This spring, the Hârșova 3D Association (H3D) implemented a pilot project aimed at increasing community cohesion with a view to promoting more active citizenship and greater involvement of citizens, especially those from vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. Specifically, through existing connections, the school mediator, and the Social Assistance Department of the Hârșova City Hall, an invitation was extended to the Roma/Horahai and Tatar communities to participate in a series of six lunches organized at the Community Center, a space provided to the Association by the City Hall for its activities.
The initial need arose because, given that the Hârșova 3D Association (H3D) had only been in the community for a year, communication bridges needed to be built as a basis for future collaboration and for community members to understand the Association’s purpose and opportunities for cooperation and involvement.
“Of course, we didn’t invent the wheel,” says Andrei Dobre, president of H3D and doctor of sociology, “and since it has been proven that eating together directly contributes to increasing feelings of trust and belonging, community lunches seemed like the most natural thing we could do. We also sought to identify members of the community who wanted to be actively involved in our projects, whom we could then train as allies and resource persons to help us achieve our immediate and long-term goals. The final step in our approach is an informal meeting with local authorities to present the identified community needs—perhaps unexpressed or unclear until now—to ensure communication between all community actors as an essential condition for the success of our future activities. Certainly, a favorable factor for this initiative was a line of funding that we identified at CeRe – the Resource Center for Public Participation, through their PROTEUS program. Without this opportunity, our project could not have been realized.”
“We have known H3D since their inception and share their mission, vision, and values,” says Elisabeta Toma, project manager at CeRe. “We have followed their work, which is impressive for such a young NGO, and we admire their enthusiasm and dedication—they have accumulated hundreds of volunteer hours in just one year—and the objectives of their project, ‘We eat a lot, our strength grows,’ fit very well with those of the PROTEUS program. And the fact that they also proposed a minimal purchase to equip the community kitchen at the Center where they carry out their activities proved to us that they are thinking long-term and sustainably, which was important in evaluating their funding application. I myself participated in the first community lunch, I will return to Hârșova for the last proposed activities, and I had a feeling of success from the very first community interactions.”
“The overall objective of PROTEUS is to strengthen civil society organizations and civic initiatives, as well as to empower activists, so that they are able to protect and promote European values and fundamental rights—primarily democracy, the rule of law, human rights, equality between women and men, and non-discrimination against persons belonging to minorities—and the rights of EU citizens,” according to the funder’s website.
About the Hârșova 3D Association
Founded in 2024, H3D’s main objectives are cultural conservation and promotion through the protection and enhancement of heritage and the environment, non-formal education programs, advocacy, and cross-border collaborations. It aims to address key issues such as access to education for vulnerable groups, youth development in the South-East – Dobrogea region, vocational training, social inclusion, social projects, tourism and social entrepreneurship development, and the implementation of the social economy.
