The achievements of our Foundation – more precisely the 1,267 projects implemented from 2000 to the present – would not have been possible without the support of our supporters and financiers.

Permanent supporters

MET Londra

The Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation in Romania, which this year celebrates 20 years of activity and 1267 projects implemented, is based on the dedication of people and a trusting partnership that has been built for many years. In 1987, in London, the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation was founded in order to connect Romanian intellectuals, who were then oppressed by the communist regime, with personalities from the same fields in Western Europe.

MET London’s activity took off in 1988, with the prompt intervention of stopping Nicolae Ceausescu’s systematization plan to demolish thousands of villages of historical value. MET London turned its attention to Romania more and more in the 1990s, so that in 2000, the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation was born, which is today led by Caroline Fernolend.

The activity of the Mihai Eminescu Trust Romania Foundation and the projects implemented in communities by a very small team, were largely supported by MET London through the substantial help provided by the Hewlett Packard Foundation, which for 10 years was one of the main partners of the MET London Foundation.

In 2006, MET London accessed for the first time a European grant through which many traditional houses in Transylvania could be saved from degradation. Specific interventions on heritage buildings, in the first years of activity, implemented together with MET London, contributed to the pioneering work carried out in Transylvania. Over the years it has evolved progressively from the rehabilitation of facades and sheds, fortified churches, to responsible cultural tourism and the development and implementation of the concept “AN IDEPENDENT VILLAGE”, a concept of community development by enhancing cultural and natural heritage.

Horizon Foundation

Horizon Foundation is a family organization in the Netherlands and one of our close partners. In the year 2000, right from the beginning of our activity, we managed to motivate the members of the Board of Directors of Horizon Foundation to support our activity. Since then, their continued support shows confidence in our actions and mission to revitalize local communities in Romania, by highlighting the cultural and natural heritage. Our long-term partnership with Horizon Foundation is based on fairness in project management and respect for the unique multicultural values ​​of Transylvania, threatened with extinction in the new economic and social context of the region.

Through the Horizon Foundation, around 200 projects for the enhancement of cultural heritage, community and organizational development have been implemented. Due to their support in 12 villages and the city of Sighisoara, over 1.5 million Euros were invested. From supporting the first summer camp for children in 4 localities where the MET foundation operates, to traditional furniture restoration projects, the Horizon Foundation has supported countless MET pilot projects that have had an impact and visible results in communities. That is why we could more easily motivate other partners to support such projects that are part of our concept of “Independent village”.

Training projects for future craftsmen or those for traditional guest house managers, implemented through this partnership, are an example of actions that have generated self-sustainability in communities and contributed to strengthening the emotional connection between community members and the cultural and natural heritage of Romania. At the same time, what especially highlights the partnership with Horizon Foundation is the contribution to organizational development and strengthening the team of the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation, thus contributing to the sustainability of our organization.

Grupul AccorHotels-Orbis

In 2009, the Mihai Eminescu Trust and the AccorHotels-Orbis hotel group jointly started one of the largest reforestation projects in Romania and in the world: the “Planting for the future” project.

For five years, this project has been running under the name “Planet 21” and aims to plant 10 million seedlings with partners that AcorHotels-Orbis supports in different parts of the world. You may be wondering: where does the money for the planting of the trees come from? The answer is simple: the money can be of your own contribution from you when you sleep at one of the hotels that are part of the project. If you do not change your towels every day, you already contribute to the planting of an oak seedling, from the saving that the hotel makes by washing less towels.

The result is one we are very proud of: 11 years of an exceptional partnership through which we have managed to plant in Transylvania, so far, 2,520,650 seedlings, in 119 localities in 8 counties. In all these years, in addition to the impressive numbers related to the planting of seedlings, more than 9,500 students and 1,800 volunteers were involved in the planting. The planting of the 2,520,650 seedlings contributes to the restoration of the forest fund in Transylvania and in the country. At the same time, the whole process involves and empowers young people in the field of environmental protection.

We want this partnership with AccorHotels-Orbis to continue for many more years to come, because we desperately need to restore nature to its beauty and richness, and to restore the natural balance of the ecosystems. The MET foundation team hopes that this successful partnership will encourage and motivate other companies in the country and abroad to support our efforts.

