The European Union is offering €4.9M, including €3.75M in grants, to civil society organizations for projects that will aim to encourage and enable citizens in Moldova to participate in making decisions on matters related to socioeconomic development and public infrastructure development.
The objectives, presented during a press conference by the German Corporation for International Cooperation, which will oversee the projects, include participatory planning and participatory monitoring. In other words, citizens should be empowered to participate in planning public infrastructure and then keep an eye on how that infrastructure is being managed.
Another objective is raising awareness. Citizens, including students in public schools, should be informed about the investments made in water supply and sewer systems, solid waste management, environment issues, and the relevance of tariffs, among other things.
“We believe this project can bring about real benefits to citizens in Moldova”, says Valentina Pleșca, project manager. The final goal of the project is to involve citizens in all the public infrastructure investments in their communities.
“This is for the first time that the German Corporation for International Cooperation, together with the European Union Delegation, offers this support to civil society organizations in Moldova to work closer with the people. You cannot just bring an investment project to a community without informing people and making them aware of the importance of that investment”, Valentina Pleșca explained for IPN.
The project covers the four development regions of Moldova: North, Center, South and ATU Gagauzia. A CSO will be selected in each region to implement the project, receiving a €550,000 grant. At least half of that amount will have to be allocated as sub-grants to other organizations, media institutions, journalists and civic activists to produce media content, communication and visibility. A fifth grant agreement will be signed by the German Corporation for International Cooperation with a organization or consortium with proven communication experience.
The project’s duration is two years and the government partner is the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.
