Moldovan Young Women Activists Strengthen their Leadership Skills

On 28 and 29 of August IREX Europe and Gender Centre, with the support of EU, organized a Leadership Academy for young women from across Moldova, eager to promote gender equality and make a difference in their communities.

The two-day training camp was held in Vadul Iui Vodă for 28 participants and included sessions on stigma and stereotypes, advocacy, activism techniques and creative campaigning, told through the success stories of leading Moldovan women.

For Beatricea Petrașcu the Academy was the first offline experience since the beginning of the pandemic, so she “was full of enthusiasm and fear”. Having met passionate and driven colleagues during the event, she is now ready to apply the acquired knowledge in practice, starting with “identifying the problems in our society and solving them by focusing on a certain target audience”.

Beatricea along with other participants has been equipped with the necessary skills to carry out her objective. Olga Bîtca and Catinca Mardarovici, both members of Gender Equality Platform’s Board, taught the participants how to use theoretical knowledge in actual campaigns and how gender politics can be introduced into communities and organizations.

Meanwhile Angela Frolov from GenderDoc-M Center shared her knowledge on how to draw a lot of attention to a campaign using humour, smart PR and Communication techniques. She also introduced the participants into the absolute foundation of success of any campaign – a clear message, requiring no explanation.

The participants will benefit from further guidance offered by the Academy, as for now they have a month to think about an activity or a project which will aim to empower girls and women in their communities. IREX Europe and Gender Centre will then meet the participants at the next stage of the National Academy of Female Leadership and help them make a pitch and an application for a grant. The best projects on gender equality and women’s rights will win small grants to help the activists implement their ideas.