suceava, who heard about our efforts and requested support. STAR OF HOPE ROMANIA demonstrated its ongoing commitment and became a significant agent of change, providing comprehensive humanitarian aid to alleviate suffering and restore hope in the midst of the crisis.
Therefore, between June 2022 and December 2023, within 3 rounds of projects developed in partnership with SERA/CARE/FONPC, in the Suceava area at the Siret border and the Star of Hope Moara Center, a total of 18,913 individuals from Ukraine were supported through integrated services, including 6,984 children and 158 people with disabilities, from reception to direction towards the Moara accommodation center, providing food, material, medical, educational support, rehabilitation therapy for children with disabilities, and counseling for individuals in crisis.
Agnieszka is currently working at Polish Center for International Aid – PCPM as
Grants Coordinator for the Ukrainian response in Poland. Since March 2022 she has
coordinated PCPM’s programmes of cash assistance for refugees from Ukraine in Poland, with special focus on vulnerable groups, including older persons and persons with disabilities. She is co-chair of the Cash Working Group in Poland. Her humanitarian experience includes over 6 years of work in the Syrian refugee response, primarily in Lebanon, where she coordinated the humanitarian programme of PCPM between 2018 and 2022.
The Snagov Olympic Sports Club Association is the sports association of Snagov, established in 2021, in partnership with the Snagov Town Hall.
The aim of this sports club is to promote sport to all potential participants, both mass sport and performance sport. Since in the past Snagov has provided numerous champions in various sports such as rowing, billiards, kayak-canoe, karate, we want to revive this sports tradition of Snagov as much as we can.
Since 2022 we have been working tirelessly to help refugees integrate and overcome the traumas of war.
Our association believes in the transformative power of sports in the lives of refugees. We have been providing opportunities for them to participate in various sports activities, including football, basketball, judo, kick-boxing, boxing, chess, dance. We also offered sport activities with educational and therapeutical character. Through these activities, we aim to promote physical and mental well-being, build a sense of community, and foster a spirit of resilience among refugees.
In addition to sports activities, we also offer support and guidance to refugees in their integration process. We provide language classes, financial classes, brain training classes and access to essential services to help refugees rebuild their lives in their new communities.
Our association is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for refugees, where they can find support, friendship, and a sense of belonging. We firmly believe that sports can be a powerful tool for healing, empowerment, education and integration and we are dedicated to continuing our efforts to help refugees thrive through the power of sport.
Empowerment through Self Defense Level 2 Lead instructor, Romania conducted 23 workshops for 321 Ukrainian refugees in Romania, mostly women and children aged 5 to 71 during May through July 2023. This endeavor has been part of the project ”Provision of integrated support to refugees from Ukraine to actively prevent and respond to all forms of gender-based violence”, implemented by Asociația ANAIS, with support from UNICEF Romania. The interaction between mothers and children, when partnering to exercise various strikes, was so powerful. The feedback was extremely positive and encouraging.
Counting in the other workshops Daniela conducted for the Romanian Women’s Lobby,
Sensiblu Foundation, the East European Institute for Reproductive Health, the Coalition for Gender Equality, the European Center for Legal Education and Research, ASTRA Network, as well as for the National Agency for Equal Opportunities (ANES) the total to date is 90 hours for over 500 participants.
Roots Research Centre, an NGO (Non-profit Civil Organization) was founded in 1998. It is made up of a dedicated team of people with a respect and love for children’s rights in alternative care and adult foster care advocacy. The core values of the organization are based on the concept and principle of deinstitutionalization as outlined by the United Nations International Guidelines.
Based on these, the Centre creates activities and programmes with the aim of:
Restorative Justice as an institution expands and applies way beyond the narrow window of the criminal justice system. The restorative practices compress the essence of democracy by functioning through participation and consensus. Restorative practices within the child welfare system take many forms, and all of them boil down to the expression of the participants’ voice – which is actually a basic right according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Besides, social work’s upsetting past proves the existing risk of enforcing oppressive practices on vulnerable groups and families, oftentimes as a result of political pressure and choices, unless priority is given to the people and their needs, feelings and concerns as expressed.
European Disability Forum is an umbrella organisation of persons with disabilities
We bring together representative organisations of persons with disabilities from across Europe. We were created in 1996 by our member organisations to ensure that decisions at European level concerning persons with disabilities are taken with and by persons with disabilities.
We have since established regular channels of advocacy to European institutions including the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of the EU.
We defend the interests of more than 100 million persons with disabilities in Europe.
We are run by persons with disabilities and their families. We are a strong united voice of persons with disabilities in Europe.
Welcoming Week
Welcoming Week is an annual campaign that celebrates the work in communities to become welcoming places for all, including migrants. Launched in 2012 by Welcoming America and its members in the United States, Welcoming Week provides individuals and organizations the opportunity to showcase their values through events and initiatives that foster connections and collaboration between migrants and non-migrants, as well as belonging for all.
