Representatives of civil society from two Moldovan cities bring together at Fair of Civic Initiatives

Chisinau, 19 May /MOLDPRES/ - The establishment of a platform of dialogue and cooperation, as well as the exchange of experience between representatives of the civil society from the Cahul and Ungheni regions, beneficiaries of the EU4Moldova: Focal Regions Programme, financed by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), have represented the principal results of the Fair of Civic Initiatives, held in Chisinau today.    

„The civic society organizations play a key role in the strengthening of the democracy and backing the European values. Through the EU4Moldova: Focal Regions Programme, the European Union and our partners provided grants for civil society organizations (OSC) and ensured the consolidation of their capacities. This support facilitated the OSCs’ participation in good governance processes locally, stimulated the local social and economic development and allowed OSCs to improve the access of all citizens to quality public services. The Fair of Civic Initiatives will provide OSCs a platform to improve the cooperation and exchange of knowledge in the Cahul and Ungheni regions,’’ Head of the European Union Delegation to Moldova, Jānis Mažeiksz said.      

„We are curious to learn more about the work of the civil society organizations from the two focal regions and about the results achieved in such sectors as strategic planning, partnerships with local authorities and local communities’ mobilization for the development of prosperous settlements in Moldova. We are also interested in the experience of responding to various challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently, the emerging priorities of providing support to refugees,’’ UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova Dima Al-Khatib said.      

The Fair of Civic Initiatives for the first time ever brought together over 20 organizations of OSCs from the focal regions, Cahul and Ungheni. An exhibition of photos of civic initiatives from both regions was also organized at the event, where the regions’ main activities, projects and achievements were presented. According to the participants, the Fair was an opportunity for the civil society organizations from Cahul and Ungheni to establish partnerships and platforms of dialogue, the role of which is to strengthen their activity.    

The EU4Moldova: Focal Regions Programme (2019-2024) supports the intelligent, environment friendly, inclusive and sustainable social and economic development in the Cahul and Ungheni regions, in order to provide the citizens with a better quality of life. The programme has an overall budget of 23 million euros.