Walls have always defended people, now it is for people to defend walls!
Lobby and advocacy in Targoviste city
The ”Friendship Ambassadors” Association Targoviste
This one-year project deals with a chronical problem of many Romanian cities: apathy of average citizens and economic interests of private&public entities have ruined many monuments and old buildings that could tremendously contribute to their development. Targoviste was the capital of Valahia several times between the 15-th and the 18-th century. It hosted a large Italian community in the 19-th and 20th century who built many beautiful houses and it had one of the cannon foundry before our Independence War. Today even the ruins of Mircea cel Batrin’s Royal Court is disrespectfully and senselessly endowed with modern heat insulating windows and plastic covers that caused huge damages to the old walls. Local authorities let investors build high hotels etc. too close to old churches, museums or houses that would lose their prominent architectural status in the area, or don’t fine the private owners of historical buildings who don’t restore them according to the law. The actors in charge of our town’s building plan don’t hurry to set it although this should have happened 8 years ago. Consequently, there aren’t tough rules and an overall vision regarding the appearance of our town (where a certain type of building may be placed etc.) and Targoviste gets weird landmarks.
Our approach employs lobby and advocacy tools in order to bring together as many citizens as possible round its middle age buildings. 30 university students and 60 high school pupils will be trained (patrimony laws, public policies, public speaking, conflict resolution, advertising, campaigns in various environments, working with mass-media and social networks for community development, data base etc. - 18 hours) and assisted with planning and implementing various lobby and advocacy actions to save some old building (70 hours).
These actions will reach the local community and other local/national authorities. The young people will work in small teams (6 to 10 part.) and will be inspired and helped by 9 mentors with specific background and expertise (history, law, project management, communication and mass-media). The 90 direct participants will gain specific competencies, the local community will become aware of the monuments and old buildings problem and its legal framework and some specific tools/procedures/methods of civic actions/lobby/advocacy will be tested and hopefully prove their efficiency to those who will be directly involved. Some students will run presentations about the situation of the old buildings and possible solutions to save them, in various institutions. Others will study the laws, outline proposals to improve the protection of monuments and will meet politicians/public servants to present them their points. There will be students who write short stories about the old buildings (who erected/owned/lived in them, what was their place in our town history etc.) and make a virtual map of the neglected architectural “jewels” of the town. Others will look for restoring solutions applied in other cities and try to fit them to our needs. Several participants will take photos and organise an exhibition to show the inhabitants the transformation of their town.
A website will be developed sharing all materials of the project. We’ll be constantly in touch via email, FaceBook etc. with everybody interested in this problem. Articles for local newspapers will be written and media campaigns will be organised.
The cooperation between school and university students on the one hand, and these and experts on the other hand is the new element as well as the learning by doing approach applied to a real life situation. It is a school for the whole community to make people confident and skilled at solving/reducing its own problems.
The Friendship Ambassadors Association will work with Pentas Super Omnia, a young local NGO. High schools and the local university will host the training events. Our contribution/voluntary work will value 19,500lei. FDSC/ The Civic Society Development Foundation has given us a 55,000 lei grant.
Our approach employs lobby and advocacy tools in order to bring together as many citizens as possible round its middle age buildings. 30 university students and 60 high school pupils will be trained (patrimony laws, public policies, public speaking, conflict resolution, advertising, campaigns in various environments, working with mass-media and social networks for community development, data base etc. - 18 hours) and assisted with planning and implementing various lobby and advocacy actions to save some old building (70 hours).
These actions will reach the local community and other local/national authorities. The young people will work in small teams (6 to 10 part.) and will be inspired and helped by 9 mentors with specific background and expertise (history, law, project management, communication and mass-media). The 90 direct participants will gain specific competencies, the local community will become aware of the monuments and old buildings problem and its legal framework and some specific tools/procedures/methods of civic actions/lobby/advocacy will be tested and hopefully prove their efficiency to those who will be directly involved. Some students will run presentations about the situation of the old buildings and possible solutions to save them, in various institutions. Others will study the laws, outline proposals to improve the protection of monuments and will meet politicians/public servants to present them their points. There will be students who write short stories about the old buildings (who erected/owned/lived in them, what was their place in our town history etc.) and make a virtual map of the neglected architectural “jewels” of the town. Others will look for restoring solutions applied in other cities and try to fit them to our needs. Several participants will take photos and organise an exhibition to show the inhabitants the transformation of their town.
A website will be developed sharing all materials of the project. We’ll be constantly in touch via email, FaceBook etc. with everybody interested in this problem. Articles for local newspapers will be written and media campaigns will be organised.
The cooperation between school and university students on the one hand, and these and experts on the other hand is the new element as well as the learning by doing approach applied to a real life situation. It is a school for the whole community to make people confident and skilled at solving/reducing its own problems.
The Friendship Ambassadors Association will work with Pentas Super Omnia, a young local NGO. High schools and the local university will host the training events. Our contribution/voluntary work will value 19,500lei. FDSC/ The Civic Society Development Foundation has given us a 55,000 lei grant.