Education

Lab for Skills is an educational initiative developed as a natural continuation of the Volunteering Academy program, aimed at developing essential skills of young people for the present and future. The project aims to extend the experience of the learning hub created through the Volunteering Academy directly to schools in Timiș County, offering non-formal education contexts based on practical experience, real projects and direct collaboration with educational institutions. The activities are built around relevant themes for young people, in accordance with their interests, needs and aspirations. Through this approach, Lab for Skills promotes lifelong learning and contributes to preparing students for the current demands of the labor market and society.

1Health își propune să construiască primul incubator de afaceri biotech din România, condus de comunitate. Un ecosistem de științe ale vieții de talie mondială care valorifică expertiza colectivă a profesioniștilor din diaspora pentru a cataliza descoperiri științifice majore și creștere economică, stabilind noi standarde în cercetare, inovație și succes în afaceri în cadrul peisajului global al științelor vieții. Prin unirea unor minți pasionate, resurse esențiale și facilități de ultimă generație sub o viziune comună pentru un hub biotech conectat în Timișoara, avem puterea de a revoluționa sectoarele IT și al științelor vieții, impulsionând inovația în sănătate și biotehnologie în întreaga Românie. Vezi proiectul

ZUMZET este o inițiativă de conservare și protejare a biodiversității locale din spațiul fostei Grădini Zoologice din Timișoara dezvoltată cu sprijinul Primăriei Timișoara, prin crearea unei infrastructuri educaționale vie-verde. În colaborare cu Fundația BOSCH, echipele VA & PLAI vor co-crea alături de experți în educație și arhitecți o structură care să găzduiască experiențe de învățare.

Volunteering Academy is by far one of the projects closest to our hearts. This is because volunteers are the foundation of all the other projects we are involved in and embody the spirit with which we started and have continued since 2006. Without them, and without all of us working together, it would have been almost impossible to achieve everything we have. Over time, more than 1,900 volunteers, aged between 15 and 72, have been involved and have learned, turning countless events and complex community transformation programs into reality. They have gained knowledge in many different fields, “by doing” and not just theoretically. They’ve been exposed to new perspectives, situations, and ideas. They’ve become more adaptable, more resilient. They’ve engaged in unique cultural and social contexts, transforming how they see and relate to the broader world. They’ve made new friends and, more than that, have started building a network of valuable people. They’ve met professionals from various fields and have, in turn, become professionals themselves. And they’ve given back a part of themselves—their time, their energy, their soul—to the community they live in. Once PLAI, always PLAI.

Innovation Portfolio Approach (IPA) este o metodă inovatoare care gestionează tranzițiile urbane prin portofolii de proiecte interconectate, în locul sprijinirii proiectelor izolate. Conectând creativitatea culturală cu sustenabilitatea existențială, IPA facilitează colaborarea între autorități, organizații culturale, universități și comunități, generând soluții integrate pentru provocări urbane complexe. Prin abordarea IPA, transformările urbane devin mai reziliente, adresând atât nevoile exterioare (tehnologie, mediu), cât și cele interioare (valori, viziuni colective). Este o invitație la co-creație și implicare, redefinind succesul prin impact comunitar și sustenabilitate pe termen lung​.

Future DiverCities is a four-year project funded by the European Commission through the Creative Europe program. Within this project, organizations from eight European cities are leading ecological and cultural regeneration initiatives for unused urban spaces. In Timișoara—one of the eight participating cities, alongside Berlin, Zagreb, Liepaja, Kuopio, Marseille, Florence, and Athens—we developed the GreenFeel Pavilion as part of the Future DiverCities project. GreenFeel is a temporary and adaptable space designed to celebrate and protect nature. The project exemplifies collaborative resource management and community engagement. The land where GreenFeel is located is privately owned, but we transformed it into a community meeting space. Here, different generations explore and nurture their creativity and civic engagement by learning through gardening and building with natural materials. This innovative approach addresses the needs of Timișoara’s residents while promoting a model for impactful and temporary community spaces. GreenFeel thus becomes an example of how cities like Timișoara can inspire new ways of thinking about urban spaces and their role in fostering community cohesion.

