A Public Awareness Campaign initiated by Asociatia Ovidiu Rom and Telefonul Copilului,
in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and the National Agency for Child Protection

April 2, 2009
Project summary
As school abandonment continues to rise, Ovidiu Rom, Telefonul Copilului, the Ministry of Education, the National Child Protection Authority, and UNICEF have joined forces to make education a top priority on the public agenda.  The purpose of “Scoala te face mare” is to increase school participation of impoverished children. 
In the first year “Scoala te face mare” will showcase Romanian celebrities to get viewers’ attention and inspire people to take action. The first two Public Service Announcements will feature Andreea Marin and Cabral.  Major media companies have agreed to run the spots pro-bono on their channels and in their print publications. The message will also be communicated with the help of corporate partners via their products and placement of posters in high traffic venues.

Telefonul Copilului, which has been running Romania’s child welfare hotline for seven years, will answer calls, informing parents of their rights and obligations towards their children’s education, and communicating to the proper authorities reported cases of children who are not in school. The data collected by the hotline will be used to reinforce policy recommendations.

The Ministry of Education will facilitate the communication of the message in schools and emphasize through an official notification teachers’ responsibilities in preventing school abandonment and making their classrooms welcoming for children at risk. The National Child Protection Authority will help disseminate the message in city halls and child protection departments around the country, and enforce social workers’ responsibility in making sure all school age children are indeed attending school.
Ovidiu Rom conceived this campaign as the beginning of a long term initiative to draw the attention of both the public and the government to this increasing education gap – and to provide help to poor people for whom the Romanian school system presents daunting financial and social challenges.
Objectives

Project justification
Between 2001 and 2008 the school abandonment rate almost tripled for primary school, and quadrupled for grades 5-8 . This alarming trend is not well known by the general public and has been getting little attention in the press.   The main reasons for school drop-outs are severe poverty, parents’ low levels of schooling, lack of information regarding their legal rights and obligations, and lack of teacher training regarding the special needs of impoverished children.
Most Romanians are aware that there are many children who drop out of school before completing the mandatory 10 grades, but very few people realize that they, too, could contribute to solving this problem.  The future development of Romania’s economy and society in general, as well as the way it is perceived abroad, depend greatly on high educational attainment of the overall population. School abandonment perpetuates multigenerational poverty, which perpetuates crime and social disfunction.  These in turn create negative stereotypes, both within Romania and abroad.
Campaign Components

 

Saatchi & Saatchi has designed the TV spots and other campaign materials pro-bono.  Media Pro has agreed to show the PSA spots on all its channels and to run the ads in its print publications.  The National Audio-Visual Council (CNA) has approved the spots to be broadcast as public service announcements.  We also expect to reach agreements with the following media organizations for production assistance, broadcast of PSAs and/or ad placement in publications:  TVR, Realitatea/Catavencu, Antena 1, Romania Libera and Ringier.

 

2) Posters:  Posters will link to the TV/radio campaign and will include pertinent information directed to parents (enroll children early in school or kindergarten), students (help friends or neighbors go to school), teachers (highlight their crucial importance in children’s development) and the general public (report cases to Telefonul Copilului).
Posters will be sent to:

3) Message on consumer products & communication materials

4)  Website:   www.fiecarecopilinscoala.ro
Production Partners
The following individuals and companies have made significant in-kind contributions to the production of campaign materials and Public Service Announcements:

Timeline 2009