Already a good tradition, annually in November, the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) organizes the event of the year, the Congress of Young Rural Activists. This year it was already its 4th edition, and it took place on November 10, 2023, under the slogan “Young people inspiring young people”. The Congress brought together 85 people (young leaders, LPA representatives, youth workers, local NGOs, etc.) from 67 communities, representing youth sector experts from 22 districts across the country.
The aim of the event was to highlight nationally good practices in youth empowerment in villages and towns of the country, based on the experience and lessons learned from the YEP (Youth Empowerment Program) and IntegrACT GO (Integration through Action) projects implemented over the last 7 years.
“During the event we discussed improving the quality of life of young people in rural areas, those young people who have generated civic engagement actions, policy shaping actions that derive from the vision of the young people… We are glad that young people have been able to bring out a new approach, which is different from the one focused only on sports.” – Tatiana Cosuleanu, the iRi executive director.
Mrs. Laura Hruby, Chargé d’Affaires, representing the U.S. Embassy in Moldova, and Mr. Vadim Smantana, the deputy director of the National Youth Agency, came with a message to encourage young people at the beginning of the event.
“For four years, the United States has been a strong supporter of the Youth Empowerment Program – YEP, which aims to provide rural communities with the necessary skills and experience to promote the needs of their citizens. This program empowers young people and gives them the resources to make real changes in their communities that will enable building a safe, democratic and prosperous Moldova where Moldovan people will want to stay and develop their communities.” – Laura Hruby, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy in Moldova.
“Beyond the legal framework, there is real life in the countryside. Local authorities, academic community, entrepreneurs, young people face various problems at the local level. The involvement of the Institute for Rural Initiatives is significant in this respect, both in terms of raising awareness of the role of local authorities in engaging society in community development and involving young people in creating a level of well-being locally and nationally, for the country as a whole. The Institute for Rural Initiatives has also particularly contributed to making proposals for adjusting the legal framework referring to youth, the processes taking place in the youth sector, local public authorities of level 1 and 2, and the community in general. I am glad that you are disseminating success stories of your community at this event, which more people need to know about.” – Vadim Smantana, deputy director, National Youth Agency.
All the participants of “Young people inspiring young people” workshop were divided into 5 groups, in which they discussed successes and challenges in the youth sector of the Republic of Moldova, including the issues related to specific mechanisms of local implementation of the public policies existing in the youth sector.
The young people presented several success stories of youth from the beneficiary communities, about the actions initiated at the local level, sending a message of encouragement and motivation to act for other young people.
“This project taught us to be responsible, organized and disciplined. During these 4 years we have understood that the voice of each young person matters. The project took us out of our comfort zone, taught us how to develop strategies, plans of action, but also how to write petitions to the Mayor’ Office for the budgeting youth activities. We are all very glad to have such programs that directly empower young people in rural areas, help to develop their skills and encourage them to contribute to community civic engagement.” – Tatiana Tronciu, youth coordinator, the southern region.
“We are glad that such events are organized, because they inspire young people. From my experience, I have noticed that it is very important for young people to be persistent, to contribute to community development and to inspire others, as well as to build partnerships with local stakeholders. It is more difficult to work with Mayor’s Office at the beginning, but we are glad that we managed to create a close relationship with the LPA and now it supports us in all our initiatives. A piece of advice to young people would be: start small and you will achieve big results.” – Stas Cebotari, leader of the initiative group, Suri village, Drochia district.
The special guest for this panel discussion was the Vice-Mayor of the city of Bacau, Romania, who shared with the young people attending the event his experience as a civic activist and his way from civic blogger to vice-mayor of Bacau city.
“I started my activity in the public sphere 15 years ago, writing about local problems in the city of Bacau. Then I joined the students’ council, I ran as candidate at the county level and began writing projects. I had many initiatives related to civic engagement. I managed to convince the then-mayor about the need for a Youth Centre and youth funds, and now we have 2 Youth Centers in the city. Our power, the power of the local community, is that we are active, we make our voice heard. I encourage you to be there all the time and to put pressure on your local elected representatives to make them act in your best interests.” – Cristian Ghinghes, vice-mayor of Bacau municipality, Romania.
In this regard, this year “The Congress of Young Rural Activists” was rather a meeting of young people from various rural communities where they presented their own experiences and ideas to inspire young people and youth sector experts to act more targeted in the process of implementing different youth initiatives at the local level.
At the end, the participants came up with a series of proposals and suggestions to be submitted to central public authorities and development partners.
The event is organized by the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) in the framework of the projects “Youth Empowerment Program” in partnership with GLCAP, Ohio, USA, with the support of the US Department of State, and “IntegrAct GO: Rural youth disseminating success stories in the youth sector”, financially supported by the National Youth Agency within the Grant Program 2023.
To see the photo album from the event, please click on the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) Facebook page: