Centrul pentru Democrație și Bună Guvernare was established in 2024, following the growing success of the Politica la minut Instagram page, which began as a volunteer-based initiative. The Center’s purpose is to bring together young Romanian professionals from diverse policy fields and provide them with a space to publish accessible, well-informed analyses on issues relevant to public life in Romania.
Politica la minut was launched in 2020 by two Romanian political science students at the time, who set out to explain civic topics to young audiences in a more accessible way. Politica la minut received first prize at the 2025 edition of the Superscrieri Gala, in the Readers’ Choice category for youth‑focused content on citizenship, recognizing the initiative’s contribution to public information and discussions.
CONTEXT
Social media plays an increasingly important role in how young people access information. According to the 2025 European Union Social Media Survey, 69% of young people rely on Instagram as their main source of information.
In 2024, RAF started to explore new approaches to supporting civic awareness among youth, including by funding Centrul pentru Democrație și Bună Guvernare to create clear, reliable, and timely civic content on their Politica la minut Instagram page.
During the pilot phase, funded by RAF between 2024-2025, the organization produced 16 explanatory posts reaching about 1.3 million young people and four policy briefs featured in more than 200 national media appearances. The pilot confirmed that young audiences are interested in reading clear, relevant, and easy to understand civic content.
By October 2025, Politica la minut grew by 132%, reaching 181,000 Instagram followers — over 80% aged 18–34 — and expanded its total reach from 1 million to 13 million users.
STRATEGY
Building on the pilot initiative, the new program continues to support Centrul pentru Democrație și Bună Guvernare in making civic information accessible to young people — helping them better understand their role in the community, how public systems function, and how civic processes shape everyday life.
Program activities combine online engagement with direct, in-person interactions with young people. At the same time, it helps the organization build its long‑term capacity to create clear, reliable, data‑informed, and accessible information tailored to young audiences.
The program will support three components:
- Online component: explanatory posts, stories, and reels on topics related to democracy, civic engagement, civil society, philanthropy, and media literacy; a national survey assessing youth interests; and the development of policy briefs.
- Offline component: workshops on civic topics for young people.
- Organizational capacity-building component: an internship program and support to strengthen editorial capacity and improve the organization’s long-term sustainability.
EXPECTED RESULTS
- 42 explanatory posts, stories, and reels produced.
- Over 200,000 followers reached through the Politica la minut Instagram page.
- 4 policy briefs developed.
- 300 young people, primarily from rural and small to medium-sized communities, engaged directly.