Civil Society Organisations Fair – Together we make our voice heard!

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from all over the country took part in the CSO Fair on Saturday 14 May, as part of Europe Day 2022. The CSO representatives informed the visitors of the European Village in the Grand National Assembly Square about their achievements and the support they offer to beneficiaries in Moldova.

The scope of activity of the participating organisations was very diverse, from promoting civic activism, good governance, carrying out development programmes for children and youth, to social activities dedicated to vulnerable groups (elderly, disabled, homeless, children with special educational needs or vulnerable families, etc.).

Attending the event, Nina Lozinschi, Secretary-General of the Platform for Gender Equality, said that the CSO Fair was an opportunity for CSO member organisations to talk to visitors about the importance of developing a society in which both women and men enjoy equal opportunities and visibility. “Women’s organisations are present at the CSO Fair to talk to people about the services we can offer. We, within the Platform, provide legal, medical and psychological counselling services for women in vulnerable situations. We assure them that we are always ready to listen and help,” said the Secretary General of the Platform for Gender Equality.

Among the CSOs at the Fair there was also present the National Youth Council of Moldova (CNTM), which represents the voice of young people from all over the country. The organisation’s data indicates that more government involvement is needed in Moldova to address the challenges faced by young people, such as the lack of jobs, explains CNTM representative, Dimitri Cernica. “We in the Council sincerely believe that a society can develop harmoniously especially when it invests in young people. We are the ones who bring change, we are the future foundation of this country, so by investing in us, the authorities are actually investing in a strong society in the future. You should know that we are very optimistic about Moldova’s democratic path. Today, at the CSO Fair, we met a lot of people eager for change for the better”, said Dimitri Cernica.

The Association for Child and Family Empowerment “AVE COPIII” has been active for over three decades in the Republic of Moldova. It supports in particular children at risk and young people who have left alternative care. Only last year almost 400 young people were assisted and 430 professionals from local and territorial guardianship authorities, including teachers from technical vocational education, benefited from the association’s services. Antonina Comerzan, head of the association’s youth support service, says that the CSO Fair was an opportunity for citizens to see the breadth of the voluntary sector. “It was an opportunity for our potential beneficiaries to understand how diverse the services we offer are. In addition, participating in the Fair was an opportunity to align ourselves with the motto of Europe Day: Solidarity for Peace”, said Antonina Comerzam.

The president of the Public Association “Institutum Virtutes Civilis”, Liliana Palihovici, drew attention to the fact that although the dynamics of the development of social services in recent years has been positive, the network of existing services is still not sufficiently well known by potential beneficiaries and public authorities, which means that positive models, including those funded from the public budget, are not multiplied and remain unknown. “In fact, CSOs contribute to the development of Moldova and to the consolidation of the country’s democratic path. In our view, too little is known about the work that civil society organisations do. We believe that the fair was an opportunity for them to make themselves visible, including for taxpayers to redirect 2% of their income tax each year to social projects and educational programmes for children, teenagers or the elderly,” said Liliana Palihovici.

According to the coordinator of the project “Partnerships 4 Women Leadership and Good Governance”, Inga Iovu, the CSO Fair provided a platform for participating organisations to exchange ideas and new visions for cooperation and involvement in solving local problems. “Essential to the Fair was the communication and the approximation of the thirty CSOs that participated. They were able to share ideas, initiatives and the successes they have achieved in their communities. It was nice to see that they exchanged contacts and made potential partnerships in the future, which we are happy about”, added Inga Iovu.

The Civil Society Organizations Fair was organised in the framework of the project “Partnerships 4 Women Leadership and Good Governance”, implemented by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Moldova and Public Association “Institutum Virtutes Civilis“, with the financial support of the European Union and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.