Since 2009, in Craiova, we have grown a community that sees, listens to, and supports children and teenagers to learn meaningfully, discover their vocation, and become fulfilled and involved adults.
Because true education is not just about lessons and grades. It means relationship, curiosity, and meaning. It means a place where a child feels safe to ask, try, and grow.
We started with community initiatives and arrived at programs that build confidence, character, and belonging. Over the years, we have touched the lives of over 3,000 children and teenagers from Craiova and Dolj.
The answer to the initial question comes to life: YouthHUB — a space built with the community, where young people discover their passions, grow through mentorship, and learn to become involved citizens.
“Education does not start with systems, but with people. With children who need to be seen and heard.”
Maria Cotfasă, Claudia's French teacher
The person behind Close to YOUth. Educational leader. Social entrepreneur.
Claudia's story begins in Craiova and crosses different worlds, from childhood in a changing Romania, to education and international experience, to the decision to return home.
A seemingly simple meeting, in the 80s, with a British tourist, Benjamin McKay, who supported her family, sparked a clear desire: to learn foreign languages in order to be able to say “thank you”. This is how the passion for education was born — not as a subject, but as a relationship.
After university studies, a master's degree in Canada, and collaborations with UNESCO, the World Bank, or the European Commission, Claudia chose to invest everything she had accumulated in her home community. In 2009, she co-founded the Close to YOUth Association alongside Camelia Ciobanu, Maria Petre, and Narcisa Țiulete.
Starting from initiatives such as “I play and learn” or “We are precious”, the organization has developed large-scale programs such as Fly High English Club and the EROI Program, reaching the lives of over 3,000 children. Today, as part of the Coalition for Education and through partnerships with institutions in Great Britain (Brooke House College) and Australia, Claudia and her team are bringing to Craiova an educational model based on curiosity and meaning.
“I do not believe in the school that forces, but in the school that accompanies. Where the child leaves with more clarity about who they are and what they want to become.”
After years of working directly with children and teenagers, we know one thing clearly: young people need continuity, safe spaces, and adults to stay with them. The next step is not more, but better.
We are building a space in Craiova dedicated exclusively to young people — an educational and community hub where learning, mentoring, and personal development happen naturally, in a safe and friendly environment.
We develop programs that emphasize critical thinking, emotional intelligence, communication, and responsibility. Less pressure, more understanding of the world and one's own identity.
We want a community in which young people are not just beneficiaries, but active participants. Volunteering, civic initiatives, and projects built together with them, not for them.
The future we are building is not about buildings or numbers, but about young people who know who they are, have the courage to choose, and feel they belong to a community.
