Projects

Exploring democracy: building skills for intercultural cooperation

Exploring democracy: building skills for intercultural cooperation

The Institute for Rural Initiatives in partnership with the local NGOs Opre o Ciaciamos and Egreta, as well as in close cooperation with the school administrations of Zirnesti, Cahul rayon, and Minjir, Hincesti rayon, with the financial support of Royal Norway Embassy to Moldova located in Bucharest implemented successfully the project “Exploring democracy: building skills for intercultural cooperation”.

The project facilitated the formation of two Democracy School clubs within two schools in the Republic of Moldova which are attended by Roma youth (Zirnesti community, Cahul rayon, and Minjir community, Hincesti rayon). The project was meant to bring together Roma and non-Roma young activists and volunteers to discuss, learn and act as genuine democracy promoters, with cross-cultural sensitivity and a will for openness for learning and for contextual application of democracy and human rights with a focus on the Roma population.

One of the direct outcome of the Democracy School workshops was the Theatre of Democracy – one of the main public activities in the project. The Theatre of Democracy presentations gathered about 120 spectators (school students and teachers, and also a number of local NGO representatives) in the two locations.

The Theatre of Democracy in particular, and the Democracy School as a whole constitute novelty elements in the region and will mobilized/trained about 35-40 children and youth while raising awareness through social theatre among youth and school students about a number of democratic practices and approaches while developing positive attitudes on the issue of inter-ethnic cooperation and friendly dialogue with people of different ethnic backgrounds.

Press releases related to this project