In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, when off-line interaction has become limited, the Youth Centres Network in Moldova initiated online #YouthTalks, which gives young people a virtual space for communication, personal and professional development.
The first session of this innovative project took place on Friday, the 1st of May, and it was joined by Moldovan personalities who informed the young people about online tools and how to use team creatively.
Nigina Abaszada, the Representative of UNFPA in Moldova, attended the launching event and mentioned that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Swiss Cooperation Office are supporting the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research in developing the Youth Centres Network to raise a new generation of active young people who can contribute to social changes.
‘We committed to support the youth development offline, through the Youth centres, and we continue to do so online, even in the harsh realities imposed by the new coronavirus pandemic. YouthTalks is a welcome initiative because it gives young people the possibility to interact in a new and interesting format and to draw inspiration from other young people. This way, young people can come up with creative ideas, engage in social life and transform the crisis into opportunity, becoming part of the solution’, said Abaszada.
In his turn, the Head of the Youth Division of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova, Marcel Marin, mentioned that ‘It is important to ensure that the Youth Centres Network can continue working, including remotely, so as to be there for young people, by employing various online platforms to connect, inform as well as mobilise. Because of the pandemic, young people no longer have the possibility to use the safe and friendly spaces in Youth centres, and they have thus limited opportunities of socialisation, information and of spending spare time in an active and useful way for personal and professional development.’
The YouthTalks will run for 5 weeks, during which we will invite in these talks public people from the online environment, who will tackle informative and motivational topics of relevance and interest for the youth. The speakers and successful young people will share their experience in using online platforms to promote their work, initiate social causes, or their experience in transforming their passion into interesting start-ups for personal and professional development.
Young people are invited to join live streams every Friday at 3:00 p.m. on the Facebook accounts of the Youth Centres Network in Moldova and of UNFPA Moldova, and engage in the captivating and useful discussions. The online streams are dynamic, organised in the form of debates/discussions with the guests, answering watchers’ questions.
The #YouthTalks online discussion platform for and with young people will focus on subjects about personal development and youth motivation, the social media and branding, civic journalism and youth participation online, as alternative platforms of non-formal education, interaction and quality socialization.
Be aware that the Youth centres across the country stopped working because of the epidemiological situation, in order to prevent the spreading of COVID-19.
The work of Youth Centres is supported by the Joint Fund for Developing Youth Centres and Strengthened Participation and Civic Engagement of Young People in the Republic of Moldova, set up by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the United Nations Population Fund.
Contact: Irina Dragutanu, Communication Assistant of the Joint Fund for Developing Youth Centres and Strengthened Participation and Civic Engagement of Young People in the Republic of Moldova, set up by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the United Nations Population Fund. Tel.069694246, dragutanu@unfpa.org
