About Us

Who we are

Established in 1996 in Bistrita, we are an experienced Romanian NGO that pilots local initiatives in the field of education/training, (e-)inclusion and community development and then scales it up, at national level, as innovative and impactful best practices, using county and local libraries (as lifelong learning hubs and social innovation centers) to reach out to virtually any social group and/or citizen, especially to the most marginalized ones.

Starting with March 2016, Progress Foundation is privileged to be a member of FOND – the Federation of Romanian Non Governmental Organizations for Development.

We are part of the Coalition for Digital Education (CED).

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Our work

We implement – local, regional and national – programs/projects that:

facilitate the growth of social capital and the formation of strong communities around common development projects;
contribute to the development of individuals and organizations through lifelong learning programs and consultancy services in the field of human resources;
use research, innovation and information technology for the progressive development of communities, individuals and vulnerable groups;
valorize the inherent potential and traditions of local communities as well as their local wisdom;
promote social responsibility of all stakeholders in order to achieve sustainable development.

We are organising Occupy Library

Our approach

We act for a future in which every person is a member of a caring community.

We empower individuals and social groups through education, technology, research and innovation.

We build up the cohesion of local communities by capitalizing their traditions and cultural identity.

We support citizens to enhance their potential and achieve well-being in the context of sustainable and resilient communities.

We believe in the green economy and we focus on the sustainable design of services and products.

We are the sustainability change makers!

Support us!

You can support us without taking money out of your pocket! It is enough to redirect 3.5% of the income tax free of charge, and we turn them into 100% community development projects.

Redirect your 3.5%!

Redirect 3,5%!

CORPORATE SUPPORT

Be our partner in developing innovative initiatives!
Redirect 20% of the company’s profit tax and let’s create resilient communities and educate tomorrow’s generations.

Complete the sponsorship contract!

Enroll!

Our Story

Progress Foundation was founded in 1996 in Bistrita, county of Bistrita-Nasaud. From 2002 to 2007 we were a privileged partner of the European programme of “The Prince’s Trust” organization (the largest youth charity from Great Britain) and we have been awarded numerous grants from major donors: EU (PHARE, Grundtvig), DfID, USAID-World Learning, European Youth Foundation or private funding. In time, Progress Foundation was acknowledged as a promoter of social inclusion of the Gypsy/Roma community, while one of our community development projects in Bărbuleşti (Ialomiţa County) was declared “best practice” in Romania by UNICEFF.
Since 2009 until now we have focused on developing new programs and projects at the national level, in partnership with county public libraries, specifically aiming to facilitate lifelong learning, transfer of innovation and development of new methodologies for social inclusion.
Currently we are implementing two major projects nationwide: Silver Stories and Third place for active citizenship alongside with a variety of local projects in Bistrita-Nasaud.

Participation
Public accountability
IT Training

Identified problem: Lack of neutral spaces and interaction opportunities for citizens, lack of training programs in the field of active citizenship

Our solution: establishing a national network of resources (facilities, trainers, groups of action) that is open to anyone who wants to be or to become an active citizen

Our best practice:

Third place for active citizenship project.

Identified problem: lack of transparency in the work of local elected officials and local government.

Our solution: creation of a measurement tool and a comparison scale for integrity in local government; formation of local groups of initiative who audited the local authorities.

Our best practice:

“Audit of Local Elected Leaders’ Integrity” project (Phare 2009).

Identified problems: large numbers of Romanian citizens (seniors) do not use the internet and find it difficult to express their identity in the digital age.

Our solution: action learning and social integration through digital storytelling.

Our best practices: