Design for Change Romania – continuing to grow and strengthen the voice of children and young people
Design for Change Romania continues to expand, bringing together dedicated people who strengthen and amplify the voice of children and adolescents both in schools and in their communities.
An ambitious educational initiative, Design for Change introduces into Romanian schools an innovative methodology and an international community of practice and inspiration. The programme is now developing further through a new project launched on 1 August 2025.
The project is coordinated by the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation, supported by the UniCredit Foundation, with the contribution of UniCredit Bank, and has a budget of EUR 299,934 for a period of 24 months. Its objectives are:
- Strengthening teachers’ capacity
More than 2,000 teachers will be trained, both through a national online course and through local face-to-face sessions, facilitated by 50 mentors prepared within a Trainer of Trainers programme. - Increasing students’ civic engagement and competences
Students aged 11 to 19, guided by their teachers, will identify real problems in their communities and develop solutions using the DFC methodology – Feel, Imagine, Do, Share. The project is expected to directly involve over 20,000 students. - Sustainability and scaling up
A digital platform will be developed to support mentoring, exchange of resources, and the promotion of “stories of change.” The project also includes a national and international dissemination campaign, as well as the development of a strategic plan for integrating the DFC methodology into the national school curriculum.
About the Design for Change (DFC) Methodology
Design for Change is the largest global student-centred education movement, implemented in more than 74 countries and validated by researchers from Harvard and Stanford. Reaching over 2 million children and young people worldwide and more than 120,000 teachers, Design for Change develops essential 21st-century skills – empathy, critical and creative thinking, collaboration and civic engagement – through a participatory process accessible to all educators.
Romania joined the international community in 2022, initially using the methodology as a tool to encourage the participation of students from vulnerable backgrounds in non-formal education projects.
Subsequently, the methodology became known nationally through a pilot project in which 24 teachers from across the country applied the DFC process in their schools, working alongside students to identify and address real problems in their communities. The project also included a national study, which highlighted the positive impact of the method and its relevance for the Romanian educational context.
With this new project, Design for Change Romania enters a stage of maturity and scaling, aiming to generate a real impact in schools from vulnerable communities.
