Savez udruga Rojca or Rojc Associations Alliance (RAA)

Savez udruga Rojca or Rojc Associations Alliance (RAA) is a network of CSOs located in The Community Center Rojc in Pula that brings associations together, presents and represents their interests, promotes mutual cooperation and committedly acts within the community. Its goals are to build a distinctive network based on collaboration and joint programs and to improve the management of The Center Rojc based on participative public-civic partnership. RAA manages a unique gathering space for civil society organisations, encouraging their development under a common roof in a place of revived cultural heritage while also hosting numerous of cultural and social events. Situated in an former military building dating back to the 1870s, today The Center Rojc is a host to 110 associations from nine different fields (culture, sports, psychosocial and health care, children and youth, people with special needs, environment protection, technical culture, national minorities, and other), and represents an excellent example of CSO's role in social and cultural development of the community, in order to secure usage of public infrastructure in more inclusive, accessible and sustainable ways. The Center Rojc is recognized as the public meeting point and place for public dialogue. It is the remarkable productive place of independent culture in the city and civil society center. RAA is a part of European independent cultural centers network Trans Europe Halles (TEH) where participates in the executive board. In 2017 RAA organized international TEH conference in The Center Rojc with a title: "Culture and Sharing Communities" (http://teh.rojc.eu/). RAA coordinates Open Platform Rojc, works on a development of community media (Radio Rojc and newspaper Veznik), supports social entrepreneurship initiatives in the Centre, organizes events, manages the only two common public spaces in the Center: The Living Room and Infopoint, both of which serve for meliorating the communication with users and visitors of the Centre, and organization of various events designed for general public free of charge. Since 2015 conducts EVS projects and develops educational programs. As a part of Erasmus+ strategic partnership project, RAA realised educational module on Participatory Governance that is publicly available on The Origin of Spaces on-line platform: http://toolbox.originofspaces.com The main target groups with which RAA is working are: Civil Society Organisations, The Center Rojc visitors and users that include kids, youths, adults, artists, people with disabilities, national minorities etc.; also work with local authorities on development of participatory governance model in the center.