Sixteen development projects of civil society of Moldova will be supported by the European Union in the framework of the Support to Confidence Building Measures Program. The total value of these is if over €290,000. The initiatives were chosen at an open contest that involved 90 proposals, IPN reports, quoting a press release of UNDP Moldova.

EU Ambassador to Moldova Jānis Mažeiks said that the 16 grants will have a positive impact on 30,000 persons from both sides of the Nistru for staging activities related to education, sport, health, environment and culture. The supported projects include communication campaigns to promote international mobility opportunities for young people, community initiatives to deal with environmental issues.

The initiatives address specific needs and local problems through cooperation between the two sides of the Nistru in such areas as environment, education, health, culture and sport. “During the last four years alone, since 2019 until 2022, the EU and UNDP have supported over 80 partnerships between civil society organizations for the purpose of implementing activities to improve cross-river cooperation,” stated the diplomat.

The EU-funded Support to Confidence Building Measures Program that is implemented by UNDP was launched in 2009 and sector platforms were created in 2017 as a result of cooperation between NGOs from both sides of the Nistru River.