With additional encouragement from the new Rector of Babes-Bolyai Unversity, Prof. Dr. Nicolae Bocsan, an executive board for the new Center was assembled in June 2004, in time for a formal launch in Turda on July 17th 2004. The first executive board of the new Ratiu Democracy Center was composed of:
Members of the Ratiu Center's Executive team subsequently:
- established the mission of the new Center: "To promote participative democracy by informing, researching, learning and applying democratic values and behaviors locally, nationally, and internationally";
- appointed external evaluators, long-term Romanian resident Dr. Graham Giles and former non-aligned mayor of Arad, Dr. Cristi Moisescu.
- established program goals by department for the 2004-2005 year;
In July 2005, the "Learning" department of the new Center organized the first "Turda Democracy Gatherings" ("Intilnirile Democratice Turdene") in association with the International School, Cluj and the Dr. Ioan Ratiu College, Turda.
The 2006 "Democracy Gathering" took place twice over two successive weeks with 15 teenagers each week from Cluj, Bacau, Turda and the village of Badeni. (see Democracy Gatherings below).
Members of the Ratiu Democracy Center team have also been regular presenters at democracy-related events organized by other national Romanian associations.
The
Objective
Our objective is to train and supervise volunteers in the delivery of projects and services that address community needs. The Center provides opportunities for motivated citizens to develop their skills through real life situations that demand critical thinking, decision making, and cooperation. Through their service at community events, volunteers display their skills and inspire other citizens to get involved.
130 volunteers aged between 10–50, served more than 2,000 hours of volunteering during 2008. This makes the
To prepare volunteers for service, the
Beneficiaries
Residents of the community of Turda and 16 surrounding villages in the
Volunteer assistance is vital to delivering the projects that the
- Turda Fest & Turda Fest Kids
- Democracy Gatherings
- “Not for
- Ion Ratiu Debating Club
- Christmas for Children
- Easter Egg Hunt
All these projects depend upon volunteer involvement.
Organizations that collaborated with the
Fundul pentry Sprijin Comunitar
Youth Action for Peace
Fundatia Ratiu
Future Plans:
Short term
Increasing the involvement of adults and seniors in volunteering for the community.
Long term
To work with other volunteer groups, nationally, internationally, developing broader partnerships and exchanges.
Casa Ratiu
Work on the restoration and rehabilitation of the family home in Turda's town center began in July 2004. The family's former first floor apartment was earmarked as the future Ratiu Centre of Romanian Studies, to be furnished in the style of the 1930s, and illustrating the living conditions of a politically engaged Transilvanian family in the early 20th century. One room has been set aside to represent Ion Ratiu's study in the 1990s. The former three-story warehouse behind the family home has been rebuilt to house the future Democracy Museum, an innovative, interactive environment that will contrast democracy and dictatorship over the ages, as well as reveal the emergence of democracy in Transilvania and the world.
Facilities at Casa Ratiu also include office space, Turda`s Tourist Information Center, a seminar room for up to 100, a small outdoor amphitheater as well as accommodation for staff and guests.
What's Up with Romanian Democracy?
- annual awards for excellence in research design in the social sciences -
The project takes the form of an annual research competition in which up to three winning research designs that address the issue of “how and if democracy works in Romania” will receive awards in the form of seed-funding from the Ratiu Family Foundation sufficient to launch the proposed research projects, as well as nationwide publicity designed to assist award-winners in attracting additional research funding where necessary.
The project is a joint initiative of the Ratiu Center for Democracy in association with the Center for Democratic Studies at Babes Bolyai University's Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences.
A secondary goal of the project is to strengthen cooperation between theoreticians and practitioners involved in democratization processes.
Applications to participate in the competition are sought from all recognized social sciences, provided they demonstrate excellent methodological design.
While the focus of the competition is Romanian, its scope is international. Entries are welcomed without regard for their country of origin. However, in recognition of the competition's international scope, the language for entries is English.
In line with their declared values, the project's organizers, the Ratiu Center for Democracy and Babes Bolyai University's Center for Democratic Studies intend to disseminate the results of the competition to a wider audience, by inviting students, journalists and representatives of academic and governmental fields to participate in a series of widely publicized debates regarding the methodology, strategy and benefits of rigorous scientific research in the social sciences.
The competition's jury reassembles a number of internationally established academics with strong ties to Romania. The organizers are privileged to announce that the jury for the inaugural “What's up with Romanian Democracy” Awards (scheduled for May, 2007) will be presided over by Professor Ronald King of San Diego State University, who has himself presided over the revival of Romanian political science since the year 2000.
The “What's up with Romanian Democracy” Awards challenge researchers of all ages and nationalities to propose the study of different aspects of Romanian social reality from various disciplinary perspectives while also supporting the best research designs by providing them with necessary seed-funding. The organizers believe there will be important benefits for all those involved; most important of all the opportunity for social scientists, through their research, to provide alternative, independent expertise that can in future be relied upon as a resource for improving civic and institutional democratization efforts in Romania and elsewhere.
Ratiu Center for Democracy
www.ratiudemocracycenter.org
Center for Democratic Studies
www.democracycenter.org
Program director:
Madalina Mocan +40728989072
madalina.mocan@gmail.com
The team
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Madalina Mocan – Program Director, Cluj/Turda;
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Florin Stan – Project coordinator, Turda;
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Doinita Pop - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Gratiela Anghelus – Project coordinator, Turda;
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Balogh Andras - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Daniela Beldean - Accountant, Turda;
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Oana Botezan - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Cornel Miron - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Ladanyi Emese - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Claudia Rosca - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Radu Tarcea - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Claudia Rosca - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Gabriela Ratz - Administrator, Turda;
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Alis Costescu - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Corina Crisan - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Sorina Ratz - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Anca Mustea - Accountant,, Turda;
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Catalina Man - Logistics, Turda;
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Marcela Pahontu - Project coordinator, Turda;
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Mirela Marginean - Accountant, Turda;
Ion Ratiu Democracy Award and Lecture, 2009
Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture took place on December, 3rd, 2009, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. This year's lecturer was Adam Michnik, the well known Polish publicist, writer and former disident. Adam Michnik's lecture: ”Democracy. Traps and Questions” covered the challenges faced by Eastern European states in the 20 years that followed the fall of the communis regimes.
The opening speech was held by Lee Hamilton, the president of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, with honorable Zbigniew Brzezinski as key note speaker. The moderator was Christian Ostermann, director of History and Public Policy Program at the Wodrow Wilson Center.
In his lecture Adam Michnik referred to the traps many former communist societies must avoid, such as various forms of populism and rising nationalism, but also to the opportunities opened by joining the European Union and NATO: „There has never been a better time for Poland than now” said Adam Michnik. The lecturer also emphasized the need to have active citizens in a society in order to have a functioning democracy.
Adam Michnik also attended the media briefing organised at the Woodrow Wilson Center: „The EU, NATO, and A Resurgent Russia. Challenges to Europe’s Democratic Future as seen from Warsaw”, joined by Arch Puddington, director of research, Freedom House, and Stephan Richter, publisher and editor-in-chief, „The Globalist”, with Christian Ostermann as moderator. Following the lecture, Adam Michnik attended the „Youth Democracy Forum” at George Washington University.
Former Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecturers include: Eleonora Cercavschi of Moldova, Anatoli Mikhailov of Belarus, Saad Eddin Ibrahim of Egypt, and Sergio Aguayo of Mexico.
A recording of the lecture will be soon available on Woodrow Wilson Center website: (www.wilsoncenter.org/ratiu).
