The volunteers in Moldova do not receive permits and their activity is not certified because the legislation in the field is implemented improperly even if it was adopted four years ago. The Parliament’s commission on culture, education, research, youth and sport on June 9 staged public hearings on the implementation of the Volunteering Law, IPN reports.

The representatives of civil society attending the hearings said the legislation does not clearly stipulate which of the authorities are responsible for the implementation of this law. They consider that this task should be entrusted to the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family. Among the priorities they enumerated the creation of a commission for the certification of volunteer coordinators and inclusion of the post of coordinator in the nomenclature of professions.

Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport Sergiu Stanciu said that since 2010 until now, not much has been done to implement the legislation on volunteering. There were no experts who would certify volunteer coordinators. The Volunteer Coordinator’s Guide is to be published this year. After a certification commission is set up, the Ministry of Youth and Sport will start to issue volunteer permits, which were already designed.

The representatives of the Ministry of Education said that the legislation at this institution is being implemented. The volunteer experience is a privilege when budget-funded places are distributed at universities and when scholarships are provided.

The commission’s head Chiril Lucinschi called on the participants in the discussions to submit within a week proposals for implementing the legislation on volunteering so that the MPs could then put forward legislative initiatives, if need be.