NEA – Romania

NEA an acronym for North Eastern Architect is an association with the aim of improving urban life through architecture, design practices and educational programs. The organization is an NGO and was founded in 2013.
The main objectives of NEA are:
• Promoting of creative industries in multidisciplinary practices, projects and teams

• Increasing awareness towards the benefits of planning and design thinking and mind-set • Mediating the relationship between the city and its’ inhabitants

The association is composed of 7 cross-sectoral professionals: architects, trainers, thinkers and has been collaborating in the past with institutions in adult education and academic partners.
Our work is mainly composed of events and small urban interventions. The events are trainings for the local community. We partner with various NGOs to deliver talks on different subjects: digital architecture and design thinking. The trainings are for up to 20 participants and happen in Iași and surrounding cities.

What are the activities and experience of the organisation in the areas relevant for this project? What are the skills and/or expertise of key persons involved in this project?

The work done so far by NEA which are relevant to this project can be summed up in the following areas of expertise:
• Organizing information and creating visual materials of intellectual value for educational purposes: info-graphics, canvases, templates. Materials that can help trainers in better compose the workshops and courses that they give.
• Facilitating, organizing and helping with trainings in Design Thinking and Graphical Facilitation, in a creative and experiential manner with non-formal methodologies.
• With unorthodox, artistic and cutting edge technical approach we are able to generate reforming new ideas for the educational field
Our motivations in the project:
• Developing further experience in the fields of soft skills, coaching & mentoring as pathways in adult education
• Discovering new ways of developing ideas with a diverse team (with which we already started to brainstorm and experiment new ideas)
• Contributing to a social and professional change and providing a special field of digital, visual and gamification-related expertise in a project with great impact
• Fostering collaboration between organizations and countries, supporting the values of the EU by taking part in an Erasmus process

Key personnel:

ALEX SESCIOREANU is a founder and president of NEA. He is a licensed architect and qualified trainer based in Romania. For the past few years, he was participating in various International architectural competitions and had the chance to be part of interdisciplinary teams.
In recent years, he has been doing events and workshops that help the local community with a better understanding of architecture and design.
His experience with being editor & chief of NEA magazine project where he written articles, did the layouts and coordinated the team can be of use in the making of the projects’ printed materials, graphical elements and visuals.
RAMONA CALIN is a future thinker concerned with climate change and the NGO sector.
During her work as a Development Associate with the European External Action Service she facilitated various events and workshops. Also, the time as a policy and strategy officer with the GCF (Green Climate Fund) makes her an asset for the innovation side of the team in the project.
VALENTIN GHEORGHIAN is a young and experienced architect working in London. He has digital marketing experience, management, and his problem-solving skills make him a a valuable member of this team.
IVONA NITA is a designer based in Romania. The soft skills she acquired in the work so far give her a unique approach to design and aesthetics that recommends her for this project. They can provide help with:
• Curating, editing and creating the written and visual materials for intellectual assets.
• Expertise in aesthetics
• Facilitation in trainings
• Innovating visual products for digital platforms and simulation
• Testing new digital platforms and trends
• Initiating communication with software developers and share innovative ideas and recommendations