Asociatia Lumea lui Pinocchio was founded on November 29, 2001 in the city of Panciu, Vrancea County with the support of the non-governmental association IBO Italia. It is established as a legal entity under private law, pursuant to O.G. no. 26 of 2000.

The purpose and object of activity of the association

The association “Lumea lui Pinocchio” is a non-profit association and its main purpose of its activity is to contribute to the promotion and development of the Roma in all possible dimensions and the development of the idea of volunteering, as an expression of social solidarity, to support the youth, in general.

The object of activity of the association is:

to improve the situation of the Roma, from a social, economic and cultural point of view;
to positively influence the Romanian society, to reduce the prejudices related to the Roma community;
to promote and support any initiative, coming from any natural or legal person, related to the improvement of the social condition,
educational, cultural and artistic activities of the Roma;
to promote and spread the expression “Roma identity”;
to improve the relations between the Roma communities and between them and the authorities;
to promote the idea of volunteering, to support the youth, in general.

History

The activities of the Lumea lui Pinocchio association began in 2001 with the reconstruction of the houses of the poorest Roma families in Panciu. The Roma community is the most discriminated part of the Romanian society and the national situation still offers examples of public violence and ethnic rejection of the Roma, being even excluded from the social and educational framework.
In the city of Panciu live 700 inhabitants of Roma ethnicity, of which 250 are Roma families, they live in the peripheral areas of the city where the living conditions are very critical, it is hard to imagine that a human being can live in such conditions.

Lumea lui Pinocchio bought a house for young people from orphanages with the aim of hosting them after finishing school, offering them support and training at the same time to help them find a job, thus integrating them into society.

Since 2002, the Lumea lui Pinocchio association has been working for the local community in the city of Panciu, paying particular attention to Roma communities. Emilia Romagna: dialogue between territories took place in partnership with public institutions from Vrancea and institutes from Italy.

In the last two years, attention has been focused more on disadvantaged children in the community. An educational center called Pinochio was established where recreational activities based on non-formal education are organized daily. These activities aim to improve the educational and artistic skills of the children – thus promoting mutual knowledge and tolerance.
Every year a consistent number of foreign volunteers participate in the activities of the association through European programs of voluntary services or civil service.