Being  Young  in  Romania  

Motivations,  Expectations,  Support  Structures  

 

Independent  Review  Prepared  for  SEINA  –  Schengen  European  Integration  Award/  Schengen  Youth  Assembly  

Author:  Corina  Murafa  

 

Can  one  expect  youth  participation  to  thrive  in  Romania,  EU’s  newest  member  and  overall  a  relatively  young  democracy?  Arguably,  the  precarious  state  of  youth  civil  society,  and  the  markedly  low  civic  engagement  rate  of  young  people  are  direct  consequences  of  Romania’s  status  as  a  post-­‐transition  country.  17%  of  young  people  in  old  EU  member  states  participate  as  volunteers  in  NGOs,  while  in  Romania  only  7%  are  similarly  engaged  (constant  average  for  2007  and  2008).  Main  reasons  for  this,  according  to  young  people  themselves,  are  lack  of  time  and  constant  preoccupation  to  make  ends  meet.  The  only  dimension  of  public  participation  where  Romania  matches  the  EU15  average  is  membership  in  a  political  party  (1%  -­‐  1.5%  of  all  young  people),  and  low  participation  in  voting.1  

According  to  latest  opinion  polls,  Romanian  youngsters  are  mostly  worried  about  corruption,  employment  opportunities  for  young  people,  low  living  standards  and  little  government  support  for  young  families2.  At  the  same  time,  young  people  distrust  most  institutions  (government,  school,  society  in  general),  and  family  occupies  by  far  the  first  place  in  their  hierarchy  of  values  –  77%  of  young  people  resorting  to  family  advice  for  career  guidance,  only  9%  to  professors,  and  3%  to  school  counselors3.  The  trademarks  of  “an  accomplished  life”  are  to  have  a  family  (76%  of  interviewees),  to  have  money  (47%)  and  to  a  much  lesser  extent  to  be  civically  engaged  (12%).  Again,  when  it  comes  to  values,  statistics  indicate  Romanian  young  people  are  highly  intolerant.  Less  than  10%  would  accept  as  neighbours  (let  alone  friends  or  family  members)  former  drug  addicts,  homosexuals,  HIV/AIDS  infected  people,  and  Roma.  Percentages  are  lowest  for  former  drug  addicts  (4%)  and  homosexuals  (5%)4.  

Mobility  is  high  among  young  Romanians.  29%  state  their  intention  to  work  abroad  in  the  European  Union5,  while  the  Erasmus  programme  has  proven  highly  successful  in  Romania,  with  rates  four  time  larger  for  outgoing  than  for  incoming  students6.  

                                                                                                               1 Source: 2007 Study “NGOs and Volunteering”, National Agency for Youth Initiative Support, Available online at http://www.ise.ro/Departamente/Cercetaripentrutineret/tabid/398/language/ro-RO/Default.aspx, Last Accessed 4 March 2011; 2 Source: 2008 Public Opinion Baromether – Youth, National Agency for Youth Initiative Support, Available online at http://www.ise.ro/Departamente/Cercetaripentrutineret/tabid/398/language/ro-RO/Default.aspx, Last Accessed 4 March 2011; 3 Source: 2010 Euro26 Survey, Available online at http://www.euro26.ro/e26/2010/10/sondaj-2010/, Last Accessed 4 March 2011; it should be noted that the survey raises methodological concerns as it has been conducted in only one seaside resort; 4 Source: 2008 Public Opinion Barometer; 5 Source: Ibidem;

 

 

Unfortunately,  recent  reliable  data  on  youth  is  missing  (the  latest  “national  barometer”  on  youth  is  from  2008).  Policymaking  is  suffering  from  the  chronic  instability  of  youth-­‐centered  governmental  structures.  In  only  three  years,  they  have  changed  four  times,  from  a  youth  governmental  agency  directly  controlled  by  the  Prime  Minister,  to  a  separate  Ministry  for  Youth  and  Sports,  to  a  youth  direction  in  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  finally,  in  2011,  to  a  Youth  and  Sports  National  Agency  controlled  by  the  Ministry  of  Education.  As  a  result,  data  collection  capacity  is  notoriously  low.  For  instance,  the  latest  database  of  youth  NGOs  published  by  the  youth  agency  lists  three  (!)  such  NGOs  for  the  entire  municipality  of  Bucharest  (where  2.3  million  people  live,  and  over  5,000  non-­‐profit  associations  are  registered  with  the  Official  Registry  for  Foundations  and  Associations).    

Law  351/2006  mandates  the  establishment  of  a  national  youth  council,  yet  the  actual  format  in  which  the  Romania  Youth  Council  operates  is  not  fully  compatible  with  this  law  (mainly  because  it  does  not  include  youth  organizations  of  political  parties  in  its  decision-­‐making  structures).  It  has  instead  17  members,  but  only  7  of  them  are  youth  associations  and  federations,  the  rest  being  government-­‐regulated  local  foundations.  Unfortunately,  the  Council  does  not  publish  its  annual  operational  or  financial  reports.  In  2010  it  has  implemented  only  three  programmes,  one  of  them  an  internal  internship  programme.  Hopefully,  the  prospect  of  full  membership  with  the  European  Youth  Forum  will  consolidate  the  Council’s  capacity  and  transparency.7    

Good  practices  are  however  present,  mostly  outside  “official  youth  structures”.  For  instance,  “Let’s  Do  it  Romania”  was  the  largest  country  clean-­‐up  project  in  the  world.  A  core  team  of  35  young  people  mapped  the  entire  territory  of  Romania  and  mobilized  over  200,000  Romanians  to  clean  up  the  garbage  piles  from  the  natural  areas  of  the  country.  All  in  one  day:  September  25,  2010.  Student  associations  are  especially  strong.  AIESEC  (focusing  mostly  on  professional  development)  for  instance  has  over  1000  active  members  in  more  than  15  cities.  BISMUN  Association  (Bucharest  International  Student  Model  United  Nations)  organizes  MUNs  that  bring  together  in  Bucharest  over  180  delegates  from  all  over  the  world.  Inside  governmental  structures,  the  recent  progress  of  the  Youth  in  Action  programme  is  commendable.  After  being  suspended  by  the  European  Commission  for  financial  miscarriage,  it  was  resumed  in  a  highly  transparent  and  inclusive  manner  in  2007.  Consequently,  the  number  of  applicant  NGOs  increased  four  times  ever  since  (from  281  requests  for  funding  in  2007  to  1,240  in  2010,  totaling  a  bit  over  4  million  EUR  in  mobilized  annual  funding).  Over  6,000  young  people  participated  directly  in  projects  financed  by  Youth  in  Action  in  2010.  

Overall,  lack  of  political  will  and  of  capacity,  inside  governmental  structures  and  within  civil  society,  makes  Romanian  youth  an  untapped  potential.  Institutional  consolidation,  transparency  and  sharing  good  practices  are  needed  across  the  board.  

Disclaimer:  The  author  is  a  Master  in  Public  Policy  Candidate  with  the  Hertie  School  of  Governance,  Berlin  and  an  advisor   for   the  ORICUM  Association   in  Romania.  The  views  expressed   in  this  report  are   independent  and  do  not  reflect  any  institutional  position.  Feedback  and  comments  should  be  directed  at  c.murafa@mpp.hertie-­school.org.  

                                                                                                               6 Source: European Commission, 2009 Erasmus Statistics;  7  Source: Romania Youth Council website (http://www.ctr.ro/romanian/), Last Accessed 4 March, 2011;