Finalized projects
Coalition for an Educated Parliament
October 2006 - September 2007
Funder: The Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe
Amount: 60,000 USD
Objectives:
The main objectives are: sensitizing the members of the Romanian Parliament on discrimination of vulnerable groups, strengthening the visibility of vulnerable and marginalized groups and NGOs which promote and defend the rights of groups exposed to discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, belief, sexual orientation, HIV positive status, gender, gender expression, strengthening the advocacy capacity of the Coalition for an Educated Parliament.
Description:
Facilitate meetings with heads of the political groups in the Parliament, realize a questionnaire including sensitive discussion topics identified by the NGO partners representing the various groups, disseminate the questionnaire with the members of the Parliament and collect the responses, a constant update of the resource-antidiscrimination website www.antidiscriminare.ro, prepare a Report on Parliamentary Attitudes towards Discrimination and Equal Opportunities and disseminate the report, organize four trainings on advocacy and lobbying on anti-discrimination and equal opportunities for 20 NGO members.
Looking to the future
September 2006 – August 2007
Funder:World Learning Romania, RCSS Program
Amount: 54 603 USD
Objectives:
The development of the ACCEPT’s organizational capacity by translating the existing strategic plan into specific objectives and activities.
Description:
In this project, the activities are focused on creating effective tools in 3 main domains: Operations and Management System, Human Resources, Advocacy and PR.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE
December 2004 – November 2006
Amount: 29.303 EURO
Objectives:
- to provide information on existing new rights and legal protection tools against discrimination based on sexual orientation, age and disability;
- to increase the institutional capacity of key agents who assists private individuals to sue agents of discrimination
- to equip key agents with the tools to recognize and use the differences between the national and the European anti-discrimination legislation
Description:
Organizing training sessions, workshops and meetings with key agents.
HIV Prevention among MSM
March 2004 – December 2005
Funder: Global Fund
Amount: 369.734 USD
Objectives:
- to facilitate access to necessary information for sound decision making about sexual practices of MSM (men having sex with men) in Bucharest, Cluj, Deva, Suceava, Timisoara
- to motivate MSM to avoid HIV/AIDS and STDs infection by adopting protective sexual behaviors
- to combat the common fear among MSM that letting doctors know about their sexual orientation could lead to inadequate medical treatment
- to raise awareness of the key factors in elaborating health-related public policies with regard to the specific health needs of MSM
Description:
Publishing informative and educational materials; distributing informative materials and safe-sex items (condoms and lubricants); training ACCEPT’s volunteers to promote healthy and responsible sexual behavior among MSM through peer education and outreaches; providing counseling for STD prevention and the service “Together for HIV/AIDS testing”; providing psychological counseling; running constant outreach activities; conducting informational sessions for journalists in order to reduce the level of discriminatory attitudes and accounts about MSM; conducting informative sessions for law enforcement officers in order to increase their awareness of MSM issues; working together with the key factors in elaborating education public policies with regards to the specific health needs of MSM.
Opportunities for Social Change
September 2002 – August 2005
Funder: : ASTRAEA Lesbian Action Foundation, New York, USA
Amount: 20.000 USD
Objectives:
To identify relevant issues for LGBT within the existing education system; to lobby for amending the relevant regulatory provisions and stopping discriminatory practices in Romanian schools; to elaborate a set of LGBT-related education materials for use in Romanian schools; and to form an ACCEPT education team, together with a strategy in the filed of education and LGBT.
Description:
- identifying opportunities to initiate actions leading towards an increase of acceptance of LGBT people within the Romanian educational system (by analyzing the current law on teachers’ status and other relevant laws, by working together with teacher unions, etc.), including conducting research
studies on teaching curricula and current educational materials related to: a) sex education and b) civic education and human rights, with the goal to create the environment to for the inclusion of LGBT topics.
- creating a document regarding ACCEPT’s educational policy
- setting up meetings to discuss and finalize ACCEPT’s educational policy in collaboration with public education officials, with the goal to promote the level of political willingness necessary for the implementation of the recommendations
- lobby activities with public education authorities and teachers for the inclusion of LGBT topics in the identified areas and for the exclusion of all discriminatory regulations affecting both LGBT students and LGBT educational workers
- producing a set of session designs suitable for Romanian schools
- setting up a workgroup within ACCEPT to include educators and teachers from other NGOs and facilitating their training through LGBT educational networks such as Glee in Finland, GLSEN in New York, USA, Amnesty International Educational Network and the Dutch educational network
- fundraising for future educational projects to supplement the current educational program
Research study on integrating specific LGBT needs in the state policies in the area of public health in Central and Eastern Europe
September 2004 – December 2004
Funder: Open Society Institute, New York
Amount: 6.762 USD
Objectives:
- to address specific needs of LGBT in the area of public health
- to eliminate discrimination and other barriers which come in the way of easy access to adequate health services
- to document current public policies in the area of health and organizational structures
Description:
- developing tool kit to finalize the research
- running a workshop to set up and present the tool kit
- implementing the research
- processing and compiling the information
- writing and publishing a final report
2003 Summer Campain
July - September 2003
Funder: John Snow Institute
Amount: 10.000 USD
Objectives:
To reduce the incidence of HIV infection among youth, particularly those vacationing on the Black Sea coast in the summer of 2003; to train 25 campaign volunteers; and to increase the level of information and promote the necessary attitudes and practices reducing the incidence of HIV transmission among 1,800 people (HIV testing and safer sex) and collecting information about their knowledge on HIV transmission.
Description:
Training of ACCEPT volunteers, as well as daily outreach and workshop activities.
Media Guide
March – December 2003
Funder: United Nations Development Program
Amount: 11.500 USD
Objectives:
To fill the information gap on media reporting of HIV/AIDS and STD issues; to provide arguments against a discriminatory perspective on reporting on these issues; and to encourage links and networking among journalists and NGOs on HIV/AIDS and STD issues.
Description:
Conducting research among journalists in order to gather information on their opinions, beliefs, attitudes, and information they possess on HIV/AIDS and STDs in order to identify the needs for correct information to be included in the related media guide; monitoring the media to identify the frequent incorrect information published on HIV/AIDS (also to be used in the media guide); and identification of changes in media reporting on these issues. The Center on Independent Journalism produced a first draft of the media guide and facilitated a journalists’ forum on HIV/AIDS and STD issues. ARAS (The Romanian Anti-Aids Association) contributed to the project by connecting NGOs and journalists and promoting the media guide.
Advocacy for Combating Discrimination in Romania
May – December 2003
Funder: Open Society Foundation - Romania
Amount: 5.000 USD
Objectives:
To structure an informal and diverse network of organizations and experts with appropriate expertise and legitimacy on combating discrimination; to initiate advocacy activities for improving the anti-discrimination legislation and the functioning of the National Council to Combat Discrimination (CNCD); to collect, analyze, translate, adapt, and publish on the Internet the international documents relevant in the filed of combating discrimination.
Description:
ACCEPT initiated periodic issue-meetings among various partners to identify common actions to prevent and combat all forms of discrimination, on the basis of the fundamental concept of an open society (under the auspices of the Open Society Campaigns); periodic communication took place via an e-mail group in order to exchange information and negotiate common positions in areas of mutual interest; relevant government officials were monitored and provided with policy recommendations on reducing the gap between the antidiscrimination legislation and its implementation, based on relevant European legal standards.
Prevention Today for Safety Tomorrow
January 2002 – Octomber 2002
Funder: European Union through the PHARE-ACCESS Program
Amount: 32.257 EURO
Objectives:
To facilitate the access to relevant information and other resources in order to facilitate appropriate decisions related to sexual practices for 1,000 MSM (Men Having Sex with Men) from Bucharest; to motivate MSM to protect themselves from HIV and STD infections by adopting a safe sex behavior; to combat MSM’s fear that disclosing their sexual orientation to physicians results in inappropriate treatment; to raise the awareness of key decision makers in health-related public policies on specific health needs of MSM.
Description:
Conducting research with MSM in Bucharest in order to elaborate information materials appropriate to their culture on promoting safe sex behavior; producing the information materials; conducting a research with Bucharest dermatologists working on venereal diseases in order to reveal their attitudes on MSM patients and identify physicians with a positive attitude towards MSM to whom MSM patients could be referred; training of staff and volunteers on social marketing for MSM; training of physicians in working with MSM patients; training of MSM volunteers in promoting health and a responsible sexual behavior among MSM in Bucharest through peer education and outreach; providing services of health and prevention counseling, as well as facilitating HIV testing; conducting outreach activities and health promotion events among Bucharest MSM; working with key decision makers in education public policies on health needs specific to MSM.
Initiating Social Inclusion of LGBT in Romania
September 2002 – December 2003
Funder: European Union through the PHARE-ACCESS Program
Amount: 130.450 EURO
Objectives:
To increase LGBT access from Bucharest and other places to HIV/STD testing and prevention, other health services, psychological counseling (including for parents of LGBT individuals, directly and through support groups); to create an information booklet “LGBT in Romania – Legal Status, Social and Health Needs,” and other information materials leading to the social inclusion of LGBT and for the promoting the services available to them (via the monthly newsletter, weekly e-mail information, leaflets, and service-advertising cards); to influence the relevant public policies, as well as the social and health services towards being inclusive to LGBT).
Description:
Training and research concerning social and health services; offering social and health services (medical counseling and informative sessions on HIV/AIDS, psychological counseling and support groups etc.), to create an information booklet “LGBT in Romania – Legal Status, Social and Health Needs,” and other information materials leading to the social inclusion of LGBT and for the promoting the services available to them (via the monthly newsletter, weekly e-mail information, leaflets, and service-advertising cards); influencing public policy and specialized social services in order to attain the social inclusion of LGBTs.
ACCEPT Participation in the Annual ILGA-Europe Conference
2002; 2003
Funder: European Union through the PHARE Program
Amount: 3.428; 3.197 EURO
Objectives:
To get an update on ILGA-Europe’s activities on LGBT in EU accession states (legal and social issues); to increase ACCEPT’s involvement in ILGA-Europe’s activities, benefiting from being an active member of this European network.
Description:
Effective participation of ACCEPT representatives in the annual conference of ILGA-Europe.
Balkan Triangle
March 2001 – February 2004
Funder: The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Matra Program and COC
Amount: 107.000 EURO
Objectives:
To consolidate (institutionalize and professionalize) the lesbian and gay movement in Romania and Bulgaria; to stimulate cross-border cooperation among LGBT organizations in Central and Eastern Europe; to create a regional model of communication and enculturation (exchange of knowledge and mutual assimilation of values) leading to LGBT emancipation and improved structure of their movement – on the basis of expressing the human diversity, the social pluralism and equality; as well as creating alliances and social and political coalitions with other similar organizations from Romania, Bulgaria, and Western Europe.
Description:
The project consisted of two sections: LGBT Community Voice and Cross-Cultural Communication.
LGBT Community Voice supported efforts of various LGBT initiatives in Romania (such as individuals, informal groups, and organizations) to respond to LGBT needs. Among the achievements of this project, we would like to highlight the support for setting up and developing several LGBT NGOs outside of Bucharest, a week-long training of local groups at ACCEPT in Bucharest in July 2001, and the local groups internship at ACCEPT in May 2002.
Within Cross-Cultural Communication, ACCEPT worked with a more established organization – Gemini BGO from Bulgaria – in order to help the Bulgarian NGO consolidate and provide quality services to LGBT communities in Bulgaria. Among the achievements of the project, we would like to highlight the development of training and other resource materials, a joint seminar in Busteni, Romania (“Involving LGBT communities in developing a cultural, LBGT-specific environment in Romania and Bulgaria,” July 2001), Gemini staff internship with ACCEPT (January 2002), and the work visit of the ACCEPT Balkan Triangle staff to Gemini (May 2002).
No, No, No to Discrimination!
2001
Funder: Open Society Foundation - Romania
Amount: 5.000 USD
Objectives:
To provide free legal assistance to individuals discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation (lesbians, gays, and bisexuals), gender (transgender people), and HIV+ status.
Description:
ACCEPT organized a service of free legal assistance for individuals discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation (lesbians, gays, and bisexuals), gender (transgender people), and HIV+ status. Particular emphasis was placed on cases of multiple discrimination (such as gay Roma, HIV+ gays, lesbian women, and gay transsexuals). Discrimination cases are identified and then referred to particular lawyers. Related expenses (including legal representation in court) are covered by ACCEPT. The executive director of ACCEPT meets directly with the individuals in question, or communicates with them via other means (such as mail, e-mail, and telephone).
Gay Men for Safer Sex
Martch – December 2001
Funder: United Nations Development Program
Amount: 10.000 USD
Objectives:
To determine self-protection behavior on HIV and STD infection among MSM; to provide support in capacity building for a new LGBT organization – Attitude! Cluj. Intermediary objectives targeted the reduction of MSM’s risk to HIV and STD infection in Bucharest by appropriate prevention activities and the development of ACCEPT’s fundraising capacity in this field.
Description:
Elaboration of information, training, and advertising materials; recruiting, selecting, and engaging volunteers in outreach activities and peer working with MSM (16 activities of the latter took place in Bucharest with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable MSM – unemployed, homeless, and commercial sex workers). Organizing a pilot weekly helpline on HIV/AIDS; distribution of safer sex supplies among MSM (condoms, water-based lubricant, mouthwash, soap, and disinfectants) and information materials; organizing of a training session for other LGBT groups and NGOs working in the filed of HIV/AIDS, (Attitude! Cluj in particular); identification of potential funding sources and partner organizations for future projects in the field of LGBT health, HIV/STD in particular; drafting project proposals for the respective donors; organizing two fundraising events: (1) Gay Handcrafts and (2) ACCEPT Soiree, in order to reach out to non-MSM individuals and collect funds for activities in this field.
Information and Documentation Center
Information and Documentation Center
Octomber 2000 – September 2001
Funder: Kimeta Society of Toronto
Amount: 2014 USD
Objectives:
To collect materials relevant to LGBT and facilitate library and information services.
Description:
The information collected by the Center includes books, magazines, press clips, audio and video materials, leaflets and posters, reports on relevant conferences, as well as reference materials, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, and guides. The core book collections focuses on issues related to gender, homo/bisexuality, transgender, and HIV/AIDS, published in Romania and abroad, studies in psychology, sociology, philosophy, religion, LGBT literature, some in Romanian and others in their original language of publication. The collection includes LGBT newspapers and magazines from various countries, among which Germany, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, the UK, and the US. The Center’s archives include official documents and press articles on the evolution of the LGBT movement in Romania. The video collection consists of gay-related movies, documentaries, and TV recordings on LGBT issues.