EUREKA - European Urban Regeneration Knowledge Alliance was a multi-year project that brought together four prestigious universities alongside grassroots organizations with expertise and excellence in urban regeneration and innovation, as well as the city councils of the host cities of these organizations. Coordinated by the University of Architecture in Venice, the PLAI Cultural Center collaborated with partners such as: West University of Timișoara in Romania, University of Deusto in Spain, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, Timișoara City Hall, Espacio Open, Pakhuis de Zwijger, LAMA, Melting Pro, and Trans Europe Halles. EUREKA (European Urban Regenerators Knowledge Alliance) was a three-year project designed to create a multidisciplinary curriculum co-developed by universities, cultural practitioners, and policymakers, aimed at shaping a new emerging profession: urban innovation. The project addresses the growing need in European cities to regenerate abandoned or deteriorating urban spaces, whether public or private. Traditional "top-down" urban planning approaches are no longer effective. Instead, today’s reality demands inclusiveness and social innovation, embracing the complexity of urban regeneration and involving a variety of stakeholders: public administrations, businesses, non-profit organizations, and citizens. This new professional profile aims to transform urban spaces collaboratively, ensuring the involvement of all parties in the process to achieve greater social impact. Urban innovators are already in high demand in the job market due to the rapid pace of urbanization and gentrification. The EUREKA project seeks to recognize this emerging profile and develop the best training program, involving a wide range of stakeholders in urban regeneration. The goal is to create education relevant to the labor market, making a real difference in the cities we live in.

SUBTOPIA was coordinated by Vitamine C in Leuven, Belgium, alongside eight partners from across Europe: Aurora in Budapest, Hungary; Studio Alta in Prague, Czech Republic; Kanapes in Riga, Latvia; Brunnenpassage in Vienna, Austria; AMBASADA in Timișoara, Romania; DreamTeam in Athens, Greece; Tandem in Berlin, Germany; and the Trans Europe Halles East Hub network. SUBTOPIA: Spaces for Change and Resilience focused on how cultural and creative spaces throughout Europe act as drivers of societal change and havens for resilience. The project aimed to empower both staff and youth within these cultural and creative spaces to become agents of change in their local environments and communities. By engaging with youth communities surrounding these centers, SUBTOPIA succeeded in translating complex realities into meaningful actions across generations, united by common goals: fostering cultural and social environments to create a positive impact in their communities. The project ran from 2021 to 2023, championing the role of cultural and creative spaces as catalysts for transformation and resilience across Europe.

The way we live with and consume poetry has undergone profound transformation. While poetry once found its place between the pages of books, today it thrives on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and in urban spaces. This shift represents a process of democratization, making poetry more accessible and connected to the daily realities of young people. However, it also highlights a new criterion for appreciation: the ability of poets to perform their verses, whether in front of a live audience or online. Rhythm, intonation, facial expressions, gestures, and setting have become elements that not only enhance the message of the poetry but also provide new keys to understanding it. From this observation emerged the project Strada Fără Nume (The Nameless Street). Its goal is to support young Romanian poets by connecting them with mentors from across Europe to collaboratively develop skills in public reading and artistic performance. Through interactive workshops and jam sessions, Strada Fără Nume creates a space for growth and experimentation. From the beginning, the project has been tied to the JazzTM festival, which has hosted spoken word stages, culminating in 2020 with a pilot event that opened new perspectives for this art form.

Cultural Creative Spaces and Cities was a transdisciplinary initiative that explored innovative ways to engage communities in urban development. With AMBASADA as the central hub for this project in Timișoara, we created a space for dialogue and collaboration where representatives of local administration, cultural and youth organizations, and community members came together to shape the future of the city. Over six months, through an urban laboratory, we hosted workshops, interviews, field visits, and co-creation sessions aimed at mapping opportunities for Timișoara residents to participate in urban development processes. The project resulted in proposals for local policies, tools for evaluating social impact, and strategies for transforming neighborhoods in sustainable and inclusive ways. This initiative demonstrated the power of collaboration between creative spaces and communities, highlighting AMBASADA’s role not just as a physical venue but as a platform for exchange and innovation. It became a place where ideas for more equitable and participatory cities came to life.

We are always excited to talk about Școala Babel (which has since become a high school), an educational project that came to life at AMBASADA with the support of the community and was founded by 9 families, including some of the founders of the PLAI Cultural Center. Școala Babel believes in the power of education that inspires and motivates, aiming to provide children with a friendly and creative environment where every voice is heard, and every talent is nurtured.

We created JAZZx as a music education project with the mission to be a platform dedicated to education, creativity, and openness, bringing together communities, breaking cultural barriers, and fostering authentic connections between people. Through this initiative, we aim to inspire and shape new generations, providing them with access to unique experiences that blend art, learning, and cultural dialogue. In a world of constant transformation, JAZZx becomes a space where music serves as a universal language, connecting established artists and emerging talents in an exchange of ideas and knowledge. It is not just a festival, but a meeting place for those who believe in the power of education and art to change perspectives and enrich communities.

PLAI Festival is more than just a music festival. In fact, it represents an innovative project for civic and cultural education, wrapped in the form of an artistic event. Since its inauguration in 2006 at the Banat Village Museum in Timișoara, the festival has grown organically, based on a community of volunteers dedicated to positive social change. Music serves as a pretext to promote and infuse values such as volunteerism, sustainability, and collaboration into the community. PLAI has become a meeting and celebration space for cultural diversity, supported by a vast network of non-profit organizations and creative entities, and continues to be a source of inspiration for participants of all ages to get involved and contribute to the well-being of the community.