Several months ago, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) decided to contribute to the solving of a number of problems faced by the Moldovan children by providing direct support to the Swiss Foundation “Terre des hommes”. The financial support will be used to implement the MOVE Project, which was already launched. The protagonist of the Movement, Games and Sport approach Jean-Pierre Heiniger and the coordinator of the MOVE Project in Romania, Moldova and Albania Gael Rennesson are now in Chisinau on a working visit. Together with Vladislav Oleatovski, national manager of the project, they answered several questions put by Info-Prim Neo's correspondent. [ - What does the MOVE Project include and what are its goals?] [ J-P Heiniger:] - I would like to mention that the foundation that carries out the activities, “Terre des hommes”, is an organization that defends chidlren's rights and has representative offices in more than 30 countries. As regards the partnership between “Terre des hommes” and UEFA in implementing the MOVE Project, the European football organization committed itself to financing a project aimed at helping the adults responsible for children to develop their psychosocial and methodological skills in working with the children, including those from Moldova, during three years and a half. We focus on movement, games and sport. When the child is born, he starts to move. Then he learns to play and can afterward engage in sports activities. [ - What is the strategy for implementing the project?] [ J-P Heiniger:] - The strategy is based on two major pillars – psychosocial welfare and research-action. The project consists of three stages: training sessions in groups that last two weeks, personal training sessions with separate field visits and training sessions, or experience exchange, for trainers. Ninety trainers work in Moldova at present, but we hope we will have more than 400 well-trained persons when the project ends. [ Vladislav Oleatovski:] - The project is implemented in two Moldovan districts – Soroca and Ungheni – and in the municipality of Chisinau. The costs of about 200,000 euros are covered by UEFA. The trainers have been supplied with a set of equipment, including balls, circles, cones and other things. [ - Though it is a sports competition, you insist that the sports activities carried out as part of the project should be differentiated from a contest.] [ Gael Rennesson:] - As a rule, a sports competition is based on performance. However, the aim of the project is communication, the process itself, the path to this performance. We are interested in the relations between the participants in the sports games. [ - If France plays a football match against Moldova for example, you would not be very much interested to know the score, but would like that the players exchange their T-shirts in the end.] [ J-P Heiniger:] - I can accept this parallel on a metaphorical level. I would like to say that not the score matters in a competition, but the competition itself. We want to influence the chidlren's behavior, help them develop as personalities and put them into an environment that influences their life. [ - The project will last for a rather long period of time, but you, as coordinators, will leave Moldova. Only persons with experience in using such educational approaches will remain here.] [ J-P Heiniger:] - That's not true. We want to obtain the support of the state education institutions first of all so that they, especially the Ministry of Education, accept our methods and use them in the national education process. In Romania for example, the methodology was accredited by the Education Department of Dolj county. This is a good precedent for other counties. Many of the teachers and trainers involved in the project said that during its implementation they experienced a number of changes. They built their self-esteem, improved the relations with the colleagues and learned efficient educational approaches based on games and sports activities focusing on integration, not exclusion.