“Dominated by pessimism and dissatisfaction, reproducing prejudices and intolerance of previous generations”. This is the portrait of a young person from Moldova, according to the study “Involvement of the youth for a positive change in society” that was presented in Chisinau on April 7, IPN reports.
Most of the young people form part of the passive category. These have low incomes, a low level of education and information, fewer useful relations and are conservative and intolerant. The young people of this category remain outside all the programs, including those that ensure participation. They are actually preoccupied with the solving of the socioeconomic problems they face. On the other hand, the active minority is represented by young people who take part in consultations and try to become involved in decision-making. These are young people who look for professional and personal development opportunities.
The experts ascertained a low level of political and civic participation by the young people of Moldova. These are less active and interested than the average. The young people become actively involved through social networking sites, but this thing is not fully reflected in reality. “The online environment is a very good source for collecting ideas. Those who are involved offline use the online environment as an area for documentation and exchange of ideas,” stated expect Victoria Cojocariu.
The study shows the young people are intolerant of particular social groups. The held interviews revealed that these can be, and in some situations are, a source of social exclusion as they act actively to marginalize some groups considered “too different”. The conservative-religious values are imposed from a number of directions, by pressure within and outside schools.
Most often, voluntarism is not sufficient to motivate the young people to become involved. The young people need financing to ensure the sustainability of the organizations they create. Among the most spread forms of youth involvement are attendance of a sports club (8%), petition signing (7%), participation in protest demonstrations (6%) and strikes (4%), membership in an NGO, religious organization, political party, trade union or civil initiative group (by 3%).
The study was carried out by experts of the Bucharest Center for Public Innovation on the initiative of Soros Foundation Moldova. It covered young people aged between 15 and 29.