Through Welcoming Week, organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity. Local and regional governments, NGOs, migrant and refugee-led organizations, local businesses and others participate by hosting events (670 in 2023) and engaging on social and traditional media.
Through Welcoming America’s initiative Welcoming International, the Welcoming Week campaign has grown to include campaigns led by the Governments of Canada and New Zealand, and national NGOs in Australia and Mexico.
Principal objectives include:
Welcoming Week is a pledge to the UN Global Compact on Migration and UN Global Compact for Refugees, and has been recognized as one of Welcoming America’s successful initiatives by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and BMW Group Intercultural Innovation Award.
ICVA is a global network of non-governmental organizations whose mission is to make humanitarian action more principled and effective by working collectively and independently to influence policy and practice. ICVA’s 160 members include humanitarian NGOs, large and small, national and international, networks and consortiums, secular and faith-based active members active in 160 countries, operating at global, regional, national and local level. ICVA works to connect its members through a global presence and its main focus areas: Forced Migration, Coordination and Financing. In addition to membership, ICVA has developed several strong and diverse partnerships at local, national, regional and global levels.
The Roma Education Fund (REF) is an international organization that was founded in 2005 by the World Bank and Open Society Foundations. REF influenced systemic changes in education systems and fostered Roma participation and documented best practices for policy reforms and programs. With an active and growing network of representative offices across Central, Eastern, Southeastern Europe and Turkey, REF provides grants and scholarships to entities and individuals who share its belief in quality, inclusive education and desegregated schools and classrooms.
Over the past 18 years, REF has invested more than 120 million euros in diverse educational projects, benefiting over 100,000 Roma of all ages across 16 countries. Among REF’s donors: Open Society Foundations, World Bank, EVZ Foundation, the EEA and Norway Grants, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the German Government – Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union through Operational Program Human Resources, the VELUX Foundations etc.
In 2023, REF developed a new strategy. As so, education becomes the main tool for developing resilient Roma communities. The new vision of the organization is to create a supportive environment for every child, young person, and parent with whom REF works, empowering them to develop personal resilience in rapidly changing societies. REF’s aim is to instill confidence and a sense of belonging, and to encourage active participation within their communities while emphasizing the importance of education as a catalyst for growth and development.
The SERA ROMÂNIA Foundation is a non-governmental, non-profit, private organization established in March 1996. Over nearly three decades, the organization’s activities have contributed to improving the lives of over 200.000 vulnerable children, making it one of the organizations that decisively changed the field of child protection and the promotion of children’s rights in Romania.
Specialists from the SERA ROMÂNIA Foundation have intervened in all counties of the country, significantly contributing to the closure of old-type institutions that housed hundreds of children in miserable conditions. They also played a crucial role in the development of alternative social services, giving the little ones the chance to live decently for the first time.
In the last 27 years, the SERA ROMÂNIA Foundation has successfully transformed the lives of nearly 7,000 children who lived in over 70 old-type institutions. These institutions were dismantled through the foundation’s efforts, and the children were relocated to family-type homes or social services where they could live in better conditions, receiving the care, assistance, and support needed for their development.
Additionally, SERA ROMÂNIA has developed recovery services for children and adults with disabilities, supported vulnerable families at high risk of abandoning their children, provided humanitarian aid for thousands of sick children, and assisted families in areas affected by natural disasters.
The goal of the SERA ROMÂNIA organization is to create, organize, and develop activities in favor of children in difficulty: orphans, abandoned children, neglected children, and other children in difficult situations, as well as for vulnerable adults or families.
Since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, the SERA ROMÂNIA Foundation has coordinated an extensive humanitarian action with the support of strategic partners CARE and FONPC, assisting over 205,000 beneficiaries. In nearly 24 months of conflict, CARE France, through the SERA Romania Foundation and FONPC, alongside a network of 35 organizations from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, have supported almost 124.000 refugees on the territory of Romania, 11.900 in the Republic of Moldova, and nearly 70.000 individuals in Ukraine.
Polish Center for International Aid – PCPM is a Polish non-governmental organization. Our mission is to provide humanitarian, development and medical relief assistance throughout the world.
While our primary focus has always been to work in areas of crisis outside of Poland, in February 2022, following the escalation of war in Ukraine, we started our large-scale programmes back in Poland.
The first immediate humanitarian response was to provide cash for basic needs for Ukrainian refugees. PCPM’s strategy was to relatively quickly transition to a targeted approach to the cash assistance, focusing primarily on two groups: persons with disability and older persons. This approach encouraged us to further explore the situation of older Ukrainian refugees in Poland and the specific challenges they experience.
Currently, nearly one million Ukrainian refugees continue to live in Poland. 7% of them, nearly 73,000, are older people over 60 years of age. The entry of such a high number of refugees – and such a high proportion of older refugees – into EU member states is unprecedented. This research report provides a closer investigation into the needs, challenges and wellbeing of older Ukrainians in Poland, as it puts the voices of older Ukrainian refugees at the center.
