Monday, June 11, 2018
On the 9th of June
2018, our 7th General Members’ Assembly was held in the gorgeous city of Timişoara,
Romania. It was a productive GMA with a full programme where other key regional
NGO’s were welcomed as well. All Sallux members and some
representatives of local NGO’s and organisations where welcomed by Sallux board
member and director of the The Areopagus Center for
Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture, Mr. Silviu Rogobete in the city of Timişoara. In his welcome word
he focused on the importance of reaching out to the political leaders and
important thinkers in Romania in order to consolidate the position of Areopagus
and other NGO’s sharing equal values on a wider spectrum in the country. He mentioned how the
Centre of Areopagus has managed to start another arm in the past 10-12 years which
deals with social issues such as helping disadvantaged children, the founding
of two centers for training in psychotherapy, Christian biblical counseling and
more. The Salt & Light event proceeded with an
introduction about a survey made among Romanian NGO’s by Mr. Steve
Michmerhuizen. A Dutch scholar from the Christian Reformed Church in North
America who was happy to join the consultation. In this part of the programme
other regional key NGO’s were welcomed as well with the long-term aim of
strengthening their networking among like-minded organizations. Ultimately, all
participants of the Salt & Light event were given the opportunity to
explore the historical city of Timişoara. Mainly a visit to the Timişoara
Orthodox Cathedral in front of which the great Romanian revolution arose in
December 1989. A walk over the central square and other old parts of the city
followed as well. Sallux thanks all
board members and member organizations for their presence at the 7th annual
Salt & Light Event. We thank you for putting your heart and mind to keep
this constructive work of spreading Salt & Light going. With fondness we
remember the fruitful meeting and educational time spent together in the
beautifully aged and still growing city of Timişoara, Romania.
Mr. Steve Michmerhuizen works in Romania with Christian NGO organizations such
as Areopagus. He spoke about the main topics on which the survey had been
taken. Among others these occurred to be education, evangelical youth
development, human trafficking, prevention of abortion etc. “How active is your
organization involved?”, hence the primary question of the survey. He
encouraged NGO representatives to collaborate and share resources providing
some essential tools and answers to questions which had derived from the
results of the survey. Namely, notions Romanian NGO’s shared in common. Such as
faith, trust, friendship and transparency, how to recognize these qualities and
move from intention to collaboration. 