The event summarizing the implementation of youth policies, included in the 2020 National Youth Sector Development Strategy, held online on Monday, 23 November, brought together virtually over 4,500 people from the whole country: young people, representatives of central and local public authorities, including youth officials, managers and workers of District/ Municipal Youth Centers, representatives of youth organisations, youth councils and development partners.

This year's event, live streamed from Chisinau, brought into discussion the directions that the youth sector has evolved in the recent years and the opportunities brought to young people. The Strategy Paper was adopted in 2014 and has guided the youth sector interventions over the last six years.

In his welcoming speech to conference participants, Ivan Gheorghiu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research stated that, since young people account for over 1/3 of the Moldovan population, their contribution to the development of society was imperative: "Today, we set out to find out which of the Strategy objectives have been achieved and which ones need more work. The state authorities will hence continue promoting and supporting young people. After a brief retrospective, we can say that the youth sector has developed by building the infrastructure and youth community: youth centers, national youth agency, local youth councils, youth NGOs, youth workers, volunteers and youth leaders, youth programs/services. All of them envisage youth participation and engagement at community level, as well as provision of quality services to young people at local level."

In her turn, Nigina Abaszada , UNFPA Resident Representative in Moldova, said: “UNFPA highly appreciates the progresses made by the youth sector in the recent years. The Network of Youth Centers was set up in 44 communities of the country, which became significant stepping stones to achieving the Strategy priorities and improved the access of young people to quality services for their development. We need to further expand these services so that all young people in Moldova, regardless of their place of residence, ethnicity or health condition, can benefit from accessible youth services and no one is left behind. The voice of every young person counts for the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda."

"Promoting and providing participation opportunities for young people, and investing in youth centers and youth organisations will certainly help tap on the potential of young people here, in the country. We also believe that the support of the Swiss Government offered through the Joint Fund to evaluate the youth strategy will augment the quality of this process, highlighting the results obtained, the challenges and synergies with other programs and sectors where young people are present”, said Radu Danii, program officer, Swiss Cooperation Office.  

The online event “2020 Youth Strategy: Young people - authors of progress” served as a platform of interaction for youth stakeholders across the country in order to identify progresses and challenges in implementing the 2020 Youth Strategy. The consultative and participatory process was ensured by online interventions of delegates from three workshops, which took place last week and brought together young people and professionals to discuss the progress and impact of the Strategy. The results of the regional consultations were presented by young people, experts, local and regional public authorities. 

"The National Strategy also determined the local priorities for the youth sector, ensuring a single national framework on youth" , mentioned  Olesea Rusu, youth specialist at Anenii Noi District Council.

Participating in the event, Liviana Frunza, president of Botanica Local Youth Council and volunteer at Chisinau Municipal Youth Center, said:  "As a young local councilor, I noticed that more and more young people want to create representative structures at the local level and beyond. Thus, the level of youth participation is certainly increasing, and authorities must continue to engage in promoting the participation of young people."

The event was organised in the context of the National Youth Day, under the Joint Fund for Developing Youth Centers and Strengthened Participation and Civic Engagement of Young People in the Republic of Moldova, set up by MECR, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The event was moderated by young people, representatives of youth organisations, giving them the opportunity to confirm the role and contribution of young people to the development of the youth sector.

PICTURES from the event are available here

VIDEO from the event is available here

Contact: Irina Dragutanu, Communication Assistant, 069694246 dragutanu@unfpa.org