The STRONG Coalition, founded by Ruhama Foundation and other local NGOs, organized Wednesday 21^st of November 2007 a public debate on social services issues. The public debate was attended by representatives of the City Hall, Local Council and NGOs from the social field, as well as by beneficiaries of the services provided by NGOs.

Participants analyzed the Report regarding needs assessment of the vulnerable groups from Oradea, coordinated and elaborated by conf. univ. dr. Adrian Hatos, and the report regarding funding mechanisms of social services in Oradea. "Bihor is the place with the most dynamic field in the country. Most of the NGOs active in social field are concentrated in Bihor County. There is much of professionalism here", stated Mrs. Corina Dragomirescu, the debate's moderator. After several beneficiaries affirmed their satisfaction with the social services provided by various foundations, the representatives of the local administration shared their view.

"The needs are much higher than our capacity to respond but the City Hall salutes the NGOs' initiative and is open to involve them in the decision process. It is not a major difficulty for the local budget but you should make an analysis of the efficiency of the associations and foundations in providing these services" has spoken the mayor, Mr. Petru Filip. He also requested NGOs providing social services to submit a common proposal with the necessary budget. The vice-mayor, Mrs. Rozalia Biro, proposed the inventory of the social services provided in Oradea in order to edit an annual catalogue for citizens. Moreover, the Coalition has been invited to attend the working meetings of the Commission for Work, Health, Family, Social Protection and Child Protection of the Local Council. The third proposal made by Mrs. Biro was to engage the executive to submit a proposal to the Local Council requesting to include the Social domain among the funding domains under the Law 350.

source: Jurnal Bihorean