Abstract
This chapter explores the spatial and social features of Romanians’ networking and volunteering to cope with the societal crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania. We explored how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced civil society to take initiative, both in central and peripheral areas, in assisting vulnerable and marginalised groups. The main objectives were to identify, analyse and then discuss the differences at the county and regional levels regarding the initiatives from the civil society (regular citizens, volunteers, associations, non-governmental organisations) and explore how networking was developed in the regions of Romania. We considered the county level. The database was created through online research, for the period March 2020-October 2021. Results were analysed considering the development and the historical regions of Romania. Besides the quantitative analysis, we discussed the factors influencing and explaining regional disparities. We assessed how geographical marginality was addressed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions underline the crucial relevance of the civil society for coping with the COVID-19 crisis in Romania, in a context of geographical and social marginality, and of drastic changes induced in Romanian society.
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Ilovan, OR., Ciupe, A.I., Horváth, C. (2022). Addressing Geographical Marginality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania: Civil Society, Volunteerism, and Networking. In: Fuerst-Bjeliš, B., Nel, E., Pelc, S. (eds) COVID-19 and Marginalisation of People and Places. Perspectives on Geographical Marginality, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11139-6_6
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