The youth centers in the Republic of Moldova have a positive impact on the development of the beneficiaries of these institutions. According to the study “Analysis of youth center beneficiaries’ perception of the access, relevance and quality of provided services”, over 70% of the young people who used services and/or programs offered by youth centers assess their quality as “very good”. They say the centers have a positive impact on their behavior, such as boosting of self-confidence, increase in civic engagement, obtaining of the recognition and appreciation of those around and better organization of the program, IPN reports, quoting a press release of UNFPA Moldova.
The youth centers are public institutions that work all over the country and provide a wide range of free services and programs, with equal access for each young person. According to the poll, the informal learning programs are at the top of preferences (66%), being followed by volunteering activities (52%), leisure-time animation (41%) and civic initiatives (40%). The young people consider these services are relevant to them and approve of the fact that they are consulted when these services are being designed as they feel that their opinion is taken into account this way.
Mihaela Guțu, 15, attends the Sângerei Youth Center, where she prefers to take part in informal learning activities and volunteering. She said she is captivated by the methods used in the personal development activities and is glad that, together with her mates, she can launch, but also take part in community civic initiatives. “The youth centers fill out time with useful activities. You see and appreciate the fact that everyone’s opinion is taken into account, while the planned activities, projects are chosen together with the young people,” said the teenager.
UNFPA Resident Representative to Moldova Nigina Abaszada noted that the youth centers are a platform for the education and informal development of youth people, which helps them to avoid behavioral risks and to realize their potential. “The future leaders, who propel the Republic of Moldova toward a better future, grow here and we need to continue to invest in the modernization of services and to strengthen these institutions,” stated Nigina Abaszada.
“The impact of the youth centers’ activity is yet to be felt in communities. However, for this thing to happen, the capacity of youth workers of the local public authorities to facilitate the young people’s involvement in community life and in the decision-making process needs to be strengthened,” said Radu Danii, national coordinator of the Local Governance Program of the Swiss Cooperation Office.
The study was carried out by the “Partnership for Development” Center with financial support from the Joint Fund for the development of Youth Centers and strengthening participation and civic engagement among young people in the Republic of Moldova of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, the United Nations Population Fund, with the financial assistance of Switzerland. The telephone survey covered 201 persons aged between 15 and 24 chosen at random and was conducted during November 18-22, 2020 by the Center of Sociological Investigations and Marketing “CBS-Research”. The maximum sampling error is +6.9%.
