I WANT TO BE
“๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐”, one of VAR’s first initiatives, launched in 2019, reaches its sixth edition this year. The project was designed as a mentorship program dedicated to institutionalized youth in Sector 3, through which we aimed to give these amazing young people the chance to connect with experts from various fields and benefit from valuable guidance for their personal and professional development. Mentors provide moral, educational, civic, and cultural support, contributing to the development of each participant’s personality and guiding them toward both external opportunities and their inner resources.
This year, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐๐ง๐ญ with the introduction of ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฒ sessions, coordinated by Magda Cernea.
“๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐” is carried out in partnership with DGASPC Sector 3, and ButanGas supports this year’s edition. This support empowers young people to move forward with greater confidence and courage toward their future.
Because social and community art is part of the association’s creed and because it supports the practice of volunteering, VAR Association initiated in September 2019 in partnership with DGASPC Sector 3 Bucharest, the mentoring program: โI WANT TO BEโ, which aims to mentor teenagers from the centers of placement in Sector 3, Bucharest. It would like the mentors the teenagers from these centers will come into contact with, to help them strive towards their best version, to offer them moral, civic, educational and cultural support, to contribute in a positive and constructive way to strengthen the personality of each of them and guide them both towards possible external resources and internal ones, too. The first meeting took place in January, this year, coordinated by Iulia Dromereschi. Active in the field of non-formal education, with over 20 published translations, she writes about books, films and cultural events, coordinates volunteer groups and handles PR/social media. She spoke to the children about the mission of a journalist, how and where she works, what an interview is and how the materials she produces can inform or misinform people.
From March 2020 (in the context of the Pandemic generated by COVID-19) until now, the project coordinator and the vice-president of VAR Association – Vero Nica – has supported online workshops weekly: speaking/diction exercises, theater techniques, improvisation games, creative writing and personal development techniques .
In February (2022), 8 teenagers from “Pinocchio” placement center had a unique experience. Each of them had the opportunity to be, for one day, Alexandru Pitigoiโs (Dodo) co-driver, one of the most experienced drivers in Romania, on board of a PORSCHE 911 GT3 CUP, the car that helped Dodo win 4 stage victories in the 1st category and the runner-up title at the 2021 National Coastal Speed โโChampionship.
The day of fun also produced inspiration. There were not only laps like in a racing rally car and lots of laughs, but also questions and answers about a driverโs life, all the people who work for his victory and how everything is possible when you work on it.
Project supported by Impuls leasing, ELION PRODCOM, INTCONT PRINT SRL, Developing Smart Ideas, Mellow Concept.