1. About this CD / web site
This CD / web site was released by the Euroregional Center for Democracy as part of the project described below.
For information concerning the project please contact::
Euroregional Center for Democracy, Timisoara, Romania
Phone: +40 256 221471, +40 256 221472,
Semenic street no. 10, 300035, Timis County
E-mail: office@regionalnet.org
For information concerning data’s collected and presented about the Faget area:
Phone: 0726 493 594
E-mail: danuts@dkmt.regionalnet.org
For information concerning data’s collected and presented about the Szentes area:
Contact person: Sándor Lantos
Phone: +36 20 4545992
E-mail: lantoss@dkmt.regionalnet.org
SC SMART X SRL
Timisoara, blvd Cetatii , No.57, Timisoara City, Timis County, code 300358
E-mail: office@smart-x.ro
2. About the project
The Euroregional Center for Democracy implements, in partnership with the City Hall of Făget and the City Hall of Szentes, the Local development through economic and touristic cross-border mobility - Center for Communication - Promotion and Cross-border Marketing, Faget – Szentes project.
This initiative is accomplished with the support of the European Union through PHARE CBC Programme Romania – Hungary Joint Small Project Funds 2003.
The aim of the project is to support the economic development of Făget and Szentes areas by attracting tourists and investors - at cross-border level – by using integrated services for informing, training and consulting, enhancing the touristic and economic capacity of the two areas.
The target group includes the local public administration of Făget and Szentes, actors and promoters of touristic activities in the two areas (SMEs, travel agencies, NGOs, etc.), representatives of companies seeking to invest in the mentioned areas.
The main activities of the project are:
A) Information (through two Centers for Communication – Promotion and Cross-border Marketing and two Tourism Promotional Fairs in Făget and Szentes)
B) Training (five training sessions for authorities and professional tourism organisations, travel agencies and tour-operators, etc.).
The project duration is 12 months.
3. About the Euroregional Center for Democracy
Euroregional Center for Democracy (CED) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, founded on December 16, 1999 by the Open Society Foundation Romania (OSF). The Center promotes democracy and stability in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Located in Timisoara, CED had a good starting point, from a geographical point of view, to promote, develop and maintain a network of partnerships between regional, national and local non-governmental organisations and institutions.
Over the years, CED developed strong connections with NGOs and institutions all over the region, which resulted in the implementation of programs that had the goal of raising regional community awareness of common transition-related issues and of relationship between diversity and democracy by initiating debates on problematic issues in order to overcome prejudices, stereotypes and isolation.
“Think regionally!” is CED’s motto in determining its goals. Seeing the common future of the South Eastern Europe, which derives from the will of all nations’ in the region to join EU, CED put itself in the role of a binding factor that was to create a firm network of the civic sector. In that sense, CED’s programs focus on developing a civil society, which is able to mobilize the region, actively and constructively participate in public policy debate as well as ensuring government accountability, further promote respect for human rights and promote reforms to strengthen democratic governance.
· Local governance
Through a combination of innovative, modern solutions, CED initiated programs that build democratic linkages between citizen’s groups and local government bodies, ensure the equitable distribution of authority and enhance local autonomy. CED’s programs established an innovative communication mechanism between citizens and their elected representatives at the level of local authorities and the parliament. Its objectives are: raising the accountability level of the elected representatives at the level of local authorities and the parliament, building a relation of trust between the authorities and the NGOs and citizens, raising awareness of the common problems, as well as constructing common action models, promoting the role and importance of the civil society and monitoring of public institutions’ activity by the civil society.
CED formed its advocacy programs to serve as a tool for increasing citizens participation in the decision-making processes in the coordinating bodies of the Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisza (DKMT) Euroregion. Serving as a regional center, CED succeeded in assembling the largest NGO coalition in the DKMT Euroregion perimeter, 120 organizations, including Romanian, Hungarian and Serbian organizations. CED continues its campaign with the main objective to fortify the public-private partnership by including the representatives of non-governmental organizations in the coordinating structure of the DKMT Euroregion and to change the Protocol of Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisza Regional Cooperation.
Youth mobilization is one of the major core functions of CED. The youth programs aim at mobilizing youth as the most active resource and strengthen their capacity to respond to the needs of the community.
CED provides technical assistance and training to NGOs and public institutions from South Eastern Europe in order to strengthen their organizational and resource capacities. CED’s assistance strengthens institutional capacity in areas such as: strategy development, project planning, marketing and fundraising, and leadership. This way CED works on the professional development of NGO’s/institution’s leaders for elaborating long-term strategies, financial sustainability and competitive organizational management.
Programs and activities include:
· Seminars, conferences, meetings and debates, round tables on relevant national and international topics
· Summer schools, internships and exchange programs
· Training sessions on project management, fundraising, network communication, NGO business planning
· NGO support, assistance and consultancy
· Online database on regional projects, activities, funders and potential partners
· Regional NGO newsletter “IMPACT”
· Library services and educational advising.