Project full name
“Youth leaders at the table: empowering youth to participate in community life”
Period of implementation
July 2024 – July 2025
Implementor
Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) and local partners with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Comunitatea Mea (My Community) program, implemented by IREX
About the project
The project “Youth leaders at the table: empowering youth to participate in community life” (hereafter the “Youth leaders at the table” project) is the response of the Institute for Rural Initiatives (hereafter iRi) to a number of problems and challenges faced by young people in the Republic of Moldova, especially those from rural areas of the Republic of Moldova: poor participation in community life, social exclusion, lack of opportunities and poor dialog with local public authorities. Against the backdrop of these and other problems such as worrying demographic trends, reduced opportunities for quality education and employment in the village, weak social inclusion, the war in Ukraine as well as poverty, the project will target 3 clear objectives.
Scope and objectives
The aim of the project is to empower young people to participate in community life in 5 rural communities. The project will promote partnership between LPAs and young people in order to systematically and systemic involve young people in community life, including in the process of working with refugees from Ukraine.
Project objectives:
- Create and strengthen youth initiative groups (5) for active and systemic civic engagement in the 5 communities, including in relation to the refugee issue.
- Facilitate dialog and interaction between young people and LPAs in order to ensure youth participation in decision-making processes at community level.
- Support LPAs in the process of elaboration/development of public youth policies that create mechanisms for interaction between local authorities and young people.
What will the project do?
The project will aim at empowering 5 youth groups (approx. 10 young people from each community), including displaced persons from Ukraine aged 15-35 and 5 LPAs (approx. 15 persons) in the exercise of democratic community participation aiming at systematic and sustainable involvement of young people in community life.
The main actions of the project will aim at improving services for young people as well as creating a mechanism that will facilitate the qualitative participation of young people in the decision-making process of the 5 communities.
Simultaneously, the project will address local public administrations, youth workers, and other relevant entities. The project will take into consideration the principle of inclusion and diversity by inviting young people from minority backgrounds (cultural, ethnic, linguistic etc. – approx. 20%) to participate in the project.
What’s new
The Avante mechanism is an intervention model developed and successfully tested by iRi over the last 2 years. Avante involves training young people according to the iRi methodology for civic engagement at local level, in the process of awareness raising and advocacy activities for a better implementation of youth policies in each of the 5 partner communities in the project.
The Avante mechanism was initiated within the grant program of the Ministry of Education and proved its efficiency.
In this project the model is being adapted to achieve the project objectives.
Expected results
- Young people will become empowered for more active civic engagement, able to facilitate dialog between young people and LPAs in order to ensure transparency, inclusion and participation in decision-making in 5 rural communities.
- LPAs will provide better services for young people and local mechanisms for interaction between local authorities and young people will be more comprehensive and participatory.
- Communities hosting Ukrainian refugees will have improved services and practices that address the integration needs of refugees.
The 5 partner communities in the project
Gribova, Drochia district; Cișmichioi, ATU Gagauzia; Sireti, Straseni district; Sculeni, Ungheni district; Ciuciuleni, Hincesti district.
The communities represent all regions of the country (north, center, south, including Gagauzia).
Beneficiaries
The project will aim to empower 5 youth groups (total approx. 50 young people, including people from Ukraine) aged 15-35 and 5 LPs (approx. 25 people) in the exercise of democratic community participation.
Simultaneously, the project will address local public administrations, youth workers as well as adult refugees from Ukraine.