Social innovation centers similar to youth hubs existing in European capitals could appear in Moldova. The spaces will be intended for young people and youth organizations. This is provided in a bill to amend the law on the youth, which was debated in public consultations, IPN reports.
MP Eugeniu Sinkevich, one of the authors of the legislative proposal, said that technical changes were proposed and these will unblock some of the processes for the Ministry of Education and Research. The regulations governing youth centers could be worked out. The bill introduces into the law the National Youth Council as a body with which the state must consult subjects related to the youth. Another provision refers to the creation of the Social Innovation Center (hub for the youth) as a space intended for young people and youth organizations. The first such hub could be set up in Chisinau.
The amendments concerning the social innovation center were proposed following the planning of the national youth sector development strategy. The center is intended for youth organizations, which will be able to benefit from state programs centering on institutional empowerment and from other programs. Later, after the organizations will benefit from guidance, training at this center, the gained experience could be replicated nationwide, said Marcel Marin, head of the Youth Division of the Ministry of Education and Research.
Teodora Panuș, who heads the National Youth Council of Moldova, spoke about the necessity of clearly distinguishing between youth organizations and organizations that conduct activities for the youth. There are different representativeness components. The fact that an organization implements projects for the youth does not mean that this represents the young people from the regions it covers.
The project also envisions the strengthening of partnerships between public institutions and authorities and nongovernmental organizations by introducing the concept of strategic partnership. This instrument will enable to ensure predictability in the process of implementing youth policies and programs and will ensure equity in the young people’s access to opportunities, said the participants in discussions.
The bill on the youth was given a first reading on July 14 and is to be given a final reading by Parliament.
