On December 9, the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) organized a virtual roundtable in order to discuss existing approaches to youth issues in Moldova with a focus on things that inspire and bring positive change in the youth field.
The event was attended by representatives of 17 District Councils, 20 rural LPAs and 11 local NGOs from 30 partner communities, as well as experts from the Republic of Moldova and the United States of America.
During the two sessions, the participants discussed:
- Practical methods of approaching obstacles in the mechanism of implementing youth policies at local level: What kind of obstacles? Where are they located? and
- Examples of good practices to be replicated: islands of small success. How to move forward? What do we start with?
“One of the biggest obstacles in the development of young people at the local level is the lack of a youth specialist who would lobby the young people’s interests in rural areas.” – Mariana Bruma, local facilitator, Drochia town.
“After two years when I became mayor and focused more on infrastructure projects in the community, I realized that young people are lagging behind, but they are the future of the community. That is why, together with the team, we thought of different methods in how to attract young people in the process of developing the community. Thus, we delegated two young people to be part of the Local Council and to represent the youth voice in the community.” – Eduard Sturza, mayor of Geamana village, district of Anenii Noi.
“We understood that it is very important to involve young people in community life from an early age. That way, they will be more likely to succeed.” – Mark Lamoncha, CEO of Humtown Products, Indiana, USA.
“You can’t just keep young people with words, without involving them in the most direct sense. In fact, it is essential to give young people a real chance to get involved in the process. People often think that young people are not serious or have no serious ideas about the future. But, in fact, young people have something to contribute, but for that we have to help them prepare their visions. There are many surveys that show that young people are not involved locally because they are not asked or invited to get involved.” – Deb Martin, Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Another topic discussed within the online meeting was the importance of cooperation with the business environment, the mayor’s office and the associative sector in the development of the youth sector at local level.
“The partnership in 3 sectors is very important in the development of young people in the community. The business sector can support young people’s ideas and initiatives. Young people have many ideas, so they can be part of the Local Council. We noticed that young people can be involved at organizations level, at community level. The main thing is to start with small steps, with the smallest project and to involve the young people, so that they could be proud that they worked with you, that they worked at LPA level and that they brought great successes in their communities. They love to be involved in volunteer work.” – Lance Willard, local manager, Columbiana, Ohio, USA.
“Although this is a successful practice in the United States, in the Republic of Moldova it is just a beginning, but I think we are moving towards this: towards a solid and systemic partnership between youth organizations, local authorities and the business environment. It seems to me the most sustainable.” – Ruslan Stanga, independent expert, iRi.
At the end of the event Tatiana Cosuleanu, iRi executive director, said:
“We are happy to talk today about identifying solutions to the obstacles that exist in the youth sector but also about exchanging best practices to encourage young practitioners, young people who are trying to get involved in changing things at the local level and government representatives to advance the development agenda of the youth sector, especially in small communities. iRi together with its local partners will continue to identify solutions for young people in rural areas, especially solutions related to the promotion and replication of existing models/successful practices.”
The activity is part of “Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP)” implemented by the Institute for Rural Initiatives in Moldova (iRi) in partnership with the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP), Ohio, USA, with financial support from the US Department of State.