Workshops Without Frontiers

The Romanian NGO Workshops Without Frontiers won third prize this year in the ESEC climate change initiative

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 15.12.2021, 02:22

EU civil society plays an active role in achieving climate neutrality, which the union committed to reaching by 2050 as part of the European Green Pact. In order to encourage initiative in this area, the European Social and Economic Committee has launched its awards for climate action in April, in order to emphasize the importance of climate policies in all parts of society. The committee hopes that the awards would inspire people to become part of the solution, encouraging them to change systems, norms, and behaviors that have brought us to the brink of a climate crisis.

These awards, in their 12th edition, is granted to people and NGOs for excellence in civil society initiatives. Each year has a different theme, which covers an important area of ESEC activity. The Romanian NGO Workshops Without Frontiers won third prize this year. Workshops Without Frontiers promotes a fair transition to a low carbon economy, and resilience in the front of climate change.

Damien Theiry, managing director for Workshops Without Frontiers told us about it:

“Workshops Without Frontiers applied in June 2021 for the Climate Action Award from the ESEC, which recognizes in Europe the members of civil society who are most active in climate change action. Workshops Without Frontiers is an insertion social enterprise, we are in Bucharest and Dambovita, we are dealing with vulnerable people who are far from the labor market. These people with multiple vulnerabilities are hired by our association for a maximum of two years, we teach them work skills, then help them into a job. We have three workshops. The first, set up in 2008, is called Educlick, we are authorized collectors of electronics and appliances. We are the only organization of its kind in Romania authorized by the Ministry of the Environment, in order to give this waste a second life. We chose to refurbish computers, they are better targets for renovation, and we donate them to schools in rural areas, which have no computers at this time. In the last 13 years, we donated more than 22,000 computers, meaning we have helped over 10% of schools in Romania with refurbished machines. We have 15 jobs at the Educlick workshop for restoring computers, and Workshops Without Frontiers has so far helped over 300 people.”

Damien Thiery, managing director for the organization, told us what other workshops they have:

“The second workshop is Remesh, a tailor shop, where we mend advertising banners. They are made of reinforced PVC, which is very harmful to the environment. These banners are being burned, or dumped, which is very harmful. We turn them into products, its called upcycling, turning waste into beautiful products that can be purchased on our website for events. A third workshop is a social farm, Bio&co, in Ciocanari, in Dambovita County. We are in a small town, with an 80% Rroma community, and provide jobs to the people of the community. We grow 80 kinds of vegetables, certified organic, and we supply them farm to table to consumers in Bucharest.”

Damien Theiry reacted enthusiastically to the award they got:

“For us it is a huge sign of recognition, to get a European level award, from the ESEC, especially in the climate action area. It is exactly what its been doing for 13 years, and we will continue to do more, now that we have secured the award.”

The awards were announced in a ceremony held on December 9, at the end of the ESEC plenary session in Brussels. The total money value in prizes was 50,000 Euro, shared by the five winners. The other winners were, alphabetically, Associació Catalana Enginyeria Sense Fronteres, the Estonian Fund for Nature, Grootouders voor het Klimaat (Grandparents for Combating Climate Change), and Prostorož, an non-profit office for urban planning that mobilizes citizens in Ljublijana with the project Hot Spots. The first prize is worth 14,000 Euro, with the next four winners getting 9,000 Euro each.