educlick: a social and circular economy workshop from Romania

educlick
Type of organisation or company
Country
Romania
City
Bucharest
Language for original content
Key Area
Project elaborated in partnership
Yes
Scope
Submitted by
Ateliere Fără Frontiere
Start/End date
Ongoing
Yes
Type of funding
Economic activity as a social enterprise based on circular economy
Costin Dragne
Description

educlick is a social and circular economy workshop that brings positive social impact with a unique business model that tackles three key areas:

  1. waste management: the project focuses on collecting WEEE and is an authorised collector
  2. reducing the educational gap between rural and urban areas in Romania by refurbishing and repairing the collected computers and donating them to schools in vulnerable areas
  3. reducing social injustice: every economic activity is performed by disadvantaged employees who are prevented by their personal situation from entering the labour market. educlick hires them through a two-year programme that helps them to develop social and professional skills enabling them to access better life opportunities.

educlick fights for social inclusion by giving a second chance to vulnerable groups that are often stigmatised by society and abandoned by public authorities from an early age (such as people with a prison record, drug addicts, minorities, victims of domestic abuse and children from foster homes). At educlick workshops, they can access a socio-professional integration programme that nutures their personal and professional development, offering them the opportunity to regain control over their life and happiness.

educlick also tackles educational injustice by providing refurbished digital equipment to schools in rural or poor urban areas where the school drop-out rate is extremely high. While tackling these social injustices, educlick also promotes a model for reusing and recycling digital equipment. This is particularly important as the recycling rate in Romania is only 14%.

Main results

During its 14 years of activity, educlick has helped more than 200 vulnerable employees to develop social and professional skills, donated refurbished computers to 23 000 schools and collected more than 1 700 tons of WEEE that were recycled or reused.

In 2021 alone, the project helped more than 30 000 students and teachers to access a better education, avoided 576 000 kg of CO2 emissions, and provided job opportunities for more than 30 vulnerable adults, five of whom are now already employed in the open job market.