Equipping NGOs with computers and fighting against social exclusion in Rumania

The Air Liquide Foundation is helping to reduce the IT gap in Rumania by supporting Rumanian NGOs that help people find work and housing.

Ateliers Sans Frontières - logo Since June 2008, Ateliers Sans Frontières France (ASF) has been fighting against social exclusion by offering a chance at employment for people in France, Rumania and Morocco.

In Rumania, the IT gap is huge: 71% of all Rumanian households do not know how to use a computer. Indeed, new information and communication technologies are relatively absent from Rumanian classrooms and most computer hardware is concentrated in the large cities.

These facts lie behind the creation of the ASSOCLIC project by Ateliers Sans Frontières. The basic goal is to respond to the needs of society by giving recycled computer equipment to NGOs in Rumania that help people in need find work and housing. ASF offers training at its workshop in Bucharest that enables graduates to find work as IT repair experts.

To date, 600 computers have been brought back to life and distributed to nearly 100 Rumanian community organizations. And this means that 3 000 young people will have access to new information and communication technologies. The Air Liquide Foundation financed the purchase and delivery of equipment for the project.