About 70 young people, teachers of ‘Education for Society’ and managers of Youth Centers from 23 districts and municipalities took part in a training in the field of participation and civic involvement of young people during 1-4 July.

The purpose of the training was to create a collaborative platform between the school and the Youth Center in order to develop the civic spirit among young people and improve the life of the community.

Participants in the training together with the specialists explored the opportunities for civic involvement of young people by applying the knowledge gained in the ‘Education for Society’ subject. They also identified the community needs and developed concepts of local actions to be carried out by young people with the support of the schools and Youth Centers by the end of 2019.

Ion Donea, Head of the Youth Department at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, who attended the workshop opening ceremony, said that through such trainings the skills of young people participation would be improved. ‘Overall, through this program, we wish to have quality services for young people at the local level’, Mr. Ion Donea said.

‘We wish a lot to empower the Youth Centers, to provide young people with more tools so that they become active citizens in this country. We are grateful to our partners with the support of whom we can offer these trainings’, said Elena Madan, Head of Terre des hommes Moldova.

In her turn, Rita Columbia, Representative of UNFPA Moldova addressed a message of encouragement to young people: ‘When discussing partnerships, put your interests, rights and needs at their base. Analyze possible partnerships with schools and Youth Centers, but consider also other actors at the local level who can and should be involved.’

The training for young people, teachers and managers of the Youth Centers are organized by Terre des hommes Moldova as part of the Joint Fund of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the United Nations Population Fund on the Strengthened Participation and Civic Engagement of Young People in the Republic of Moldova.