URL to article: https://www.iri.md/en/news/n-219.html


National discussion panel “Good Governance Practices in the North Region”

National discussion panel “Good Governance Practices in the North Region”

On August 5, the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) organised in Balti an event to discuss the topic of good governance at the local level. The workshop aroused keen interest among stakeholders and civil society in the North region. In this regard, the workshop gathered 43 participants, including 2 representatives of the territorial office of the State Chancellery in Balti, 28 representatives of various local NGOs and initiative groups, 6 mayors and 3 media representatives.

In the first part of the event, the iRi team together with several members of the initiative groups from 6 communities in Drochia and Riscani districts shared with the guests the information on the main achievements and lessons learned within the project “Citizens Serving Citizens”.

“We, the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi), have set out to initiate a process of change at the level of rural communities by promoting the concept and certain practices of good governance adjusted for rural environments. We are very pleased that the 6 NGO partners have been able to take another step forward in changing the perception and mind set of both local authorities and community members to engage and collaborate in order to improve the living standards at home.” – Ruslan Stanga, iRi independent expert, Rural Development Policy.

“In this project we managed to have the participatory local governance. The mayor promised us at the last local council meeting to provide from 5 to 100 thousand lei in the budget for competition of the projects on the village planning and beautification. We have several projects initiated at the moment and we are very satisfied. We have developed a civic culture among both pupils and parents.” – Aliona Ribac, representative of Speranta NGO, Gribova village, Drochia district.

“The iRi team has trained and guided both us as NGO representatives and the initiative group how to communicate with local public authorities. People have started to get to know each other and act for the benefit of community development.” – Aurora Serediuc, representative of Bashtina NGO, village of Balanul Nou, Riscani district.

The event was also attended by representatives of local authorities from Drochia and Riscani districts who spoke about the role of full involvement of authorities and their contribution to better governance in rural area:

“We come with one goal, to improve the living standards of the people in rural area. Drochia District Council has always welcomed and supported initiatives from civil society. When citizens are open in their turn, the local public administration becomes even more open.” – Iurie Ostavciuc, vice-president of Drochia district.

“By the presence and participation of mayors and civil society in this event you mark the interest and importance of the development of the communities you represent. It is very important for people to know what participation in public consultations is all about, and the district council intervenes in the shortest possible time to ensure a better future for citizens.” – Vasile Sicrieru, president of Riscani district.

The event highlighted another important result of the project “Creation of the Regional Platform for Good Governance Riscani and Consolidation of the Regional Platform for Good Governance Drochia” by means of which more than 20 local NGOs promote good governance through dialogue with local authorities in those 2 districts.

“This kind of panel discussion, unique at the moment in the Republic of Moldova, is very useful for all of us, it is an opportunity to share ideas with other rural communities. In Drochia district we have an open local public administration that has always supported all our ideas. We want to join efforts and use our ideas to make changes in the communities where we come from.” – Mariana Bruma, president of the Regional Platform for Good Governance, Drochia.

The next follow up step is to strengthen the newly created initiative groups and to continue the efforts to consolidate the dialogue between citizens and LPAs by directly promoting the good governance practices learnt, but also by generating new practices. The 2 civil society platforms, the information materials created as well as the increased capacities of the 6 graduating NGOs will continue the efforts started in the project.

The Citizens Serving Citizens project is iRi’s response to the poor governance situation in rural area of Moldova. The project is implemented by the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) and local partners within the grant programme “Development of civil society at the local level in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by the European Union and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The event was covered by the local media:

NordNews (in Romanian)
Nord-Media (in Romanian)

Short live from the event:

More photos from the event can be found on the Facebook page of the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi):


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