Description of organisation

Semper Musica Association Romania is the most active NGO in the country in the HIV/AIDS prevention field, being the only association in Romania funded by the MTV Staying Alive Foundation US/UK. The organization main aim is to prevent new HIV infections among youth in Romania through non-formal education projects, events and educational-informative materials. At the same time, the organization is organizing national projects having the goal to promote voluntary service and the importance of the teens involvement in the life of their communities and educational non-formal projects for decreasing the level of discrimination faced by the most vulnerable. Semper Musica Association Romania works mainly with high school students, with ages between 15 to 19 years old, especially with the ones studying in high schools based in rural arias or small cities. Our targeted high schools are industrial, technological, auto, agricultural. As for the regular activities carried every year, the association is organizing non-formal HIV education-information-prevention sessions based on stand-up comedy elements in 15 to 20 high schools in rural arias, reaching up to 7000 high school teens. At the same time, the organization implements the first HIV education-information-prevention CARAVAN in Romania addressed to youth based in rural arias. The CARAVAN, through non-formal educational games with an HIV thematic, has the goal to decrease the number of new HIV infections among youth and increase their level of knowledge regarding the HIV ways of transmission, methods of contraception and the correct use of a condom. Apart from these, Semper Musica Romania and its Tecuci branch work with teens volunteers which are involved in different actions organized locally or at national level. In 5 years from its existence, Semper Musica Association Romania informed over 30.000 high school teens from national level, over 300 teachers regarding tools to use for organizing themselves HIV prevention sessions, distributed over 45.000 free condoms and counselled online over 2.500 teens from national level. Semper Musica Association Romania has also a branch in Tecuci, Galati county, where the Moldavian organization organizes different non-formal educational projects addressed to the local teens regarding the importance of being involved in the community, of voluntary service, active citizenship, protection of the environment and respect for the human rights and pupils’ rights. Currently, the Semper Musica branch is one of the most active NGO in the Galati county. In 2016, Semper Musica Association Romania won First Place ot the Romanian Civil Society Gala for its efforts in the HIV prevention field and in 2018, IIIrd place at the same Gala. In the past the organization received grants from funders such as MAC AIDS FUND US, Google Romania, Jenssen, Abbvie, FDSC – NGO Fund, EEA Grants, Civic Innovation Fund and Swiss-Romanian Bilateral Cooperation Fund, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, ViiV, etc. In 2018, Semper Musica Association Romania had been invited to be part of a panel during the International AIDS Conference from Amsterdam.

Inclusion topics

This organisation is willing to involve volunteers who face situations which make their participation in activities more difficult, from the following categories for different types of project:

• Cultural differences
• Economic obstacles
• Social obstacles