Personal development, youth participation, future skills development, leisure time management, volunteer work and outreach are just some of the services and programs provided by those 44 Youth Centres across the country.

During a study visit to Orhei Youth Centre, the high official spoke to young people engaged in a thematic debate on freedom of the media and fake news. Young people from Orhei have established and developed a Young Journalists Club, ‘Orh-Ideea’, intended for those willing to strengthen their journalistic talent and civic spirit.

‘Through investments in the development of the Youth Centres Network in Moldova, the Swiss Government aimed to strengthen participation and civic engagement among young people to become responsible and civically active adults in their communities’, Patrizia Danzi said, General Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

‘As part of the Local Governance aiming to strengthen the citizen-state relations, the project activities enhance the potential of youth workers and local public authorities to facilitate youth engagement – a particular objective is to develop School-Youth Centres Partnerships’, Radu Danii added, Program Officer, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

‘Our goal is to help build an inclusive, peaceful and democratic society with engaged citizens. And the first step in this process is to invest in young people’, Olga Gordila-Bobeico said, Project Officer, UNFPA Moldova, who welcomed the contribution of the Swiss Government in supporting the development of the youth sector in the Republic of Moldova.

Diana Mocanu, a young volunteer at Orhei Youth Centre, the initiator and moderator of the thematic debate, said ‘It was a productive discussion on topical subjects: the media, fake news, refugees, peace and youth priorities. As we are in the sights and interests of international organizations, we manage to gain enough motivation for growth, new activities and perspectives.’

It’s worth mentioning that the activities of the Youth Centres involve and mobilize young people in intense cooperation with many community actors: teachers, local authorities and civic activists towards a joint goal and the achievement of personal ideas and community development projects. 

Note:  Strengthened Participation and Civic Engagement among Young People in Moldova Project, funded by the Government of Switzerland, is part of the Joint Fund on the Strengthened Participation and Civic Engagement of Young People in the Republic of Moldova for 2017-2022. The Joint Fund, worth about USD 3 million, was set up by the Ministry of Education and Research (MER) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2017 and in 2018, the Swiss Government joined the Fund with an additional financial contribution of about USD 1.5 million.  

For details please contact: Irina Dragutanu, Communication Associate, UNFPA Moldova, 069694246 dragutanu@unfpa.org