Baia Mare is preparing to become the Youth Capital of Romania

Baia Mare Municipality and the Federation of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations in Maramureș, together with the Governance for the Youth Capital of Romania, made up of the Romanian Youth Council (CTR), Youth Federation of Cluj (FTR), PONT Group and Banca Comercială Română (BCR) signed on Monday, 15 January, the agreement to hold the title "Youth Capital" in Romania by the municipality of Baia Mare, during a special event dedicated to this moment.

The agreement signed sets the general institutional framework for implementing the program Baia Mare - Youth Capital of Romania during 2 May 2018 - 1 May 2019, program aiming at the development of the city through youth involvement and unlocking their potential.

At the same time, through this agreement, the Governance gives the city of Baia Mare the EUR 50,000 prize, granted by Banca Comercială Română, which thus becomes the official bank of the program Baia Mare - Youth Capital of Romania.

The Youth Capital of Romania benefited in 2017 from the High Patronage of the President of Romania, Mr. Klaus Iohannis, a recognition which confirms both the value of the idea behind the program and the success of the pilot phase.

Baia Mare - Youth Capital of Romania

The mission undertaken by Baia Mare by applying for the title Youth Capital of Romania and, subsequently, after winning the competition, is that it will turn Baia Mare into the most open and youth-friendly city in Romania, by supporting youth initiatives and youth organizations and transforming into reality their vision on the community development process.

The Federation of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations in Maramureș together with the Baia Mare Municipality propose the program #Uturn, developed for Baia Mare - Youth Capital of Romania, which aims to ensure the infrastructure dedicated to youth activities and create attractive opportunities for young people, so that they engage actively, discover their own potential and contribute to community development.

The representatives of the Federation of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations in Maramureș have also presented the structure of projects included in the program Baia Mare - Youth Capital of Romania. Taking over the title will be marked by the Official Opening of the title "Baia Mare - Youth Capital of Romania", followed by:

strategic events: the organization of the Youth Summit and the National Youth Gala at Baia Mare in November 2018 and handing over the title to the next holder in May 2019, events and courses focused on personal and professional development: Festival Nonformal, Neconferința, TEDxYouth Baia Mare, Youth Talks, #UturnTrainings, Speed learning and Multimedia tools
cultural and artistic events: Street Delivery, Urban Street Art Festival, Chestnut Festival, Baia Mare by night, Acting contemporary theater festival, We're taking music in the street, Dancing in the street, The dream of a summer night
sports events: Beach Handball Challenge, #UTurnSports Baia Mare, Sil Coup and the most important sports actions within the competitive sports calendar of DJST Maramureș
events and actions promoting a healthy life: Mental Health, Health Week, Future begins with 2+1 and information campaigns on various diseases and symptoms
non-formal events: Street-social animations, Social camps, Living Statues, Human Green Ribbon.
civic events: Youth Summit, Romanian Youth Gala, Gala of Maramureș Volunteers, YMCA Youth Parliament, #UTurnGreen Baia Mare, Forum of Student Organizations in Romania, General Assembly of the Federation of Young Men's Christian Associations Romania, NGO Fest, Mixed political school, plus events to increase youth employment (Youth Job Scholarship, internship programs, Start-Up HUB and Business Workshop).

"For us, it's a joy to host this program in such an important period for Romania. It motivates us and makes us responsible because we want to be relevant in the country's development, both in raising the level of youth policy, but also in helping Romanian young people in the country to meet their life goals. We want to offer models that will give confidence to young people from abroad to come back. A young man must be as performing, whether he is from Baia Mare, Paris or London, but for that he must have a place to perform and, above all, his performance must be recognized and encouraged. This is the direction in which we want to increase the contribution that young people have in Romania", Cătălin Cherecheș, mayor of the city of Baia Mare, has stated.

"Although we are still in the process of preparing the program, we are already enjoying such events that lay the foundation of what Baia Mare - Youth Capital of Romania 2018-2019 will mean for the youth and community. The signing of the agreement comes in a period already full, when new volunteers are joining our team, while the coordinators set out details for future projects. In other words, our work has already begun, and such steps as the one at today's event only feed us with enthusiasm and conviction that the city of Baia Mare can really become the friendliest city with young people. We thank the local authorities for having trusted the City's candidacy and for supporting young people and youth organizations in Baia Mare”, Daniel Orza - President of the Federation of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations in Maramureș, has also stated.

"We congratulate Baia Mare and the young people in this city for their efforts to achieve a very good candidacy that has brought them the title of Youth Capital of Romania. Young people represent not only the future of a country, but also a resource of creativity, enthusiasm and willingness to engage. It is our duty to motivate them to trust themselves and their ability to change for the good the communities in which they were born and they are living and to actively contribute to Romania's development. We are extremely proud that we can support the Youth Capital as part of our strategy of investing in values, in mobilizing resources and in prosperity", Sorin Cordovan - Retail Director, Banca Comercială Română, has also highlighted.

"I am excited about everything Baia Mare has planned to do during the period in which it is the Youth Capital of Romania and I have all the confidence that the Municipality, the Federation of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations in Maramureș and their partners will be able to turn the candidacy into a fulfilled dream! Moreover, I am sure that the initiatives of the young people from Baia Mare will become examples of good practice for the whole country and even internationally”, Mihai Dragoș - President of the Romanian Youth Council, has stated.

„We are young and struggle for a better Romania, where our dreams of today can become the reality of tomorrow. A few years ago maybe we did not even dream of major projects for the youth sector, such as Cluj-Napoca 2015, the European Youth Capital, or the Youth Capital of Romania. Together, we have proven that we can develop the non-governmental youth sector in Romania. Today we are taking a new step, here in Baia-Mare, and I am convinced that by this title the young people in Baia Mare will bring a significant contribution to the development of the city”, according to Tudor Ogner - President of Youth Federation of Cluj.

"We have reached the next stage of the story of the Youth Capital of Romania. Baia Mare has won a competition where 7 Romanian cities presented their intention to invest heavily in young people. It is time we realize how we can come up with a comprehensive set of measures to help Romanian cities invest in young people. I believe this story is not about an event, it is about the formation of the medium and long-term future of the Romanian cities, through the young people. The equation is very simple: cities that invest in young people will keep them in the city and develop, those who do not realize this will be in decline, will lose. There is no other way than a focus on young people, and more and more cities are aware of this. This title is a first response to this challenge. The challenge is to extend the help given to cities through other levers, tools, solutions", András Farkas - PONT Group, Secretary General of the Governance for the Youth Capital of Romania, has stated.

Baia Mare is the third city in Romania holding the title Youth Capital of Romania, after Timișoara and Bacău, between 2 May 2018 and 1 May 2019. The national program works on similar principles as those of the European Youth Capital, title held by Cluj-Napoca in 2015.

About the program

The Youth Capital of Romania is the most ambitious national program intended to young people and is governed by:

Romanian Youth Council (CTR) – a representative entity of youth in Romania;
SHARE Federation Cluj-Napoca – co-manager of the program Cluj-Napoca 2015, European Youth Capital;
PONT Group – group of youth experts, the initiator of the training measures of the Youth Capital of Romania based on the experience of the Cluj-Napoca municipality's candidacy for the European Youth Capital 2015;
Banca Comercială Română (BCR) – leader of the Romanian banking system.

The objective of the program is to develop local youth development strategies and to actively involve young people in the decision-making processes in their cities on issues related to education, culture, demographic policy and other areas of interest to them. It also aims to stimulate local public authorities and private companies to support and involve themselves in the implementation of the projects proposed under the program.

Main media partner: AGERPRES