A Bootcamp for Leaders in Social Work
We invite you to apply to Leading with Compassion – Cultivating Care in Challenging Times, a bootcamp designed for leaders from social and socio-medical organisations across Central, Eastern, and Southeast Europe.
Organised by CONCORDIA Academia as part of the regional NGO Academy 2025-2026 programme, the bootcamp brings together 20 leaders from 10 organisations (in pairs from each organisation) across multiple countries for an intensive experiential learning experience.
Overview
Bootcamp title: Leading with Compassion: Cultivating Care in Challenging Times
Dates: 1-3 July 2026 (arrival at noon on 1st of July, departure after lunch on 3rd of July)
Location: Roua Garden, Buftea, Romania (at 15 km from Henri Coandă International Airport and 25 km from Bucharest city centre)
Working language: English (minimum B2)
Online follow-up (3 hours online | October 2026): A guided online session three months after the Bootcamp, designed to help participants turn insight into ongoing practice. Structured peer sharing: what you tried, what worked, where you got stuck. It is both a check-in and a deepening, and it keeps the cohort connected as a peer-support network beyond the bootcamp itself.
This intensive bootcamp explores what it means to lead with compassion in demanding social and socio-medical environments. It focuses on both organisational and personal dimensions of leadership, including:
- Compassionate leadership and its relevance in today’s sector
- Organisational self-care as a leadership practice, not a luxury
- Structural tensions, risks, and biases that make compassionate leadership difficult in practice
- Team leadership, coordination, and governance in organisations working with vulnerable program participants
- Strategy and innovation for sustainable, care-centred organisations
Benefits for participants:
- Reflect honestly on their own leadership practice in a safe, non-judgemental environment, outside the city, allowing space for genuine disconnection Understand the principles of compassionate leadership and assess their relevance for their own organisational context
- Recognise the signs and dynamics of compassion fatigue at individual, team, and organisational levels and respond to them
- Strategies to work with the inner resistance that make compassionate leadership hard to sustain
- Exchange experiences and learn alongside leaders from multiple countries who understand the realities and pressures of social impact work
- Professional connections and potential partners for future initiatives in the sector
- A renewed sense of what is possible for your role, your team, and your organisation
Who can apply
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Applications must be submitted by two persons from the same organisation, ideally in complementary or equivalent leadership roles (e.g. team leader + coordinator, manager, etc.)
- Direct or indirect work with high-vulnerability groups, including (but not limited to): children and youth at risk, elderly care, palliative care, socio-medical services, human rights work, domestic violence, anti-trafficking, refugee support
- Minimum B2 level of English (all sessions are delivered in English)
- Both participants must be nominated and supported by their organisation
- Commitment to applying the learnings at organisational level after the bootcamp is required
- Applications are open to leaders from the following countries: Romania, Austria, Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Albania (priority countries) or Portugal, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Italy (extended network)
Costs and coverage
Covered by CONCORDIA Academia:
- Full participation in the 3-day bootcamp
- Accommodationat Roua Garden, Buftea, Romania
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and coffee breaks during the programme
- Training materials, facilitation, and programme activities
- Bucharest Airport ↔ venue transfers
Not covered:
- International or domestic transport to and from Romania
- Personal expenses (e.g. alcohol, additional drinks, laundry, personal purchases, etc.)
How to apply
Complete the application form: https://forms.gle/5dsGw3WAEG8VyXCfA
In your motivation, please include:
- Why are you applying to this programme at this point in your work and leadership journey
- Why this topic matters now for your organisation and what challenges would you like to bring into the room with us
- How you intend to apply and multiply the learning within your organisation after the bootcamp
Timeline
- Application deadline: 5 June 2026, 23:59 EEST
- Selection results: 8 June 2026
- Bootcamp: 1-3 July 2026
- Online follow-up session: September/October 2026
Contact
Cătălina Țugulschi – Project Manager, CONCORDIA Academia catalina.tugulschi@concordia-academia.ro
About the programme
Leading with Compassion: Cultivating Care in Challenging Times is a Community-Led Event (CLE) organised within the regional NGO Academy 2025-2026 programme.
