The Renaissance (Renasterea) initiative was launched in 2000 as an innovation incubator and facilitator for community and partnership-based economic and social development initiatives in the economically-distressed and politically-pivotal Jiu Valley, Romania’s coal-mining region in the Transylvanian Alps. For background information on Jiu Valley, see the Renaissance background analysis.

Renaissance was conceived of in late 1999 and began early 2000 in Romania as an international development partnership by John Gongwer, a Washington, D.C.-based international strategic and management performance consultant, and Florin Lupu, then the national Executive Director of the Pro Democracy Association (Romania’s largest civil society development organization), with key assistance from individuals such as board member J. Randall Tift, then Senior Democracy Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest. The goal of Renaissance was to create a virtual leadership laboratory and innovative solutions-based program incubator for young Romanians. The initiative's focus was to prototype sustainable and easily replicable community and economic development solutions integrating information technology, change management, training, mentoring and partnerships. The intended second phase of the partnership was to apply these models and other lessons learned in other transitional international environments.

Over the next several years the assembled international team designed, launched and or facilitated numerous community-based initiatives in and outside of Romania. A temporary legal structure, the non-profit Romanian non-governmental organization Foundation for Development through Economic Education and Partnership (DEEP) [Fundatia pentru Dezvoltare prin Educatie Economica si Partneriat], was created in early 2000. The local team reconstituted itself in 2005 as a local association, and Renaissance's portal sponsorship and international activities are being assumed by iCatalyst, a new Washington DC-based innovation research center currently under development.

The Renaissance initiative and its programs have received official endorsements and support from both national and international officials, including the Romanian Minister of Education, Minister of Youth & Sport, Minister of Tourism, members of Parliament and the Senate, the President’s Office, and has partnered with and/or received sponsorship from such institutions such as the World Bank Romania, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Embassy, and the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe.

One of the significant initiatives and achievements of Renaissance is the Jiu Valley Portal (www.JiuValley.com), the web portal for the Jiu Valley coal mining region and gateway to the Transylvanian Alps and other Carpathian destinations. The home of the official websites of the six Jiu Valley cities/municipalities, the Jiu Valley Portal (www.JiuValley.com) is being developed in conjunction with the municipalities and local community groups in Jiu Valley to provide an online one-stop-shop information resource center for residents, travelers and tourists, and business investors. A source of pride to the community, the content of the Portal is provided by a wide group of local participants coordinated by city design teams, and the coding and programming is largely done on a volunteer basis by former coal miners who have started their own web and ecommerce development companies.

The Portal has been developed primarily with the volunteer resources of literally hundreds of friends and associates both in and outside of Romania who have donated thousands of hours to various Renaissance projects. Our international friends have come from institutions like the U.K.'s Royal Geographical Society, the U.S.'s National Geographic Society, BBC Special Features, Oxford University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Brigham Young University, Columbia University, and from countries throughout Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, North America, and as far away as New Zealand. Please see the Partners section for more details about past affiliations and potential for participating in the further development of the Program.

To date, several hundred volunteers, including those representing over a dozen nationalities, have participated in Renaissance or Renaissance-inspired initiatives. The program activities include:

• Founding member of World Bank–sponsored Jiu Valley Association

• Environmental cleanups in Jiu Valley and Bucharest.
• Val-Fest Lupeni (initiated and coordinate an annual regional music and cultural festival - 2003 and 2004).
• Partnership with West Virginia University for building sustainable development partnerships between West Virginia coal mining communities and the Jiu Valley.
  • First Impressions
  • Community Design Team
• Citizen electoral education and local government election monitoring and training (2004 and 2005).
• Regional sociological survey (funded by U.S. Embassy).
• Official regional web portal (www.jiuvalley.com) that serves as a comprehensive online information resource center for residents of Jiu Valley’s six cities (including official city websites), visitors and businesses.
• Launched program and process for Citizen-City Hall communication.
• Training city councils and selected designed team Internet-based city marketing.
• Helped develop local web design companies formed by young former coal miners.
• CLC Lupeni - Started first child/youth local council in Jiu Valley. The program was subsequently replicated in the city of Aninoasa.
• Public park restoration.
• Training for citizens and government officials on civic participation in the decision-making process at the local government level.
• Transparency and local government accountability training and awareness.
• The Center for Volunteering in Lupeni.
• Hosted and coordinated Jiu Valley profile filming by National Geographic.
• Partners and donors included: The World Bank, U.S. Embassy, The Stability Pact, U.S. Agency for International Development, World Learning, the six regional municipalities (city halls and mayors’ offices), and local and international universities and media sources.
• Marketed and negotiated partnership contracts with mayors and councils of six regional cities for developing and integrating official city websites into overall portal.
• Developed partnerships with numerous governmental, commercial, academic and media entities at the local, regional and national level.
• Proposed and obtained partnership funding from a variety of international institutions.

Consistent with the original Renaissance plan, the team began phasing out its own management role and working toward helping the local initiatives become autonomous and self-sustaining.  At the beginning of 2005, the Jiu Valley team completed the management transfer of its programs to other local initiatives and the original team disbanded, its members taking leadership roles in a variety of development programs and initiatives both in Romania and internationally.