The Ministry of Youth and Sport suggests more intensely cooperating with the local public authorities in promoting youth policies. Minister Victor Zubcu told a news conference that involved representatives of local public authorities that the youth programs should cover all the villages and towns of the country. The local youth councils will serve as guarantors in his regard as these have the necessary institutional and financial capacities, IPN reports.
The Government’s Deputy Secretary General Valentin Guznac said each of the settlements can use instruments to mobilize local resources for developing youth policies and for creating opportunities for the young people to spend their leisure time.
The Youth Small Grants Program is one of the programs regarded as successful at the local level. In Ialoveni, the program has been implemented since 2010. Victor Pletosu, senior youth policies specialist at the Ialoveni Public Administration Division, said the role of the local public authorities is to identify the needs and wishes of the young people so as to later transform them into objectives and priorities. The most successful projects initiated by young people obtain the logistic and financial support of the authorities.
Anenii Noi district deputy head Natalia Procopii-Scobioala said their kindergartens was one of the targets of the grants program. Both the building and the playground were reconstructed within the program. The Small Grants Program for young people from Anenii Noi district includes 100,000 lei financing from the Ministry of Youth and Sport, 80,000 lei from the District Council and 50,000 lei from East Europe Foundation. “This project is aimed at developing the communication abilities of young people and volunteering, at making them to leave their comfort area and at training them to write a project and apply for financing,” stated Natalia Procopii-Scobioala.
Besides the Small Grants Program, the Ministry develops three more programs intended for the youth, namely: Program for Developing Youth Centers for 2017-2022, Assistance Program for Strengthening and Developing District/Municipal Youth Councils and the Youth Capital Program. The Ministry of Youth and Sport will allocate 6 million lei for implementing the national strategy for developing the youth sector. With the contribution of NGOs, the budget will rise to 11 million lei.
