Occupy Library Innovators HUBWebinarWorkshop
[ October 21, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

Building networks of allies – recordings and support materials of the webinar

Tuesday, 13th October, at 10:30 EEST time Ovidiu Hristu Condurache, Venture Representative at Ashoka Romania, facilitated a fantastic webinar on how to start building lasting connections with organizations and people from our community. We got to meet Cynthia Ong Gaik Suan, Ashoka Fellow, and learn about the amazing job she does at Forever Sabah, and we decided that we want to do more, to be together, and to do more together.

Here’s the recordings and support materials of the webinar.

 

Building networks of allies - free webinar for the Occupy Library Innovators HUB community

Click here to view or download the slides!

Occupy Library Innovators HUBWorkshop
[ October 14, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

Occupy Library Innovators Hub’s first Sharing Cafe: Welcome to Romania! 21 October, 10:30 EEST

Libraries and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) provide support for communities to grow and develop. And they do that at all times: normal times or during an emergency crisis and even a pandemic. Sharing experiences and visions help build knowledge and contribute to  spreading and adaptation of innovative ideas. And working together makes small ideas grow into big changes for better communities.

Join Progress Foundation and National Library of Romania at Welcome to Romania – Sharing Cafe and learn about the Romanian context and opportunities, get info about local initiatives and about ways libraries and CSOs can make the world better! 

Come together for a conversation around ways in which public libraries and CSOs are bringing change and innovation at the grassroots level, contributing to answering people’s needs and community development. 

Have a coffee, talk with other librarians and CSOs professionals from Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Black Sea, and Caspian Sea regions, learn about their experiences and share your feedback. 

Join the “Welcome to Romania – Sharing Cafe” by registering here: https://forms.gle/yNbEJtGf5TYnH8WL7 

The networking and coffee will be an online conversation amongst the people in the room, encouraging sharing and looking for inspiring expectations. This is a forum for open minds, generosity of thought and curiosity to learn.

About Occupy Library Innovators Hub
The Occupy Library Innovators Hub project is implemented by Progress Foundation Romania, in partnership with Сentre for Cultural Management (Ukraine), Library Association of Ukraine (Ukraine), EduAct (Greece), Library Association of Moldova (Moldova), National Library of Moldova (Moldova), Ashoka România (Romania) and National Library of Romania (Romania) in the framework of the "Black Sea NGO Forum Sub-granting Scheme For Activities That Support The Development Of CSO Regional Networks", within the project „Building CSO Capacity for Regional Cooperation within the Black Sea Region”, implemented by the Romanian NGDO Platform – FOND with the financial support of the European Union. The network establishment will organize online webinars and sharing events (October 2020 - March 2021). During the project, case studies and best practices will be documented and compiled in a comprehensive collection to be made available online to all interested stakeholders.  The goal of this endeavor is to provide support for public libraries to contribute to active citizenship and life-long learning in their communities. Moreover, by implementing the project in 5 countries and creating a community of practice among library and CSO professionals, this project aims at learning about the best ways to bring libraries from the region into a professional network through which they can implement shared projects. 

About Progress Foundation
Established in 1996, Progress Foundation is 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. Progress Foundation’s projects are developed using county and local libraries as lifelong learning hubs and social innovation centers, to reach out to any social group and/or citizen, especially 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.

For further details:

Anca Râpeanu, Project Manager occupylibrary@progressfoundation.ro

Occupy Library Innovators HUBWorkshop
[ October 7, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

Public Libraries and Civil Society Organisations Together: the key is at Occupy Library Innovators Hub’s events!

Following the global success of the Occupy Library 2020 conference – where over 750 participants met and got inspired by the 95 speakers from 25 countries around the world –  the Occupy Library Innovators Hub project continues to shape the role of public libraries in their communities. The series of free, online, share & learn events, for CSOs and public libraries, is getting started on Tuesday, 13th October, at 10:30 EEST time. Ovidiu Hristu Condurache, Venture Representative at Ashoka Romania, will share the key of a successful connection and the different types of partnerships that help libraries reach their goals. 

Join the webinar “Building networks of allies” by registering here: https://forms.gle/pF6G3ZM2TDmRRjuY8

Libraries have a unique role in their communities, as they can act as neutral spaces for initiatives, projects, and collaborations to emerge and flourish. To make this happen, we need to instill trust in each other and build lasting connections with organisations and people from our community. In order to unlock a successful future, public libraries need to understand their position in the local and regional ecology of institutions and initiatives, that support meaningful, lifelong learning processes for the general public. 

Progress Foundation is inviting all curious librarians and CSO professionals – from Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Black Sea, and Caspian Sea regions – to join the Occupy Library Innovators Hub’s events!

