From 22 to 23 of March 2024, the iRi team, together with mayors, local council secretaries, teachers, librarians and active citizens from 5 iRi partner communities: village of Roscani, Anenii Noi district; village of Meseni, Rezina district; village of Mitoc, Orhei district; village of Zgurita, Drochia district, and village of Marculesti, Floresti district, – made a study visit to Romania.
This visit was focused on learning and sharing experiences in rural development, inter-community partnerships and projects on involving citizens in community life. The visit was made to two communes in Iasi County, and namely to the Mayor’s Office of Miroslava commune and the Mayor’s Office of Holboca commune. The mayors of these communes, Dan Nita and Neculai Pamfil, shared the experiences and challenges faced, as well as lessons learned in the process of local governance, focusing in particular on obtaining access to non-reimbursable funds and implementing projects for modernization and Europeanisation of communities for the benefit of citizens.
During the visit, the delegation visited a number of projects developed by these Mayor’s Offices, including schools, kindergartens, crèches, sports halls and gyms and cultural centers. The impressive achievements of these communities provided inspiration and ideas for similar projects in communities across Moldova.
“I am very happy that our commune has been selected to be presented as a model of good practice in local governance allowing to learn from our successes. In turn, we were delighted to discover examples of good governance from across the Prut, from which we, the Romanian authorities, can also draw inspiration.” – Neculai Pamfil, mayor, Holboca commune, Iasi County.
The Moldovan delegation also had the opportunity to present best practices in civic engagement, transparent budgeting and improved communication between citizens and local public authorities.
“Implementing practical democratic tools for an open and transparent budgeting process was a priority for those 5 Local Public Administrations in 2023, and the results were seen in gaining trust of the Local Government by the residents.” – Natalia Timciuc, project coordinator, iRi.
The contacts established during this visit opened doors for possible future collaboration between these two countries.
“We want to take over good practices that are being implemented here in Romania, but also to create joint partnerships for economic and social cooperation between the border regions of Romania and Moldova. In such a way we will address common challenges and take advantage of cross-border opportunities to improve the living conditions of people.” – Alexei Cojocaru, mayor, Mitoc village, Orhei district.
During the visit, a meeting at Iasi County Council was held, within which the President Costel Alexe and the Vice President Marius Sorin Danga discussed the instruments and mechanisms of inter- and extra-community partnerships for the benefit of citizens.
“My response to the invitation received from the Institute for Rural Initiatives is ”present” and ready to share with participants some of the challenges of public administration in our country. We talked about how Iasi County Council is putting into practice our goal of transforming it into a true ‘Hub of Partnerships’ and we responded to the challenges launched by the participants.” – Marius Sorin Danga, Vice President of Iasi County Council.
The openness of local public authorities in Iasi County in sharing best practices was highly appreciated by the delegation, it contributed to the development of the vision of empowering communities in Moldova.
The study visit was facilitated by Alexandrina Dinga from the CIVICA Association, Iasi County:
“Villages in Moldova and Romania have a lot in common, and this cooperation between our countries is essential for our progress towards the European Union”.
The visit was also broadcasted by the visited communities from Iasi County:
Facebook Primaria Comunei Miroslava
Facebook Neculai Pamfil
Facebook Marius Sorin DANGA
This visit is part of the project “RurAct: Rural Communities Act – improving democratic governance in rural communities in Moldova”, implemented by the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) with financial support from the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, a project of the German Marshall Fund, USA.
The photo album of the study visit is published on the Institute for Rural Initiatives Facebook page: