Matchmaking CafeOccupy Library Innovators HUB
[ November 5, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

Let’s work together – Matchmaking Café: meet, greet and grow communities! @Occupy Library Innovators HUB

If you tried to change the world for the better, you know this is not an easy task – it takes time, it takes knowledge and it takes a lot of friends to make relevant changes even in the smallest communities. 

What about us working together for a change? Let’s meet, greet and match, so we can find out how we can support one another in this process of making better communities.

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

The series of free, online, share & learn events for CSOs and public libraries continues with Let’s work together – Matchmaking Café, hosted by Progress Foundation.

This 90 minutes long speed-dating session will be facilitated on Hopin platform,  and is designed to match organizations with specific interests, so as to create a first contact to be developed in future joint projects.

Join us on 12th of November, 10:30 EET to meet and greet change-makers from CSOs and libraries: ➡️https://forms.gle/rHbhF6mzz5Q734QR8 

For details: Anca Râpeanu, Project Manager occupylibrary@progressfoundation.ro

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.

Occupy Library Innovators HUBWebinar
[ November 5, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

An ecosystem of innovation – recordings and support materials of the webinar

Wednesday, 4th of November, at 10:30 EEST time Ovidiu Hristu Condurache, Venture Representative at Ashoka Romania, gave us a fabulous overview of the 5R model (developed by USAID) and helped us understand how to apply it for innovation.

An ecosystem of innovation - free webinar for the Occupy Library Innovators HUB community

Click here to view or download the 5R model exercise sheet!

Click here to view or download the slides!

[ November 4, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

Libraries Transform Communities through Dialogue. Workshop with Ellen M. Knutson and Svetlana A. Gorokhova

In this workshop, the presenters will introduce and advance librarians’ skills in convening and facilitating community conversations on issues of importance to their communities. Using deliberative dialogue, a neutrally moderated forum for people to come together with the goal of finding a shared direction to take based on what the group holds valuable, this workshop will help people explore the tensions in these issues, identify what they value, work through tough choices, and seek areas of common ground for action.

Ellen M. Knutson – Portland, Oregon based research associate at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation where she is a key member of the research team comprising Russian and US colleagues developing libraries as centers for public dialogue and deliberation. She is an adjunct assistant professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois where she teaches a course on international librarianship to students in the online Master’s program. Knutson also serves on the advisory committee for the American Library Association’s Center for Civic Life and served as a trainer for the Libraries Transforming Communities initiative. Knutson received her MS and PhD in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BA in Political Science from Reed College. She has written articles and book chapters on libraries as a community institution including: “Libraries and Community Engagement: From Informing to Engaging” in National Civic Review, “Libraries and Ecology in Post-Soviet Russia” in Advances in Library Administration and Organization: Culture, Context and History in the Post-Soviet World of Information Institutions, Resources and Practices, and “New Realities: Libraries in Post-Soviet Russia” in Library Trends.

Svetlana A. Gorokhova – Director for International and Educational Activities at the Margarita Rudomino All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature (LFL), where she supervises professional development programs in partnership with educational institutions in the U.S. and Europe and implements overall coordination of international activities of this federal library. She is Russian Library Association Governing Board Member and coordinator of RLA Section for International Cooperation. Since 1996, Gorokhova has facilitated joint research activities of the LFL and the Kettering Foundation, including a 20-year initiative: Library as a Community Center, uniting 7 regions of Russia—activities that served as the focal point for the first two U.S-Russia Dialogue meetings in March 2017 and May 2018. Currently, she also coordinates projects featuring the libraries of all sizes and types as agents of international communication. The workshop was part of Occupy Library 2020 event.

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 facilitating constructive dialogue.

Occupy Library Innovators HUB
[ October 29, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

An ecosystem of innovation: learn, share and grow communities! @Occupy Library Innovators HUB

Progress Foundation is inviting all CSO professionals from Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Black Sea, and Caspian Sea regions to join the Occupy Library Innovators Hub’s events! The series of free, online, share & learn events for CSOs and public libraries continues with An ecosystem of innovation, a webinar facilitated by Ovidiu Condurache, Venture Representative at Ashoka Romania. Innovation doesn’t happen in a lab, it is dependent on the system around our work. That is why, we invite you to join a session where we explore what are different dimensions of innovation. Using the 5R model developed by USAID, we will discover how we can bring something new in the way we use resources, we build relationships, create roles and develop rules within our system. This will be a practical session, each of the participants will be guided to apply this analysis model on your project / organization / idea.   Join us on 4th of November, 10:30 EET to learn about successful innovators around the world, and share your experiences as a change-maker: ➡️ For details: Anca Râpeanu, Project Manager occupylibrary@progressfoundation.ro

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.

Occupy Library Innovators HUBSharing Cafe
[ October 27, 2020 by admin 0 Comments ]

Recording of Sharing Café: Welcome to Romania!

“Welcome to Romania! Sharing Café”, Wednesday, 21st of October was a great opportunity to learn about the Romanian context and opportunities, get info about local initiatives, and discover how libraries and CSOs can make the world better! During these 90 minutes, we explored and discussed concrete examples of library-CSO partnerships from Romania with the help of our guests: Anca Pop – Cluj County Library, Alina-Mihaela Nicola – Vâlcea County Library, Ovidiu Ana – Progress Foundation, Ioana Crihană – National Association of Public Libraries and Librarians from Romania (ANBPR), and Maria Kovacs – Volum Association, and our facilitator Ruxandra Miuți – National Library of Romania.

 

Sharing Cafe: Welcome to Romania! - free sharing session for the Occupy Library Innovators HUB community

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.