Expert Forum

Description

Expert Forum, known by its acronym EFOR, is a Romanian organization that says it wants Romania to be a democratic, modern and normal country. It says this cannot be left only to government and politicians. Its stated aim is to make governance more transparent and rational by showing that it understands what officials are doing and by reacting when they get things wrong.

The organization is based in Bucharest and has operated at least since 2011. It works partly through advocacy and public communication and partly through educational projects. It is supported by contributions and donations from the public.

One project described on its pages, Let’s talk about Rule of Law!, ran from September 2021 to May 2022 with funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Romania. Through it, Expert Forum worked directly with teachers in 15 communities across Romania, aiming to help teachers and students become active participants in their own communities.

Thirty participating teachers took part in four introductory workshops covering justice, corruption, organized crime, the separation of powers and the public policy process, gaining tools, games and methods for discussing rule of law and democracy in an interactive way. The teachers then applied these tools in their own classrooms together with Expert Forum staff. The workshop structure was designed so teachers could repeat the exercises and discussions independently afterwards.

Through the project, students were meant to learn about rule of law, democracy, critical thinking, accountability tools and the public policy process, and to connect more fully with their own communities and learn to make themselves heard. The project sat within Expert Forum’s wider Active Citizenship program.