Youth Klinic Moldova Summer School prepares a new generation of peer-to-peer educators

Chisinau, July 28, 2026 – About 160 teenagers and young people, volunteers of the Youth Klinic Moldova (YK) Network, participate, together with their coordinators, in the 11th edition of the Summer School for Youth Klinic Moldova volunteers and volunteer coordinators, held in Holercani.

The participants are part of the national network of volunteers Youth Klinic Moldova, developed within the 40 youth-friendly health centers in the country. Throughout the year, they are involved in health promotion and peer information and education activities for adolescents and young people, including in refugee communities. The Summer School is one of the main training activities for YK volunteers.

This year's program is focused on preparing volunteers for peer-to-peer information and education activities, with a focus on two areas: prevention of gender-based violence (GBV) and prevention of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

For five days, volunteers develop the knowledge and skills needed to become peer-to-peer educators, learning both evidence-based information and interactive methods to pass it on to their peers.

The 11th edition of the Youth Klinic Moldova Summer School for Volunteers and Volunteer Coordinators is organized by UNICEF and A.O. "Health for Youth", with the financial support of the Government of Germany, through the KfW Development Board, and with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom, within the National Programme on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights 2023–2027. The Summer School also benefits from the support of its partners, ERIKS Development Partner and the World Health Organization. The event takes place under the aegis of the Ministry of Health.

Galina LEȘCO, executive president of the O.A. "Health for Youth": The Youth Klinic Moldova Network has a large community of volunteers – adolescents and young people who choose to get involved in promoting the health of their peers. Our role is to prepare them and provide them with work tools, so that the information they carry forward is correct, and their activities respond to the real problems faced by adolescents and young people. The Summer School is also the place where this network meets, learns together and prepares its activities for the next period".

YK volunteers get involved in violence prevention

A distinct component of this year's Summer School is dedicated to the prevention of gender-based violence. During the workshops "Living safely, I can prevent gender-based violence", YK volunteers will go through and apply activity plans that they will later be able to replicate in working with their peers.

Thus, YK volunteers will get involved in the national campaign "The Power of Example", which aims to change social norms and behaviors that contribute to the perpetuation of violence. Launched on April 2, 2026 for the period 2026–2030, the campaign is carried out under the aegis of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, is initiated and coordinated by the National Agency for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (ANPCV), in collaboration with UN Moldova and with the financial support of the Government of the United Kingdom.

During the Summer School, volunteers will participate in a flashmob dedicated to the messages of the Campaign and in a meeting with Satoshi, co-author, together with Dara, of the campaign song "For those who come". The message of the initiative - violence must not be accepted or passed on, and change can start with one's own example - thus reaches the young people who can carry it forward in their groups.

HPV prevention: correct information and myth busting

The second major component of the training at YK Summer School is dedicated to the prevention of HPV infection. Volunteers will learn about the virus and how it is transmitted, HPV-related conditions, vaccination and screening, as well as about the myths and false information about HPV vaccination that circulate even online.

The training is built around methods that volunteers will be able to use later: brainstorming, simulation games, myth-finding exercises and guided discussions. The aim is that, after training, they can communicate accurate information about HPV prevention and refer young people to safe sources of information and health services.

"When we train a Youth Klinic Moldova volunteer, the information does not remain with a single young person: it reaches his colleagues and peers, in schools and communities. This is one of the reasons why UNICEF supports the YK Summer School: volunteers learn how to speak responsibly about important topics, such as gender-based violence or HPV prevention, and how to connect other young people with trusted information and services," said Cristina Stratulat, Social and Behavioral Change Programs Officer, UNICEF.

A Summer School with a multiplication effect

The stakes of the five days of training go beyond the Summer School: YK volunteers will return to their centers and communities with concrete tools for peer-to-peer activities, so that the information on health, violence prevention and services available in youth-friendly health centers reach closer to adolescents and young people.

The methods and materials practiced at Holercani will be able to be used later in activities with their peers. Thus, the Summer School becomes the starting point for prevention and information activities in communities, both in the field of gender-based violence and HPV prevention.

In addition to these two components, the program includes exchange of experience between teams of volunteers, peer-support, communication and networking activities, as well as practical first aid and preparedness activities for risk situations.

The voices of YK volunteers at the summer school

Ana Maria, volunteer of the YK "Salve" Center, Edinet: "What I learned here I carried on in my school"

"I also participated in the YK Summer School two years ago, and the information I found out then I was able to carry on in my center and in the school, through activities with other young people. I like to help people and get involved in the community, that's why I chose to participate again. This year I am particularly interested in HPV prevention and I want to find out more, so that I can pass this information on to other young people."

Vlad, volunteer of the YK Center "Youth for Youth", Floresti: "What I find here I can share in my school and community"

"I've been a Youth Klinic volunteer for two and a half years and I like to do things that help people. I promote a healthy way of life in my school and locality whenever I have the opportunity. It's the first time I'm attending the Summer School and I wanted to come. From the first day I like it very much: it is a new experience and I have the opportunity to meet other volunteers with whom to exchange ideas and experience.

At our center we have already discussed HPV and violence prevention, and here I want to deepen these topics and find out new things. For me it is important that the information I will find out at the Summer School can then be shared with the young people in my school, city and community."

Ioana, volunteer of the YK "Ana" Center, Drochia: "Right from the first day I discovered perspectives that I had not thought of"

"It is the first time I participate in the Summer School and even the first activity, with the coordinator of the School, Mrs. Galina Leșco, awakened positive emotions and the desire to be an example and support for my colleagues. I came here because I want to leave with things that I can use further in my community.

I am involved in several organizations and I try to initiate projects and activities that bring a change and motivate other young people to be active. Recently, at the YK Center, we organized a youth camp in which we included topics such as HPV, toxic relationships and manipulation. At the Summer School I am especially interested in exercises and practical methods that I can later use in my activities.

I also like the fact that there are young people of different ages here. The same problems can be viewed differently depending on age and experience. Even from the first activities I heard perspectives that I had not thought of, and for me this exchange of opinions is, in turn, a form of learning".

Vlad, volunteer of the YK "Orhideea" Center, Ialoveni: "Health must come first"

"It's the second year I participate in the Summer School and I wanted to come back because I find out interesting things and meet new people. The prevention of HPV and gender-based violence are new topics for me and I want to learn more about them. So far I have participated more as a beneficiary in the activities, but I would be prepared to go to schools or groups of young people and pass on the information. I believe that health must come first and I like that I am part of a group of volunteers who promote this."