EMRA conference: Animation of rural development-a new profession?
Chania,Crete, 7-9 June, 2012.
Rural animation: The Romanian case
Agnes Neményi, Enikő Veress,
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Rural animation: The Romanian case
How can we define rural animation in Romania?
– In Romanian literature (in our case for projects financed from external sources mainly after 2007):
facilitator, local promotor, community agent,community participation,community development, social capital, social engineering,community projects supervisor
Principles of community involvement and development in Romania after the EU accession (D. Sandu):
1. Access through diversity in local and international practices (to be able to learn from everything);
2. Reflexivity: the multiplicity of some practices;
3.To not accept prejudice ( do not judge by clichees);
4. Privilege of context (participation is not a neutral behavior)- do not lose the forest from the trees;
5.The dialogue between theory and practice;
6. Promotion of a social movement in community development.
Defining features of social capital: relation, network and norms that make easier the collaboration, co-operation inside or between groups;
Institutional facilitator: FRDS(Romanian Fund for Social Development):
Activity: based on a combination of local resources with external (governmental) resources: financed by grants and projects and through technology of animation and local organisation
Focus on: rural issues, with an emphasis on Rroma communities, mining regions,solidarity of social networks and NGOs activating in community development.
Facilitation:
as a community organisation process deals with:
-Solving specific problems;
-Planification of some projects;
-Development of local leadership
-Construction of community organisation that represent the community;
-Mobilisation in order to solute present and future problems);
-Revitalisation of local institutions.
Facilitation as a process aims to decrease of poverty (through
fast, large economic development), of modernisation of
traditional values, institutions and practices.
Tasks of community facilitator: evaluate local needs,
understanding and applying developmental projects, combining
the old end new( methods like mental and social map, diagrams,
focus-groups, participative observation).
Characteristics of the facilitator:
-to understand the power relations, the situation of marginal groups(social exclusion), ethnic relations, etc.;
-must have a holistic view and a dialogue with the community;
Culture in facilitation as a “traditional mentality” sometimes an impediment for the development culture (culture of poverty).
How to evaluate rural proverty?Through certain economic and socio-cultural indicators:
-level of poverty;
-level of isolation of a community;
-evaluation of co-operation networks;
-evaluation of institutional relations;
-evaluation of relations community-institution;
-participation of community members in the public decisions.
Phases of facilitation:
-Diagnosis of the community;
-Identification of local leaders;
-Choice of a group of initiation;
-Identification of priority needs;
-Legitimation of a problem that becomes the scope of the project,
-Monitoring the community for making the project.
Main tasks of the facilitator:To identify the local official leaders and other respected persons, members of the community and to stimulate the development of an organisation;To evaluate by participation the needs, to identify resources;To make partnerships with the local authorities;
To stimulate co-operation with the local community members;
To find solutions for the existing problems;
To organise the elaboration of projects;
To be able to estimate cost, prepare feasibility;
To solve the conflictual situations in the preparation, implementation of a project;
To find partners and financial resources;
To build networks between communities
Rural animation-the Romanian case
Functions of community facilitation:
To identify the local problem;
Legitimation of community actions;
Planification of solutions;
Execution of a project.
What is needed: a leader, a co-ordinating group, an executor group,beneficiaries.
The function of the facilitator
Construction an AG, making-up the ideology of participation.
Conclusions
The role of facilitation and the facilitator is very complex;
After 2000 facilitation in Romania has gained new emphasis based
on principles of EU community development;
Due to its complexity facilitation and animation needs to be
professionalised.
Thank you for the attention!Contact:
Ass.Prof. dr. Neményi Ágnes:
E-mail: [email protected]
SR. Veress Enikő:
E-mail: [email protected]