In the period of 28 July- 20 August were held 5 public discussions on the topics: Health, Education, Employment and volunteering, Non-discrimination and Environment. Young people had a great opportunity to work together with experts from different fields and to discuss top problems and solutions which were proposed by youth. Many young people came from different towns to express their opinions regarding youth problems. They have appreciated the interest of ministries’ representatives to support them in the future. Moreover, youth initiatives were described by the representatives of ministries and experts, as a necessary mobilization to make young people’s voices heard. Some young people’s opinions are listed below: 

 “I think young people should express their opinion. This allows a new generation of young people to be heard. With a fresh mind and with the generation of young people, we can create something new”, Timofei.

“Most of all I liked the participation in the activities with some invited experts, they provided valuable comments and helped to take better and more informed decisions, and their feedback has been very valuable. All events were well prepared – it shows the attitude of the organizers and volunteers for what they do. Moreover, young people came from different cities, it is important because this way, we can better see and understand what issues are most relevant and to discuss and analyze them more detailed”, Artyom.

 “I had a lot of good impressions, but the happiest moment for me was the public debate attended by youth from different cities who also shared their opinions. This is very important and shows that most the young people of Moldova have a lot of interesting ideas. Those ideas could be implemented, we can take a step closer to new goals, new achievements, and most important, that these steps we are going to do together”, Taya.

• International Youth Day in Moldova

During the International Youth Day in Moldova the Youth Council in partnership and with the support of the Government of Moldova and United Nations in Moldova has organized the first Youth Fest. The festival was held outdoors on the pedestrian street in Chisinau. The event, entitled “youth civic engagement”, brought together over 25 youth organizations, representatives of the UN agencies and Government and projects at a fair where young people learned more about the activities of these organizations and volunteering opportunities.

With the occasion of the festival, the Youth Index for the Republic of Moldova was launched, a barometer that compares the situation of young and adult population in different socio-economic areas: unemployment, participation, health, risky behavior and violence. The index reveals the gap between young people and adults in each of the areas mentioned. Youth unemployment is three times higher (7.12%) than the unemployment among adults (2.95%). Young people often work in precarious environment or in shadow economy. The rate of participation and civic engagement is also low. At the same time, the rate of consumption of alcohol and tobacco among young people is the same as among adults. The index will be calculated annually and will be submitted to the Government, in order to develop evidence-based policies aiming at increasing the quality of life of young people.

To follow the details on how the media reflected the event click on the following link, please: https://www.flickr.com/photos/134064857@N06/sets/72157657112635266

For more information about Youth Voice Campaign in Moldova follow the link below, please: https://eecayouthvoice.org/category/moldova/