EU4Youth Round Table: strengthening youth policy in Moldova

A round table on ‘Strengthening Youth Policy in Moldova’ took place in Chisinau on 19-20 January, discussing the current status of EU4Youth programme activities and the way forward in 2022.

The round table, which follows up on similar round table meetings held in late 2020 and early 2021, took stock of current achievements, the state-of-play in youth policy in Moldova, and the way forward in 2022. Together with line Ministries and government agencies, youth organisations and international development partners, the project discussed how to further promote meaningful youth participation in Moldova and to foster the employability and active participation of youth in society and the economy.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Education and Research, responsible for youth policy development in the Republic of Moldova, stressed the need for strong inter-sectoral cooperation between non-governmental institutions and public authorities, as well as developing synergies between formal and non-formal education systems, business environment, public institutions and non-state actors in the field of youth employment and entrepreneurship.

The round table also discussed youth strategy in Moldova – work on the new youth strategy up to 2030 is continuing, with the newly to be established Youth Agency to start working operationally in the coming weeks, and expected to give a strong impetus to further implementation of national youth policy priorities and becoming the “face” of national youth policy.

In its turn, the EU4Youth programme will further support youth participation and youth employment initiatives in Moldova, in particular through the continuation of the successful Youth Policy Lab design and capacity building for state institutions and youth organisations.

Under the regional EU4Youth umbrella and working in close cooperation with the Eastern partner countries, the EU4Youth – Youth Engagement Roadmaps project promotes youth participation, youth employment partnerships and young social entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the project has developed and introduced Youth Policy Labs as an innovative methodology to facilitate dialogue and exchange among young people and other stakeholders in a number of policy fields.