The Heart of a Child Foundation was established in 1996 and holds accreditation as a provider of social services and a public utility organization. Its primary operations are centered in Galați (Romania), extending its reach to Brăila, Vrancea, and Vaslui counties. The Foundation’s core mission revolves around supporting children, parents, and communities during challenging times by offering comprehensive aid encompassing medical, educational, emotional, and economic support. Throughout its impressive 27-year existence, it has positively impacted the lives of more than 31,000 children and families.
In 2022 and 2023, aided by generous donors, the Foundation not only empowered local community initiatives, but also provided essential humanitarian aid and an array of services to over 10,000 individuals of Ukrainian origin -children, mothers, and families of Ukrainian refugees. The initiatives spearheaded by the “Heart of a Child” Foundation are diverse, spanning three core areas: social welfare, education, and healthcare. Mission accomplished in integrating Ukrainian refugee families, or how far are we from that?
From March 2022 to the present, collaborating with over 20 national and international donors and partners, the Heart of a Child Foundation has made a significant impact on the Ukrainian refugee crisis in the Galati-Braila area, Romania, benefiting over 10,000 refugees. Operating from a city in Romania, approximately 20 km from the Ukrainian border and in the path of the refugee flow, the Heart of a Child has developed a comprehensive support system specifically tailored for mothers, children, and the vulnerable population. The foundation has continuously adapted, often filling gaps in local public service provision.
The Q-Arts Association was founded in 2013 and specialises in promoting social and cultural projects. Its activities encompass a wide range of projects, including 6 editions of the National Stradivarius Tour, 10 editions of the Night of Museums, and 8 editions of the Hope Concert. The association has collaborated with renowned artists and cultural institutions, from Alexandru Tomescu to the Madrigal National Chamber Choir, as well as essential non-governmental organizations for child protection, such as Hope and Homes for Children, the SERA Romania Foundation, and FONPC (Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations for Children).
The Museum of Abandonment is an initiative of the Q-Arts Association that started in the spring of 2021 as an unprecedented effort in Romania to address an unforgivable memorial and moral hiatus by providing a historical narrative of the abandonment phenomenon. In Romania, between the issuance of Decree 770/1966 and LAW no. 272/2004 on children’s rights, there are 38 years of indifference, untold stories, tragedies, but above all, a staggering figure: over half a million abandoned children.
In 2022, the Museum of Abandonment was honored at the Gala of the National Cultural Fund Administration (AFCN) with the Award for Social Inclusion and Intercultural Dialogue, and at the Civil Society Gala with three 1st Place Awards in the categories of Art and Culture, Social Impact, and Social Communication Campaigns. In November 2023, the Museum of Abandonment received the Golden Award in the Art and Culture category at the 21st edition of the PR AWARD.
More about the museum on: www.muzeulabandonului.ro.
“The suitcases of Abandonment,” is a project funded by CARE through the SERA Romania Foundation, CARE France, and FONPC, is an initiative launched by the Museum of Abandonment shortly after the outbreak of the war. The project aimed to archive the stories and emotions of one of the most dramatic events in recent European history – the conflict in Ukraine. We gathered and archived dozens of stories from refugees, mapping emotionally their journey since the beginning of the war.
More about the project on: bagajeleabandonului.ro
In Romania the Terre des hommes Foundation has been active continuously for the past 31 years, contributing to the improvement of the child protection system and to the reform of social assistance.
Terre des hommes is particularly known for the complex projects improving the lives of children
affected by migration, as well as for projects for youth in contact with the law. In all our projects we are constantly encouraging child and youth participation, including by embedding child-led initiatives in almost all our projects.
In the past 2 years, we have been supported by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and other
institutional donors, enabling us to provide thousands of Ukrainian families (adults and
children) the means to live a normal life and alleviate their suffering. The result of our focus on education are the hubs we set up in Bucharest, Brasov and Constanta, for initiation in 3D,
developing entrepreneurial skills and talents of children and teens.
Bethany Social Services Foundation is a non governmental organization established in Romania in 1994 that supports vulnerable children and families, including children with disabilities, by providing social, psychological and therapeutic services and by developing educational programs aimed at reducing the development gaps.
In order to fulfil its mission, Bethany develops psycho-social assistance programs, educational programs, school dropout prevention programs and volunteering programs, annually, almost 1500 children and young people from the North East region, especially Iași county, being supported.
Our values are: non discrimination, solidarity, transparency and professionalism.
The services provided are: scholarships for students from rural areas who attend high-school in Iași city, non-formal educational activities, psychological and vocational counseling, preventing school dropout activities, development of life skills, support in insertion on the labor market; recovery program for children with disabilities – individual and group therapies, social activities; support groups and parenting education programs for parents.
We are constantly involved in community development programs, providing support for
strategic growth and strengthening of the non-governmental sector in the region, as well as humanitarian support for emergency situations.
From March 2022 until now, the Foundation has established and managed the Community Center for Children and Families from Ukraine, being a relevant actor in the response to the crisis generated by the war.
Bethany Social Services Foundation is a private social service provider accredited by the
Ministry of Labor to provide recovery and support programs in day care centers for children
and youth.