Youth empowerment and inclusive participation with the EU assistance

This summer, in the framework of the project “MYCS: Moldova Youth Civil Society – a Call for Stronger and Inclusive Youth Participation”, two important activities started at national level: the set up and the first meeting of the civil society youth organizations network, winners of grants worth up to 60,000 euros to develop youth projects and programs and the Civic Hackathon #space3, which brought together 50 young people from 25 communities across the country, who will develop community initiatives for their peers.

The first meeting of the MYCS network of youth civil society organizations

After a year-long mentoring process on organizational capacity building for nearly 30 youth civil society organizations around the country, Terre des hommes Foundation Moldova and its partners, the Civil Society Development Foundation (Romania) and the Partnership for Development Centre (Moldova), announced a grant call on youth projects for these organizations as part of the MYCS project. After a rigorous process of analysis of project proposals, 12 youth organizations – national and local – were selected to receive grants of up to €60,000.

On 29th of June 2023, representatives of the 12 organizations – the MYCS network of youth civil society organizations – had the first meeting in an information and knowledge session together with the lead partner organizations of the project.

The meeting was also attended by Giuseppe Paglione, Programme Officer, representing the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova. “I am very thankful and happy to be today with you. It is very important indeed, also for EU, that you create and strengthen this relationship among you, actors at civil society level. EU counts a lot on your work at grassroots’ level, you can do things that institutions very often cannot do, as a matter of roles, as a matter of operational capacity on the ground. What you do is extremely valuable and it’s unreplaceable by anybody else”, Giuseppe Paglione addressed the representatives of the winning organizations, saying that before becoming an officer for the EU, he worked for some time in his home country in the civil society level and thus he truly understands how important what these organizations do is and how much passion, patience and perseverance they must have to achieve their objectives.

“This project I have developed wholeheartedly. As a fundraiser, I focus on projects that bring something new. This time, the team needed something new and this project came to bring that needed fresh air in our team. Through the planned activities we will gain a lot – they will bring us new resources, test our motivation and make us stronger. And a strong team brings impactful services“, Veronica Melinteanu, fundraising and communication officer at “Eco-Răzeni” organization enthusiastically recounted.

Winning organizations will use the grants to create and develop programs and services for young people and for their organizational development. The set up of a Youth Government, a volunteering program for young people with disabilities, new youth spaces in ATU Găgăuzia, vocational trainings, and an innovative program in the field of psychology – bio feedback – are some of the youth projects planned for next year.

The Civic Hackathon #space3

The Civic Hackathon #space3 brought together, from 30 June to 1 July 2023 in Chisinau, 50 young people from 25 communities across the country, aged 14 – 18. The event, organised by Terre des hommes Moldova Foundation, took place under the aegis of two youth projects: “MYCS: for a Stronger Youth Society” and “JOBOTECA – Pilot Program for Preparing Young People in Moldova for the Labor Market”, both co-financed by the European Union.

#space3 is a space for learning and exploration, motivation, connection and practice for active young people from the civic sector, eager to bring a local change for the better for their fellow citizens. This is an innovative concept of the Foundation for Civil Society Development in Romania (FCSD), one of the leading partners in the MYCS project, which focuses on building a strong civil society, where citizens are able to influence public decisions and work together for systemic change by mobilising communities.

The idea of the hackathon was to address local problems in an innovative way and identify novel solutions to solve them. Young participants were guided by the expert Vlad Dumitrescu, programme director at FCSD. For two days, they learned how to analyse the youth ecosystem in their community and identify creative and unconventional solutions to the challenges faced by their peers.

One of the young participants said, delighted with the non-conformist ways of working, that “this hackathon is a great opportunity for us young people to contribute to the development of our communities and make positive changes in society.”

After two months of work on the ideas of local initiatives of the young participants in the hackathon, guided by experts from Moldova and Romania, the 10 best initiatives will be selected and funded with 2,000 euros each to be implemented in their communities.

“MYCS: Moldova Youth Civil Society – a Call for Stronger and Inclusive Youth Participation” is co-financed by the European Union and implemented by Terre des hommes Moldova Foundation in partnership with Foundation for Civil Society Development (Romania) and Partnership for Development Center (Moldova).

The project runs from 2022 to 2024 and aims to strengthen the capacities of local civic actors in the youth field to deliver empowerment programmes and services and inclusive and sustainable youth participation. More details about the project: tdh.md/MYCS