52 initiatives will be implemented with financial support of up to 5,000 lei each

A new edition of the participatory budgeting program Com’ON Cluj-Napoca asked residents to support and vote for the ideas proposed by young people to improve community life. Voting was an essential tool in deciding which initiatives would receive financial support of up to 5,000 lei for implementation.
Out of the 123 projects submitted by young people, 52 will receive funding to become reality. The competition was close, and the community vote proved decisive. The complete list of initiatives that will receive funding for implementation from the city hall is available here: www.comoncluj.ro.

A total of 4,326 individual voters, casting 19,149 votes, supported the projects proposed by young people from Cluj-Napoca. Voting took place online on the program’s website between 25 September and 9 October, and it was open to all residents of Cluj-Napoca. Anyone living, studying, or working in Cluj-Napoca aged over 14 was invited to make their voice heard by voting for between 3 and 10 ideas submitted by young people in the call.

To ensure diverse and fair participation, the ideas submitted by young people to Com’ON Cluj-Napoca were categorized as follows:

• Track S – Groups of young people from vulnerable backgrounds. Three prizes were allocated for this category.
• Track A – Groups of young people aged between 14 and 18. Thirteen prizes were allocated for this category.
• Track N – Groups of young people aged between 14 and 27 who do not fit into categories S or A. Thirty-six prizes were allocated for this category.

The youth groups will implement their awarded ideas during the months of October and November 2025. The Cluj community is invited to participate in the organised projects, all of which are free to attend.

Residents of all ages will be able to join concerts and art exhibitions by young artists, first-aid courses for the whole family, and even a chess championship. Among the proposed activities are sewing workshops to combat fast fashion, information campaigns for young people and parents about the risks of HPV infection, and tree-planting campaigns.

Among the winning projects are also the first initiatives proposed by youth teams from the Ukrainian community of Cluj-Napoca, including a podcast created by Ukrainian young people to make their voices heard in the community and a hackathon promoting inclusion, collaboration, and the creation of solutions for better migrant integration.

Additionally, the city will host consultations and meetings to identify the needs of young people with disabilities, physiotherapy workshops, and initiatives to transform grey urban spaces into small green areas.

Cluj residents will also be able to take part in eco soap-making workshops using recycled oil, plastic waste collection campaigns (with the plastic transformed into creative decorations for foster homes and pediatric hospitals), as well as solidarity actions, such as setting up a network of donation boxes for menstrual hygiene products for women in vulnerable communities. And, of course, much more.

The implementation calendar of the initiatives and more details about the upcoming events will be available on www.comoncluj.ro and on the program’s social media pages.

In the 2025 edition, the Com’ON Cluj-Napoca participatory budgeting program focuses on the needs and challenges of the community, encouraging young people to propose ideas aligned with the motto “LET’S DO WELL TOGETHER!” — emphasizing well-being, quality of life in the community, and active engagement in city life.

The Com’ON Cluj-Napoca program is implemented by the PONT Group, carried out in strategic partnership with the Federation of Youth in Cluj and Cluj for Youth, with the support of the Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Local Council, Fondation Botnar and the Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR).

In 2024, Com’ON Cluj-Napoca received the Good Practice Label awarded by the European Commission’s URBACT program. This quality certificate of Good Practice recognizes impactful local participatory practices that are relevant to the European Union and transferable to other European cities.

Com’ON Cluj-Napoca, the participatory budgeting program for young people in Cluj, is run by the PONT Group, an organization founded in 2009 that aims to foster social innovation through participation, entrepreneurship, and culture, with a special focus on youth and digitalization. The first edition of Com’ON Cluj-Napoca was launched in 2015, during the Cluj-Napoca 2015 European Youth Capital program.

Official website: www.comoncluj.ro
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