The Romanian Association for International Cooperation and Development / Asociația Română pentru Cooperare și Dezvoltare Internațională (ARCADIA) is an independent and non-profit newly established organization dedicated to international development related issues.
ARCADIA was founded in 2008 as a Working Group of the Global Romanians and Young Professionals Society (GRSPSociety). During the GRSPSociety 2009 Annual Conference at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Boston, a workshop was dedicated to ARCADIA’s development.
In 2010, ARCADIA was established as a separate and legal entity.
ARCADIA is the first Romanian professional association in the field of international development, intended to provide a neutral space for dialogue for everyone interested in our area of activity.
Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007 has brought, along with the potential for increasing Romania’s relevance as an actor on the international arena, several significant challenges related to Romania’s role as an emerging donor state. In this context, various actors, from the public administration (such as the Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs), NGOs (such as the Romanian Platform for NGDOs – FOND), academia, to the mass-media, etc., are tackling the new challenges. However, a neutral and interactive space, where personal development and debates are possible beyond the institutional affiliation, was lacking for those engaged or interested in development cooperation.
For this, ARCADIA targets those individuals willing to belong to a professional association and to debate on international development themes, irrespective of their professional affiliation: government, civil society, academia, business or mass media.