• Promoting children rights by bringing children’s rights on the public policy agenda in Romania
• Involvement in public policy development projects by ensuring the inclusion of children’s rights in all public policies
• Monitoring children rights by creating and implementing a national monitoring system
• Strengthening the organizational capacity of the Federation to fulfill its mission by enhancing the capacity, expertise and experience of the Federation to promote and monitor children rights.

Activity

⦁ The Federation has offered practical help for over 14 years, to more than a hundred NGOs in their effort to improve their procedures involving the child and family, so that today, these NGOs can be in a position to offer an innovative and much more professional set of services for children and families.
⦁ The Federation, through its projects, has contributed to child and family policy changes, an example being Law 272 from 2004 which actually outlaws children under 3 years of age to be placed in state run facilities.
⦁ An additional, significant input of the Federation, were the changes made to the Adoption Law, Law 350-2012, which will be enforced later this year.
⦁ FONPC has also lobbied for and initiated “The Children Advocate” department, as part of the “Peoples’ Advocate” organisation, which is lead by a Senior Officer, the Ombudsman Deputy, who deals exclusively with children rights.
⦁ In 2009, FONPC has submitted The Alternative Report on children’s rights in Romania to the Children Rights Committee in Geneva, from which report, the Romanian Government has received a series of recommendations on the protection, promotion and monitoring of children rights in Romania.
⦁ The FONPC research study “The Accompanied Birth” has managed the mobilization of various associations and state structures, so that professionals involved in assisting pregnant women and their families, have started writing various materials that would highlight the role of each professional and above all the women rights.
⦁ The Federation has been lobbying and continuously advocated for improved legislation on state funding for social services provided by NGOs: Law contracting services.
⦁ All activities performed by FONPC are carried out with the assistance of nearly 100 NGOs working in different areas, such as day care centers for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, counseling and therapy for children and parents, centers for children with disabilities and children with autism (rehabilitation and reintegration centers), centers for abused children, as well as services for: street children, Roma children, children with parents working abroad, missing and exploited children, school and after-school programs, parental education programs, anti family violence programs, programs to combat human trafficking, actions to prevent school drop out and family disintegration, leisure activities and social integration, health education, institutionalization, family reintegration and adoption.
⦁ Since its debut on the children’s rights arena, FONPC has encouraged an active participation of children at all levels where decisions are made for and on behalf of the children. The Federation has organized children work groups, youngsters workshops, a children’s open letter to ministers and Parliament members, a film about children rights and various contests on this theme.

Projects

⦁ Advocacy for building a national consensus on children’s rights monitoring structures and creating the tool for monitoring children rights, financed by UNICEF Romania. The main priorities for this project are to create tools for monitoring children’s rights, advocacy of independent structures for promotion, protection and monitoring children’s rights as well as encouraging children’s participation in all stages of promoting, protecting and monitoring their rights.
⦁ To conquer our rights is a project that emphasizes the importance of children’s rights visibility and aims to raise general awareness regarding all members of society responsibilities to respect, promote and defend children’s rights. This project is implemented in partnership with PARADA Foundation, French Embassy in Romania, UNICEF, Wallonie-Brussels Delegation, International Organization of Francophonie and the involvement of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Chamber of Deputies and the Canadian Embassy.
⦁ Accompanying childbirth, funded by French Embassy in Romania, aimed at the analysis of how the children and mother’s rights are observed during the prenatal period, by promoting mother and child health, highlighting the need for accompanying parents before, during and after childbirth. The importance of receiving the child in good conditions, both for him and his parents is also brought to attention, in order to develop harmonious relations and promote positive relations between child and mother, respectively, child and father, supporting parents in the new role in preventing abandonment (leaving the child) and attachment disorders.
⦁ PROCOPIL, funded by the French Development Agency is a project that falls into the category of Programs Concerted Pluri – Actors (PCPA), counting 150 entities (NGOs, public institutions, local governments) in France, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria, which focuse on the public policy, aiming to improve child, youth and family protection.
⦁ Alternative Report on children’s rights in Romania was developed along with the project with the same name developed by FONPC between September 2007 – July 2008, project co-financed by UNICEF Romania and MAE France. At the development of the Alternative Report took part 86 NGOs and professional associations, 125 professionals in Child Protection and Welfare. Based on the information presented in this project and the comments submitted by state institutions and other NGOs, the Geneva Committee made a number of conclusions and recommendations that become a priority for the Government, an update for the next report is due in 2012.
⦁ Sustainability of NGO social services – a necessary guarantee for the growth of social inclusion in Romania was mainly pleading for support to social services from public funds provided by NGOs and, but also pleading for a coherent policy of social inclusion for children and young people at risk of marginalization. The project was implemented with financial support of Iceland Government, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism.
⦁ Best treatments for children and parents aimed at promoting growth and development for each child, fostering the establishment of early links between child, parents and their emotional environment; good treatment in the family, but also for the family; supporting parents in the educational process by disseminating knowledge and encouraging the exchange of experiences between all professionals involved in this matter. This project included a series of regional conferences in Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi, and the implementation of regional training workshops in order to achieve its goal. This program was developed in partnership with the French Embassy, UNICEF and the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj and Timisoara.
⦁ Strengthening the organizational capacity of the Federation to accomplish its mission, financed by UNICEF Romania and the French Embassy in Romania, focused on enhancing the Federation’s capacity, expertise and experience to promote and monitor Children’s Rights, the Federation’s institutional development and strengthening its cooperation links and partnerships in the country and abroad.

During these projects implementation, FONPC enjoyed stable and reliable partnerships with various entities and institutions of great value in promoting child rights: UNICEF, the Embassies of France, of the Netherlands and Canada in Bucharest, the Wallonie-Brussels Delegation, the International Organization of Francophonie, the French Institute in Bucharest, the Institute for Mother and Child ” Alfred Rusescu”, the Civil Society Development Foundation, the Association of Municipalities of Romania, the National Union of County Councils of Romania.

FONPC has partnered with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection.

In the various activities organized by FONPC, several partnerships have been established with the Romanian Senate and Chamber of Deputies, the General Secretariat of Government, and local governments: DGASPC Arges, Tulcea, Neamt, Alba, Arad, etc., Public Health Department: Iasi , Timis, Satu Mare, Constanta, Bucharest, Arges, Alba, Dolj, etc.

The Federation is a member of the Consultative Committee of the General Directorate of the Romanian Office of Child and Adoption.

With the support of Solidarity Laique, from France, FONPC created a solid partnership at regional level by working closely with networks of NGOs in Moldova “Alliance of active NGOs in the field of Social Protection of Children and Family” and ” National Network Children” in Bulgaria

Since 2009, the Federation is member of Euro Child, European network based on children rights themes.

During the last five years, the Federation managed to atract various sponsors and partners which offered their support for different projects. Among them, we mention: Carrefour, MedLife, Auchan, Decathlon, Oriflame, Heidi, Vodafone, Corint Publishing Group, Aramis Publishing House, NH Hotels etc.

Mass-media partners: Radio România, RFI, Trustul Burda, 24-Fun, newspapers and magazines, press agencies and TV posts, like: TVR, ProTv and Prima Tv.

Through the ability of its members, FONPC represents a source of expertise and a valuable resource in elaborating public policies at national and European level. We ensure that interventions are effective and for the benefit of children through cooperation with all actors involved in promoting children’s rights. Through our activities to promote, protect and monitor children rights, all children will reach their full potential.