We thank the team at Pur Projet in France for advising, guiding and promoting our planting actions.

PUR Projet

PUR Projet dezvoltă pe scară largă proiecte agro-forestiere, de reîmpădurire și de conservare a pădurilor, împreună cu ferme și comunități. PUR Projet este o întreprindere socială specializată în soluții care creează un echilibru între activitățile economice și felul în care acestea afectează ecosistemele în care activează.

Din 2012, PUR Projet este partenerul tehnic, de implementare, coordonare și promovare al grupului Accor Hotels-Orbis. Mulțumim echipei de la Pur Projet din Franța pentru consilierea, îndrumarea și promovarea acțiunilor noastre de plantare.

Partners in pilot projects

Hewlett Packard Foundation
Wirtschaftskammer Liechtenstein
Südtiroler Schützenbund
Rompetrol – Programul Împreună pentru Fiecare
The Prince’s Charitable Foundation
Rothschild Foundation
One Tree Planted
Fundația Liviu Tudor
National Trust

Private persons who support the activity of MET

Jessica Douglas Home
Mary Walsh
Jeremy Amos
Noel Malcom
Liviu Tudor
Susanne & Burkhart Vohwinkel
Markus Schmitz
Valeria & Steven van Groningen
Cory & Amy Reid
Christoph Bergner

Colin Richards & Shropshire team
Steven & Operation Sabre Shropshire
Helmut Ignat
Mircea Liancă
Erika&Kurt Gruber
Daniel Boaje
Anca & Vlad Riedel
Ion Tudor
Sorin Moisa
Anamaria Stamp

Funding programs accessed by MET

Being an NGO, the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation can carry out and develop its activity only with funding sources attracted through different channels, the grants we apply for and manage to win through national and international competitions being vital for continuing our local community revitalization projects. Michaela, our colleague, is the one who prepares the projects, when the funding calls are launched. These applications are based on local strategies and action plans, which we have developed with community members and which reflect the real needs of the community.

So far, we have gained the trust and funding for several important projects from the following entities:

  • Ambassadorial Fund for the Conservation of Cultural Objectives of the U.S. Department of State
  • Project Management Unit of the Ministry of Culture
  • Partnership Foundation
  • Department for Interethnic Relations
  • Swiss Federal Council
  • EEA – the states of the European Economic Area
  • Foundation for the Development of Civil Society
  • Resource Center for Roma Communities
  • European Commission
  • United Nation Development Program
  • Citibank
  • Administration of the National Cultural Fund
  • Romanian Ministry of Youth and Sports
  • Order of Architects from Romania

Institutions and organizations we collaborate with

Sustainable partnerships with local and regional authorities, schools and NGOs are vital for action to ensure the unitary and integrated development of the region. Partnerships with universities, institutions and cultural and environmental organizations in the country and abroad are especially valuable for the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation, ensuring the multiplication of good practices developed over the years, through concrete actions and projects and continuous improvement of our activity.

  • Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Romania
  • General Consulate Sibiu of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Romania
  • Embassy of the United States of America in Romania
  • Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in Romania
  • Austrian Embassy in Romania
  • Council of Europe
  • FARO Convention Network
  • Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
  • European Commission
  • USAID
  • Romanian Ministry of Culture
  • Romanian National Heritage Institute
  • Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
  • Romanian Ministry of Tourism
  • Babeș Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca
  • Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies
  • „Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism from Bucharest
  • Transilvania University of Brașov
  • The hills of Transylvania
  • Federation for Transylvanian Heritage – TransylvaNET
  • WWF Romania
  • Adept Transylvania Foundation
  • Mioritics Association
  • UCIMR – The Union of Interpretive Creation of Musicians in Romania
  • Timișoara Intercultural Institute
  • Bistrița City Hall
  • Făgăraș County Intercommunity Development Association
  • Brașov County Council, Sibiu County Council, Mureș County Council
  • The communes of: Biertan, Bunești, Laslea, Moşna, Vânători.

We build on the past for a sustainable future

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