About Occupy Library Innovators Hub
The Occupy Library Innovators Hub project is implemented by Progress Foundation Romania, in partnership with Сentre for Cultural Management (Ukraine), Library Association of Ukraine (Ukraine), EduAct (Greece), Library Association of Moldova (Moldova), National Library of Moldova (Moldova), Ashoka România (Romania) and National Library of Romania (Romania) in the framework of the "Black Sea NGO Forum Sub-granting Scheme For Activities That Support The Development Of CSO Regional Networks", within the project „Building CSO Capacity for Regional Cooperation within the Black Sea Region”, implemented by the Romanian NGDO Platform – FOND with the financial support of the European Union. The network establishment will organize online webinars and sharing events (October 2020 - March 2021). During the project, case studies and best practices will be documented and compiled in a comprehensive collection to be made available online to all interested stakeholders.  The goal of this endeavor is to provide support for public libraries to contribute to active citizenship and life-long learning in their communities. Moreover, by implementing the project in 5 countries and creating a community of practice among library and CSO professionals, this project aims at learning about the best ways to bring libraries from the region into a professional network through which they can implement shared projects. 
About Progress Foundation
Established in 1996, Progress Foundation is 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. Progress Foundation’s projects are developed using county and local libraries as lifelong learning hubs and social innovation centers, to reach out to any social group and/or citizen, especially 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.

For further details:

Anca Râpeanu, Project Manager occupylibrary@progressfoundation.ro

[ October 1, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

A Journey Into Active Citizenship, Parallel Experiences From Moldova, Romania and Ukraine

Hear about the journey of librarians and NGO partners from Moldova, Romania and Ukraine into active citizenship! Mike Waldron, who has worked with the partners on their journey will highlight some key principles that can be supportive of active citizenship in communities and will explore some myths and highlight some of his own experience of 25 years in building international community based coalitions. Let’s watch our partners from libraries and NGOs telling the story of their own journey into active citizenship, exploring such topics as the role of design thinking in community development, developing a message for effective advocacy and planning and delivery social action.

Mike Waldron is an independent consultant, working in the area of inter-cultural literacy, dialogue, cultural relations and diversity. With a wide range of experience, his work encapsulates over twenty years of engagement with minority communities, disadvantaged and disaffected youth, public policy, training and program design.

The workshop was part of Occupy Library 2020 event, and is suitable for all of those who wish to explore a trans-national experience of active citizenship and the role of libraries in partnership with NGOs in developing hubs, and subsequent social action.

Conference
[ May 29, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

Come Join Us at Occupy Library 2022

The success of libraries of the future depends on the way they understand and engage in their local and regional ecology of institutions and initiatives supporting democracy and meaningful lifelong learning processes of the general public.

PLACH - Public Libraries as Hubs for Active Citizenship
[ April 14, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

Public Libraries As Active Citizens Hubs

6 libraries in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have started the project “Public libraries as active citizens hubs”, implemented by the Progress Foundation, with the support of the Black Sea Trust of Regional Cooperation.
This project aims to create a support network, consisting of public libraries and NGOs, which will support the establishment of public spaces in libraries for learning and practicing active citizenship.
The civic involvement of citizens in the community can lead to significant changes in the way society works. And finally, they can improve people’s quality of life.

In order to become truly active citizens, the inhabitants of Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine need spaces in which to meet, where to discuss issues of general interest and a context in which to learn, exchange ideas, communicate and collaborate. And public libraries are the perfect host!

Conference
[ March 9, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

UPDATE! Occupy Library 2020 Registration is postponed!

Because of coronavirus (COVID-19) amplitude, OCCUPY LIBRARY 2020 registration is postponed!

Coronavirus epidemic compels us to take precautions regarding public health, which is why we postpone the registration until March 30th, or until the news regarding COVID-19 will be more encouraging.

In the meantime, we are monitoring updates from the European Union, the World Health Organisation and other relevant bodies. We will provide another update on March 30th, and hope we will give you great news about the conference.

For questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact us at https://occupylibrary.net/support/!

Be safe!

FAQ OCCUPY LIBRARY 2020

  1. Do you think to cancel the conference? We keep going with the organization of the event and hope everything and everyone to be safe.
  1. When will you give us news? We will provide another update on March 30th the latest.
  2. Where can we find updates? Keep on eye on Facebook and website. For urgent questions you can send us an occupylibrary@progressfoundation.ro

Conference
[ February 11, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

And soon the fun begins…

Great news, dear friends: we received wonderful proposals from 15 countries, and we are now in the process of selecting the best content! A big thank you to all the contributors, and don’t forget to check your e-mails on the 15th of February!

Join us in this  formative/funky/fab conference!

Early Bird registration starts on the 10th of March.