National Youth Forum
Youth Transforming the Country on the International Youth day
In celebration of International Youth Day, August 12th, 2019, National Youth Council with the support from the Government of Moldova and UNICEF Moldova organized a National Youth Forum called “Youth Transforming the Country”. About 90 young people participated in the event, among which there were representatives from youth organizations and local public authorities. The purpose of the Forum was to establish a dialogue between the young people and the Government to develop a Call for Actions addressing the following topics:
- Quality education for young people;
- Relevant skills and employment;
- Attractive services for young people;
- Proactive civic and political participation
Valeriu Drăgălin, the President of National Youth Council, stated: "Organizing such an event is important because it offers the possibility of communication and interaction of different actors. So, the authorities must understand that young people are the resource that they can effectively use. On the other hand, however, young people need to be aware that each of them has its own value and they must make an effort to participate at any level”.
The Secretary of State in the field of youth and sport, Adrian Băluțel, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science declared that the Ministry “plays an important role in coordinating youth policies at government level and in further communication with young people”. He mentioned: “we would like to accelerate cooperation with youth organizations because they are also the voice of young people, and the solutions proposed by participants regarding the problems they face will be taken into consideration”.
During the group, work participants identified the problems and recommendations regarding the discussed topics, which later were presented at the panel discussion to the Ministries’ representatives. Further, the full list of recommendations will be shared with other relevant decision-makers and will be made public.
“Young people can be courageous and resourceful. The UN Youth Strategy 2030, as well as the Generation Unlimited, a partnership founded and spearheaded by UNICEF, specify that youth development and youth engagement are cross-cutting issues in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, said Margarita Tileva, Deputy Representative of UNICEF Moldova.
She found the recommendations from young people to be very practical and noticed that such a large presence from the Government indicated its commitment to continue the dialogue and to cooperate with youth. She also stated: “Although it needs to move from consultation to effective collaboration between youth and the Government”.
The People’s Advocate, Mihail Cotorobai; representatives from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection: Viorica Dumbrăveanu, Adviser to the President on social development issues, Rodica Scutelnic, State Secretary in the field of Healthcare, Anastasia Oceretnîi, State Secretary in the field of Labor and Demography; Secretary-General of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, Iulia Costin, also participated at the Forum and expressed their support to young people.
"The way young people will get involved and participate will determine their life over a few years. So, it is very important to have a common effort to get the results we want”, mentioned the keynote speaker of the Forum, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu
This Forum on the International Youth Day proved to be a promising affirmation from the Government to cooperate and to take into account youth opinions on the development of their country. It was a big step in encouraging youth meaningful participation and moving towards a sustainable future.
