The “1 Week at the LPA office” program was created by the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) to familiarize young people from rural areas of the RM with local decision-makers, to reduce the distance between young people and local public authorities, but also to promote youth-friendly policies.
In this sense, 10 young people from 5 rural communities spent a week with various decision-makers from 5 LPAs (4 village halls and one district council). During five working days, the participants went behind the scenes of the administration: they talked to mayors, councilors and civil servants, learned how local projects are managed, how budgets are allocated and what it means to respond concretely to people’s needs, and attended working meetings.
“I went to this internship with many questions and I came out with a lot of motivation. I want to get more involved in the life of the community and, who knows, maybe one day I will run for the local council.” – Mihaela, member of the initiative group from Boscana, Criuleni district.
“During the internship I learned more in depth about how the village hall and the local council work. The experience I gained motivated me even more to continue my studies in this field.” – Aliona Cociorva, member of the initiative group from Drochia town.
“It was the first time I saw how decisions are made that directly affect us. I realized that the voice of young people can really count, if we know where and how to get involved.” – Radu, young influencer from Lingura, Cantemir district.
“I consider it essential for any young person aspiring to a career in public administration to participate in such an internship. Only through direct experience, you can truly understand the principles of good governance.” – Stas Cebotari, young influencer from Drochia town.
These are just a few of the voices of the 10 young influencers from 5 rural communities who, during April, spent “1 week at the LPA office” – a pilot program dedicated to understanding how local public administration works and the active role young people can play in their community life.
This activity indirectly promotes transparency in decision-making by encouraging bridges of communication between LPAs and young people.
“Young people no longer just want to be listened to. They want to get involved. And this internship gives them exactly the start they need.” – Lilia Sula, Program Coordinator, iRi.
This activity is part of the project “Learn. Discuss. Act: empowering youth and local stakeholders for increasing the influence of youth on local, district and national levels” implemented by iRi and local partners with the support of the “EU4Youth: Youth Engagement and Empowerment” project, co-funded by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).