Theme: Citizen participation


 

Initial situation

  The idea of the re-establishing the monument of V.I. Lenin on the Central Square of the town of Nisporeni (the population counting 12133 of inhabitants) has produced tension amongst the population. The critical moment was put down due to a number of circumstances at the beginning of 2004 year, which was declared to be the year of the Ruler Stefan cel Mare si Sfint. The activity plan of the town hall included several cultural-artistic activities. The organization of this required the arrangement of the territory suitable for the event. A proposal was brought about - to erect the bust of Stefan cel Mare. The approval and the realization of the idea required the involvement of citizens.
 

Method of action

• 1. The local authorities have started a campaign so as to collect donations from the inhabitants of the town;
• 2. The radio station "Vocea Basarabiei" from Nisporeni has organized a radio marathon, and as a result - 50 thousand lei were collected;
• 3. The local newspaper "Gazeta de Vest" has been permanently publishing the list of the donors;
• 4. The children's Council from the local secondary school No. 3 has organized a huge campaign of volunteering as a result of which the school received the name of the Ruler.

 

Specific elements

  In order to realize the idea, the appropriate persons have been found (the Handcrafter Tudor Cataraga helped by the sculptor Mihai Damian). The key subjects which realized the idea are the Town Council, the Regional Council and the representatives of the civil society. It was decided that each of the parts would contribute equal financial amounts of 200 thousand lei each.
 

Cost and results

 The cost of Stefan cel Mare's bust is 600 thousand lei, expenses which were covered by the Town Council, the regional Council, and the citizen's donations.

  The Centre of the town was given the appropriate architectural looks. It was possible to mobilize the inhabitants. The political barriers were overcome and a social consensus was reached.
 

Lessons learned

•  The big and wonderful things are possible to realize only with the citizens' participation on a large scale, which is a guarantee of the durability.
• An active involvement of the economic agents, mass - media, of the civil societies and the representatives of the church was a defining factor.